I have this theory that you're not supposed to like your high school or college job. If you had a job in high school or college, it probably wasn’t something that you loved. You probably either work or worked at some fast food place, babysat, or did some other minimum wage gig and that’s okay! I’m not judging you because I’m in the same boat. I will say that I definitely don’t love my job I have right now, but that's okay because this minimum wage job is going to help me someday get my salary dream job someday.
So far in my 19 years of life, my fairy godmother has not shown up and said: “Bippity, Boppity Boo - all of your college expenses are paid for!” So until my life becomes a fairytale, I’m stuck paying my own bills….Oh well (That being said, if my life was to be a fairytale I would love to be Belle because let’s be real, her library is the real deal). But that’s the thing...I’m okay with that, which leads me to my next point.
I have a job so that I can pay for my own things. Yes, those long hours of waiting tables in high school sucked, but do you know what? I would not have gotten to go to Washington D.C when I was in high school without that job. I paid for that trip myself. I can say with pride yeah, I paid a $400 deposit in tips that I saved or, yeah, I bought that laptop with my summer job. Point is, yeah, maybe I can’t afford to have all of my clothes from the Buckle, but I also know that my phone and car are mine, and I’ll take that over a pair of jeans any day.
Starting at 14, I got my first job in a little restaurant in my hometown. It would be the start of me learning how to manage my time. As I went through high school getting busier and busier, it was important for me to manage my time to make sure that I was getting all of my scheduled hours and getting my homework done.
Yes, there were times when I had to say no to friends who were going to see a movie and wanted to know if I wanted to come, and I couldn’t because I had to work. I would often get told I that I don’t have enough hours in the day to do everything, to which I would reply that’s why they made coffee.
Being as involved as I was in high school and having a job in high school, I have great time management skills, but I also work great under pressure. Now that I’m in college, time management is even more crucial--not having the same schedule every day it is important to be on top of everything. From knowing how long it will take me to walk across campus or what my commute to work will be from campus or even when and what am I going to eat each day.
I’m not going to lie, I don’t love my job, but I don’t completely hate it either. If I loved my job 100 percent I would have nothing to strive for, I would be completely content to stay where I am, and that is not going to give me the motivation to finish college. Me having this minimum wage job is going to get me through college, it's going to help me pay my bills to make my student debt be a little smaller. It gives me the motivation and the work ethic to be a hard worker, and you know what? It’s not going to look too terrible one day on a resume someday when I am applying to my dream job.
So to all the people who love their high school or college job, good for you, I’m happy you have found something you love to do. For everyone else out there who hasn't found or gotten their dream job yet. That's okay, I haven’t either, but I know someday I will. Until then, I’m going to keep adulting a little more each day with both school and work. I don’t know what the future holds for me, I just know it will be great.
