Coming of age draft

Riiiiinnnggggg! As my alarm on my phone woke me up to get ready. It was 7:30 and I needed to get ready for work. I had a few small jobs here and they’re before but those weren’t really considered a real job since it was simple chores I did for my family. My aunty had just opened a new kiosk at Ala Moana Shopping Center around Christmas time and asked if I wanted to make a few extra bucks. Of course I accepted, who wouldn’t? My first day on the job was pretty hard. There were some customers that were so rude and mean that I wanted to scream my head off. But I couldn’t. I had to just keep my cool, and put a smile on my face.

Customer after customer, I was really starting to get the hang of it. I knew what I had to say, how it say it and how to sell the product to the customer. As the day passed by, it slowly came time to closing. The best part of the day. In just a matter of half an hour I would be home to a nicely made bed where I can just crash. From standing up for the majority of the day wearing heels I was so drained that I was about to pass out on the car ride home. I was ready to just sleep till noon the next day but I couldn’t. I had to wake up for work again.

Even though I had to wake up early again the next morning to get up for work, I knew it was all going to be worth it when I got paid. 80 dollars on the weekends and 50 on the weekdays. It wasn’t that much, but it was better than nothing. It felt rewarding when I got my pay after each night. The feeling that I worked for something felt good. Not like before where I would have my parents buy and work for everything I owned. This time, I got to decide what I wanted to spend my money on. Whether it is clothes, shoes, food, or electronics.

But with the large amount of money I was earning for a 15 year old came a great deal of responsibility with it. I made myself remember that I needed to save up the money and not blow it all off on one store. I had to make sure that I was being responsible with it as well. Not leaving it anywhere it might get lost or stolen. Once the weeks passed by, my parents realized they amount of money I was making and started making me pay for my own stuff. They kept on saying “If you want it, you have to work for it.” Which made me have more responsibility because now, I had to buy the things I wanted to buy with my own money and not rely on my parents.

By working at such a young age, I realize that you can’t always rely on your parents because one day they might not be there anymore and you have to learn to be independent and do things your way. By working, it has taught me to be more responsible with money, be more respectful for my parents and learn that hard work pays off. I learned to be more respectful for my parents because its hard working and coming home tired. But they do it almost every single day just to make our family lives easier.