We've all experienced that extreme dread of having to drag ourselves to work. Sometimes, something exciting is happening. Other days, you'd rather bash your head against a wall than have to deal with one more rude customer or snore fest presentation.

I recently quit my job as a waitress. Yes, I'm 19. Yes, it was supposed to be an easy job, but you know what? I'm proud of myself. I don't stand to be treated a certain way or put myself through extreme stress. That does not make me sensitive or lazy. I'm grounded, successful, and confident in myself. Hopefully reading this article may give you the freedom and confidence to realize that your self-care should include giving yourself the freedom to explore jobs.

So many times society will tell us "you have to hold down a job" "you can't just quit" "every job is gonna have a manager you don't like." I call BS. Let's put all the cards on the table here, because we need to evaluate why people are pushing this agenda. Money. Jealousy. Insecurity. We should have the freedom to be happy. Don't allow these sayings to nest in your head, because life deserves exploration and growth in a comfortable environment outside of that stressful restaurant, boring day job, or whatever situation you experience.

Let's go back to what I previously mentioned. The first motive for people to push the normalization of dreading your job is money. They either want you to be what they see as financially secure or need you to stay where you are in their business for their personal financial gain. Guess what? You don't first off need money to be happy. Success is not measured in numbers. Incredibly cliche, but also incredibly true. When you give yourself the allowance to find something that makes you happy, money won't be a factor. So quit wasting time convincing you to need to make large lump sums of money instead of choosing happiness. Outside of this, your co-workers or higher-ups will convince you to stay because they'll give you raise etc. Honestly, I call BS on this too. Don't buy into a raise making you happier. This is a realization on their behalf that they need you in order to rake in more cash. They want you, but you do not want them. It's that clingy high school relationship you always hated. Get out of it. You are an asset and will thrive better outside of that environment.

Jealousy is a monster. This brings me to my second reason why people will push the normalization of hating your job. As mentioned in the beginning, an incredible amount of people feel the same way as you. Overworked, tired, bored, upset, and stressed. When you finally gain that confidence, people will tell you to stay where you are. They're jealous they don't have that courage. People are often selfish. They don't want to see you thrive, but they want more for themselves. Until they thrive, they want everyone else to suffer. If you have a spouse, significant other, family, or friends that know how upset your job makes you and continue to push you to stay, they clearly aren't secure in their own occupational decisions. You are your own compass. Make your own decisions, and don't allow others' insecurities to grab hold of you and snag you backward.

Unfortunately, as a millennial, I hear too much of this propagated crap about having to accept poor treatment in the workplace or accepting unhappiness. We're seen as lazy. We're seen as fickle. We're seen as incompetent. (But yet we understand technology far better than generations before us..anyway, I digress.) To all of you, don't believe this for a second. We aren't lazy. How many times have you found yourself in competition for a job against others your age? There is no lack of drive in our generation. Indecisiveness can sometimes be healthy. If you don't know what to do, you can and will find something or multiple things you love. It's a gift to want to find yourself instead of settling for less. Settle for more. Finally, you aren't incompetent. Everyone makes mistakes. Just because you were born in a certain year doesn't change the simple fact that you're human. That's just science, and I don't know how else to say it honestly.

To parents, be patient. Be kind to your kids. Be kind to yourself. Young people like myself looking from the outside often have wisdom to impart too. I don't have as much experience, no, but I do have feelings too. Take note, because those who are fed up being treated poorly or hate their workplace are going to transform the future of what it means to "hold a job."

We need to change "holding a job" to "holding on to yourself." Life is too short to hate your job.