I was a young, bright high school graduate when I started my first job. I was a receptionist at a State Farm office and it was the summer before I began my first year of college.
I loved that job. I loved my coworkers and my boss. I often thought about what it would be like to work there full time. I got attached to my first job and I was pretty sad when I had to leave.
Fast forward to college, I am desperate to work anywhere. I don't even try to be picky.
I just needed money to support myself while I was off at college. My parents couldn't keep giving me money forever.
I finally got a call back from a hiring manager at a convenience store on my college campus. They wanted to schedule an interview. I wanted this job the most, out of all the ones that I applied to. The reason being that it was in the lobby of my residential campus apartment.
I ended up hating it. It was physically exhausting because most of the time I was the only one working there and it was hard to keep up with customer flow and take care of the store. I worked 20 hours every week and it was hard to do at times, but they gave me hours and I liked getting paid. This year, I was so blessed and I got a new job. I love it and it is definitely an upgrade from my old food service job.
Since I've started working, I learned that worrying about what kind of job you have is pointless. At one point, I was so worried about building my resume and I felt like I was running out of time. Then, I realized that I was barely 20-years-old and there was nothing that I should be worried about.
Sure, thinking about the future makes me nervous. But, hey, I'm just here living day-to-day and I'm trying to make those days, good.
Remember, you're young and there is a whole life ahead of you.
There is no rush.
Have some fun.
Work wherever you want to. Do what makes you happy. Focusing on the years that are so far ahead of you is not always the best thing to do. Everyone learns and grows at their own pace. Your pathway to life does not have to mirror that of your friends or family.
Narrowing your job search might work against you and might hold you back from exciting opportunities and meeting new people. If I would have never worked the jobs that I have, I would have missed out on all of that. Don't worry if you work at a department store or a restaurant. It's okay for you to work a job and not want to work there forever.
I figured out that the job that I have doesn't matter right now, because I'm just a college student trying to buy groceries.