A Job
I've been working since I was 10 years old.
I did a paper route as a child for 5 years, until I was 15 turning 16 years old. Most people did a paper route for a few months, I really don't understand (looking back) but am amazed that I did it for 5 years.
First, I would get the delivery of papers (twice a week!) to my house, flyers separate. Then I would sit on the bottom flight of my stairs with the flyers one stair above, open the newspaper and insert each flyer into approximately 200+ newspapers. I would then load half of the papers into my trolley and make my rounds. Through sun, rain and snow I would roll my trolley and walk up to each door step to place the paper into the letterbox, then I would go back home and collect round two. Often I had a friend from school who lived on my paper route come out and walk with me if the weather was nice, and I'll admit, a few times I had my parents put all the papers in the van and have my mom help me. It paid for my new shoes for "back to school", it paid for my Lip Smackers (root beer was my fav flavor), it paid for my 5 cent candies, it paid for my $1 chocolate cake that I would buy at lunch time (McCains, so delicious) and it literally paid approximately $27-30 dollars every two weeks. If I went on vacation, I had to train and hire my replacement (a classmate who I then paid). It taught me responsibility, it taught me the value of a dollar and it taught me that no matter what, rain or shine you had to go out there and do what you signed up to do.
My second job, I was hired on the spot at one of the most terrifying perfume stores in the mall. I was turning 16 in one week, I was given written cheques every two weeks by very stereotypical looking hairy chested, gold chained wearing men, and I was told to NEVER, EVER sell the customer what they want. We sold the customer what we could afford to sell (cheap fragrances that the store would profit off of versus legitimate perfumes that the store would not make much money on). The turnover rate was high, approximately every 3 weeks we would have a new girl for the one that quit, I lasted almost 1 year. I was self conscious, scared and intimidated. I had to stand at the doorway of the store and call out "up to 70% off all fragrances" to complete strangers and then when they walked in I had to sell them what I wanted "If you like Dolce and Gabbana you'll loove this new fragrance that's so popular right now called Water Drops". I became their #1 girl, so the first customer to walk in I would approach. If there was only every one customer in the store at a time, that meant that I would always be doing the work (because I was the best at selling). It taught me. It taught me how to bullshit, how to sell (um not directly related to bullshitting lol), how to get over your fears and EVERY single other job that I've ever worked since that job has been a piece of cake!!!! That experience can't be bought.
Every job after that, was a mixture of fun, hard work, and running around getting stuff done. I never went more than 3 weeks without a job, I couldn't do that, I NEEDED a job. I worked at drugstores, restaurants, clothing stores, a photo lab, an electronics shop. I would get off school at 3pm and work 4pm-midnight or 7 to midnight shifts, and I would still get my homework done. I never asked my parents to pay for field trips, lunch money, back to school clothes or anything that I wanted. I earned it, I bought it.
Studying was a luxury, there was never a time in my life when I felt that I had all the time in the world to study, not even in University.
I messed up, I'm not going to pretend that every job I did I was flawless at, there were times when I was in high school that I couldn't get up, or I just had to call in sick but looking back at the availability I had to give my part time jobs as a high school student (every weekday from 4-midnight and every weekend) I guess that was pretty understandable that I would often be too exhausted and drained (or would be scheduled to work the night before an exam - sorry Shoppers Drug Mart!).
There was one time that I worked two jobs, I worked from 7am-3pm full time Monday to Friday and then I would take two buses and the train to my second job and work from 5pm-9pm. It was heaven and it was hell at the same time. I would be so exhausted that if I had the car (on occasion) I would drive home and just sit in the car, not wanting to get out. It was heaven in the sense that I needed that at that time in my life. I needed to be so bone tired that I would go home and just fall asleep. I needed to not have free time on my hands. I would consider it a "day off" if I didn't have to work the evening shift at my second job! It was awesome!
Too often people complain about their jobs and I just DON'T get it. Do you know what that job gives you? It doesn't just give you money, it gives you freedom. Maybe it's not the job that you want to do for the rest of your life, but it is the PATH and the way to get to what you want to do for the rest of your life. It gives you the freedom to make choices, it gives you a sense of direction, it gives you a purpose and I have never in my life worked at a job that I did not personally grow and benefit from that. I am not at all discounting education but it's funny that all my years at school have blended together, while I look back on my life and can distinctly recall what I learnt and what I did at each job. Too many people these days have parents that will comfortably pay for everything their child does but I just don't get why that child doesn't have the sense of ego and pride in themselves to want to go out there and make their own coin.
I'm passionate about work and working, I will work for as long as I can work and I can honestly say that these values were instilled in me because of my father and because of my eldest sister. I hope as an elder sister myself to be able to motivate other youngsters to realize the value of an honest living because it's far too easy in the society and culture that I live in now for young individuals to be un motivated and/or buy into the fast money lifestyle.
