When I hear the word "summer," images of the beach, friends, and road trips instantly flash in my mind. To me, summer isn't just for play, but it's a time where I can finally unwind from the stressful school year and focus on the wellbeing of me and my health; I like to catch up on sleep, maintain a consistent schedule, eat healthy, and lastly, have a job.

Having a job can be a really intimidating thing for those who have never worked before and in some cases, it can be hard to find an open position willing to hire a student. When it was time for my first day of work, I was beyond nervous and was extremely worried I was going to miss out on having a fun summer; I felt like it was inevitable that I would hate my job, miss fun summer activities, and regret insisting on working 25+ hours a week.

After my full, second week of school, I was actually surprised; I actually enjoyed working in retail, liked the customers and my coworkers, and appreciated having a set-in-stone schedule. More surprisingly, I found that it was actually really easy to balance working and a social life, considering most of my friends had summer jobs; we all did a really good job coordinating when everyone was free to hang out.

The one thing I miss about the school year every time summer break rolls around is having a schedule; I can be a really lazy person, so having a consistent schedule keeps me busy and productive. Furthermore, by knowing what days I have to work makes me utilize my days off in every way possible; I wake up early, spend as much time I can with my friends, and do all of the fun "summer activities" I had dreamed of during the school year.

Lastly, having a job wouldn't be beneficial if money wasn't involved. Having a job almost guarantees bad days full of angry customers, annoying employees, and exasperating tasks, but once payday rolls around, all of those negatives almost instantly disappear into thin air. Making money in the summer allows me to plan for the upcoming school year, whether it's with paying for books, apartment decorations, game-day outfits, or food; it also gives me a sense of accomplishment since I earned that money because of my hard work and dedication to doing the best that I can do.