College is one of the best places to be during your young adult life. You learn about different fields, meet people from all walks of life, have time to develop a career and life plan and you develop the ability to deal with stress. Also, most fun things at colleges are either cheap or free. Some things you do have to pay for though, and that’s where the government has your back.

If you don’t know what I’m talking about let me explain. Work study. For all of you that don’t know what work study is, it’s basically the government looking at your FAFSA and saying “Hey, this kid might need money during the semester. Let’s give them a job.” So you basically get money put to the side for you that you have to work for. If you don’t use it all then it disappears. It’s like a real job but the hours are more flexible and your supervisor understands you’re a student first.

Well, I got work study and I was getting paid $9.25 an hour. I was living lavish even though I barely went to work. I mean everything I made had no specific place to go. I didn’t have any bills outside of Hulu and Netflix and if they didn’t get paid it wasn’t like I couldn’t find other ways to watch shows. I didn’t spend money on clothes and shoes (which I should have). Nope, I spent money on food and whatever else came up. Life was solid. Then summer hit and I was out of a job and broke as hell.

As soon as I got home I began to apply for jobs. I knew I would get another paycheck two weeks after I left but I didn’t want to stay in the house all summer broke and miserable. Sadly, the check came and went before I found a job. I didn’t factor in that Hulu was coming out of my account whether I had the money or not which resulted in a $2 overdraft. Plus a $30 overdraft fee was added onto my account. Then I was hit from behind by the $35 fee that comes when you don’t pay the overdraft fees within five business days. By the time someone called me back I was desperate. I was willing to work anywhere as long as I was getting money. Or so I thought.

I had two interviews and got one job. I found out it paid $7.75 per hour and was absolutely devastated. How was I going to support my habits? But I accepted the position because surely something is better than nothing right? Yeah, but it made me realize that I loved work study.

Work study was right on campus and not even a 10 minute walk from my dorm and directly across from where I took classes so I didn’t have to pay for travel. I basically set my own times for when I would come in. I got paid more than people usually get paid in the real world. As much as I may have been annoyed by some of my coworkers, I liked the job.

Work study spoiled me because it made life so easy and happy for me. I was shielded from the harsh realities of the real world. So to all the students that have work study, appreciate your job. I can guarantee you the real world isn’t nearly as nice.