Instant Coffee and Paper Cups
Like many teenagers, my first job was in a small cafe where I served either cheap tea and coffee to elderly people who had only left the house for a slice of social interaction with someone other than their overbearing other half, or ice cream and crisps to young mothers with small untamed children who they had brought out because they needed a break from cleaning their crayon artwork off their walls at home.
I know this could be considered a controversial statement, but generally, the majority of people I go to school with are affluent. Although not as extreme, there is definitely a likeness to the television series Gossip Girl — a good mixture of Blair Waldorfs and Nate Archibalds, sprinked with a selection of Vanessa Abrams and Dan Humphreys. The Blairs and Nates, being born and raised in the Upper East Side, would have little to no reason to have a source of their own income until they started actively wanting to buy their own possessions — maybe the expensive Adidas trainers, maybe a few driving lessons when they hit the age of seventeen. The fact I found myself a job at the age of fourteen baffled my peers: why could I possibly need to spend my summer holiday laboriously handing out sandwiches and fizzy drinks?
Independence. The freedom to start developing myself and becoming who I wanted to be. The ability to try new things and explore new places without having to rely on my parents for bus money each time.
When you’ve got three younger siblings, life can get pretty hectic for your parents, so I wanted to relieve as much of the burden that I could at this stage of my life.
I was just beginning to feel the weight of materialism creeping its way into my young mind (around Christmas-New Year’s time of my second year in secondary school), due to the fact that a lot of girls my age were receiving expensive Urban Decay eyeshadow palettes and (what I thought were) posh Jack Wills gym bags. Being the impressionable young girl I was, I wanted to be just like these cool girls, so I asked and asked my dad if I could have things like them too. However, while my dad is a reasonable man, he is also a frugal man and he said I had no need for these overpriced items and could have them when I could earn them myself. To this I felt slightly saddened and as if he wanted me to get bullied for having an unbranded tote bag, but what he said gave me the determination to find a way to make my own money.
Having this small, twice a week job, made me feel so extraordinarily accomplished because I was now doing something for myself. I would finally be able to have fancy things like the cool girls! But I will tell you now — my attitude has changed dramatically and I couldn’t think of anything worse than buying certain shoes merely because Jennifer Jones had them, but at this tender age all I wanted was to fit in.
These days I find myself so much happier with an plain canvas tote than I ever would be with a branded gym sack. The fact I have had control over what I purchase for myself for the majority of my teenage life has enabled me to understand the value of money, and that a bag is a bag — if it can hold your water bottle, notebook and a pen then you’re good to go my friend.
My first job taught me to be more confident in my abilities, to be more independent at a young age, and to have more respect for all working adults. I was given the opportunity to become part of a team that had nothing to do with scores on a board, and that felt great. I felt so comfortable in my role, as within this environment there was no competition like I had been used to at school. Without this experience I don’t think would have been able to acquire these qualities until much later. I believe that the lessons I learned during my first working summer have shaped me as a person, and have been one of the reasons I started working harder in school. I don’t think I would be doing what I am today, studying A-level sciences (which are extremely hard!), if I hadn’t been thrown into this hard-working way of life so early on.
The most important message I took from my first summer job was: if I was willing to work hard and with passion then I could achieve anything.
