Monday, June 30, 2008

Summer Jobs

Alright, so here's the thing. If you're a parent reading this and you have a kid around 17 or 18 years old who just graduated high school, you probably want your kid to get a job. Kids around this age usually have two options.

One, they willingly get a job so that they can have more money to spend on things they want to do. I get that. Why would an extra two hundred dollars a week be a bad thing? They can go to the movies, go shopping, go out to eat, whatever and they don't have to worry about not being able to pay for things. When their friends want to do something that costs money, they don't have to be embarrassed or miss out on anything by saying something along the lines of, "Oh, I can't. I don't have any money." Honestly, working is a good thing. I understand that.

Second option that most of us have is our parents want us to get a job otherwise we get kicked out of the house. Most parents (at least of the friends I have at this age) don't actually want a part of your paycheck, it's just that a condition of living in their house is that you work rather than sit at home all day eating their food and doing nothing productive. When this option is the requirement (because when it comes to parents and living in their house, there isn't really an option), we find ourselves hunting all over for a job praying to God that someone will hire us because we'd have to get one anyway if our parents kicked us out. Work just becomes a different version of school. You go for 7 or 8 hours a day, work hard, go home, and dread the fact that you have to do it again tomorrow. Crazy stuff, I know.

Well I am lucky enough that I have an option three right now. My third option is don't work. Here's what my argument for this one is. I'm going to college in the fall. I got good grades this past year, I'm going to a cheap enough school that my parents have to pay almost nothing if not nothing for me to go to school, I do what they say, I'm home when they request me to be home, and overall, I'm a good kid. I am seventeen years old and legally am still a child. The way I view this summer is that it is the last summer of my childhood. This is my last summer that is obligation free for the rest of my life (until I retire, which is ages away). I want to enjoy this summer to its full potential. At home, I can relax, get my thoughts together, read some good books, play some online games, and hang out with friends. I can sleep in if I so desire, I can go shopping, I can clean around the house. Basically, I'm free to do whatever this summer. It's my last summer of freedom, and I want to enjoy it. Luckily for me, I have this option.

Why do I refuse to get a job other than the previously stated reasons? Simple. I don't want one. I'm going to college in the fall. The way I see it, if I'm going to school to learn to get a better education so that later in life I can get a decent job, I want to do school and then I want to work. I know, I have some weird fantasy or warped perception of the world, but still. I want to go to school, graduate, get a job. Simple plan. I know that whole argument for work experience, too. I don't know, though. I guess I'll figure it out when I get there. Besides, it will probably be an option number two experience for me in my house next summer, so what's the rush? I'm going to be working the rest of my life. I don't see the need to leap for it now while it's still unnecessary.

So here's my basic thing. For parents, how hard is this point in time? If you're kid is already 18, I can understand the whole work thing. They are legally adults living in your house and if they want to act like an adult you're going to treat them like they are. If they're 17, what do you do? They aren't an adult, but they're done with school and sitting around your house over the summer like a bum and refusing to get a job (haha, yeah, that's me). I'm curious what options you have. Like what do you do with a kid like myself who downright refuses to their parents to get a job? And to others like myself, which option would you prefer if it was up to you? You all know I went with option three (to the dismay of my father). Anyway, I'd like to hear your take on this whole thing. Leave a comment and talk to me. I'd love to know where other people stand on this issue. =]

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