Sunday, December 7, 2008

Working Girl

            I worked all through high school.  I worked through the entire summer.  As I was getting ready to leave for school this past fall, my dad sat me down to have “a chat.”  He wanted to express his concern about me wanting a job for freshman year at school.  As a college student, neither he nor my mom worked, and he seemed confident that I could make it through school without a job.  Also, I have a cousin who recently dropped out of college to focus more on his part-time job, and this idea scared my dad a lot.  My warning to him was that if I wasn’t working, I’d be calling and asking for money quite a bit more.  He didn’t seem to believe that. 

            Within the first few weeks of school, I noticed that I had a lot of free time.  I loved having new friends and being in a new city, but the repercussions were costly.  A new city meant new shops, new restaurants, and a lot of time to explore all of these.  It didn’t take long before the small budget my dad gave me was gone, and he wasn’t happy to hear that from me.  However, I had a solution.  I wanted a job.  Without telling him or my mom, I went to stores close to campus with a resume and a willingness to work.  I figured that if I could find an employer that was willing to work with my schedule and prove to my parents that this would not interfere with schoolwork that it would be allowed.  I was right. 

            Now I spend two days during the week and one day each weekend working, and I love it.  My grades have stayed consistent, and I’ve found that I’m more focused when doing my homework now that I actually have a limited time to get it done.  However, I’ve noticed that the majority of students here don’t have jobs, and seem to find it strange that I want to work.  Is said drive not normal?  And did anyone else’s parents have reservations about working in this new environment?  

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