By Paola, 16, junior
Every time I try to convince my parents that it’s time for me to get a job, they always tell me the same thing, “Your only job is to focus on your grades and health!”
I think it’s time for them to move on from that.
I’m so organized that I think there will be plenty of time for school and my health. I also told them that I want to learn how to manage my money and know what to spend it on before I go off to college, where I plan to get a part-time job. I want to have those “training wheels” (a home and food) before I’m forced out into the real world and have to live off Ramen noodles because I didn’t manage my money.
I asked some of my friends to explain what it’s actually like having a job. Michael, 17, a junior, said that since he started working at a grocery store four months ago to help out his parents, he’s been getting a lot of experience in customer service and handy work. His parents don’t mind him getting a job long as he keeps his grades up and gets enough sleep, which he does.
He works 30 hours a week with flexible hours, usually Monday-Friday from 4 p.m.-10 p.m. He puts half of his earnings in a savings account, and the rest he uses to go out with friends or saves for something he wants.
Another friend, Yoryette, 16, a junior, works 30 hours a week as a cashier at a Chinese restaurant. She’s only been on the job about a month and plans to save for a trip to the United Kingdom the summer after graduation. Because she works six days a week, Yoryette said that the job takes up a lot of her social life and time for sleep. She doesn’t mind because she’s making her own money and will be able to pay for her own things.
After finding out Yoryette’s reason for getting a job, it got me to thinking about my own wanderlust. I’ve always wanted to visit Gibraltar, an overseas UK territory just south of Spain. I’ve decided that when I get a job (if/when I convince my parents) that’s part of what I’m going to save up for. I’m also going to take Michael’s idea and make it my own. Half of the money I earn will be for college, and the other half will go toward my trip after I graduate.
After finding out what my friends are experiencing, I realize even more that it’s my turn to see the independent side of being a teenager.