A little somethin' somethin' I wrote for Campus Progress
I'll be the first to admit it: I'm a natural born slacker. I would like nothing better than to spend the rest of my life, hanging out on the porch, drinking a Pabst Blue Ribbon and smoking a cigarette. If it were up to me, I would never get up before 3pm and I would never go to sleep before 3am. Work is for losers.
However...
The world doesn't quite work out like that. I learned this this past January when I almost got evicted. How did I almost get evicted, you ask? Why, for trying to pay my rent with bounced checks. Twice. In a row.
I had to get my head out of my ass. I had to stand up and finally join the real world. I had to get a job. Which I did (praise Jesus!). And, so far, I've managed to keep it longer than any job I've ever had. The reason being I had never, until this year, needed a job before. I needed this job. Losing it would mean I would have to quit college and move back home with my parents. And I'd rather George W. Bush be president for life than to have that happen. And working at this job made my heart go out for all those people that don't have fathers who are tennis instructors. The kids who, unlike me, literally needed their jobs to survive. And have spent all their youth (or lack thereof,) pinching pennies, begging for a break, and having their backs broken by the wonderful world of the American marketplace.
My job sucks, of course. I hate it. It pays shit, my bosses are tyrants, etc. But, I'm glad I have it. Not for the usual "money is nice" reasons either. I have learned more about humanity in the past six months, working at a pizza restaurant, than I have in my three years of going to college. I have learned more about labor relations and taxes and how the "real world" operates. And all those liberals and radicals and anarchists who refuse to get a job based on principle, I would ask them to reconsider that idea. You're not going to understand how America works until you've frantically searched your house looking for things to pawn. You're not going to understand homelessness until you've really considered the possibility that you may have nowhere to sleep next week. You're not going to understand desperation until you've had less than five dollars to spend on food for a whole two weeks.
Next week I start my second job, working for Public Interest Communications, a *coughcoughtelemarketingcough* fundraising service that raises funds over the phone for various groups trying to save the world. It will be my first "useful" job, and I'm sure, I'm going to learn even more about life, and myself, than I could at a pizza restaurant.
--J
I'll be the first to admit it: I'm a natural born slacker. I would like nothing better than to spend the rest of my life, hanging out on the porch, drinking a Pabst Blue Ribbon and smoking a cigarette. If it were up to me, I would never get up before 3pm and I would never go to sleep before 3am. Work is for losers.
However...
The world doesn't quite work out like that. I learned this this past January when I almost got evicted. How did I almost get evicted, you ask? Why, for trying to pay my rent with bounced checks. Twice. In a row.
I had to get my head out of my ass. I had to stand up and finally join the real world. I had to get a job. Which I did (praise Jesus!). And, so far, I've managed to keep it longer than any job I've ever had. The reason being I had never, until this year, needed a job before. I needed this job. Losing it would mean I would have to quit college and move back home with my parents. And I'd rather George W. Bush be president for life than to have that happen. And working at this job made my heart go out for all those people that don't have fathers who are tennis instructors. The kids who, unlike me, literally needed their jobs to survive. And have spent all their youth (or lack thereof,) pinching pennies, begging for a break, and having their backs broken by the wonderful world of the American marketplace.
My job sucks, of course. I hate it. It pays shit, my bosses are tyrants, etc. But, I'm glad I have it. Not for the usual "money is nice" reasons either. I have learned more about humanity in the past six months, working at a pizza restaurant, than I have in my three years of going to college. I have learned more about labor relations and taxes and how the "real world" operates. And all those liberals and radicals and anarchists who refuse to get a job based on principle, I would ask them to reconsider that idea. You're not going to understand how America works until you've frantically searched your house looking for things to pawn. You're not going to understand homelessness until you've really considered the possibility that you may have nowhere to sleep next week. You're not going to understand desperation until you've had less than five dollars to spend on food for a whole two weeks.
Next week I start my second job, working for Public Interest Communications, a *coughcoughtelemarketingcough* fundraising service that raises funds over the phone for various groups trying to save the world. It will be my first "useful" job, and I'm sure, I'm going to learn even more about life, and myself, than I could at a pizza restaurant.
--J
*swoons*