Summer is supposed to be a vacation... right? Well, not my summer. I essentially have three jobs: this job with the Odyssey writing and editing articles, a waitressing job at Rory's Pub in Sea Bright, and an internship. It feels a little overwhelming and I am only being paid for one of those three jobs, but it's also exciting and I wouldn't trade my busy summer in for a boring one any day. Here are nine reasons why busy is better than boring.
1. When you make your own money, your parents can't tell you what to do with it or how much to spend.
Your favorite band just released their tour dates and tickets and you just have to go see them. Well now you can actually buy those tickets!! You don't even need to ask your parents! Yes, this has it's pros and cons. Pros: You're making your own money, you don't have to ask your parents for money anymore, and you can have more independence. Cons: If you're like me you'll probably spend way too much of it over the summer and not have a lot to fall back on when you get to school. But at least you know you had Big Bucks at one point.
2. Keeping your mind active will make it easier to adjust to school in the Fall.
Why else would schools make summer reading such a big deal? For me, I know that if I veg out over the summer, school will be like waking up to a cold bucket of water dumped on my head. Between my internship and the Odyssey, my creative mind is flourishing this summer before it has to go back to grey academia.
3. If you waitress you can convince yourself you're working out because you're doing so much.
Waitressing is no joke. This is my second summer waitressing and it still is difficult. Granted, it is easier than last summer and the uniforms this time around are much more comfortable, but when waitressing you're moving on your feet for five or more hours at a time. That's like five episodes of Orange is the New Black!
4. Jobs force you to interact with people (yes, that is a good thing).
Waitressing is all about customer service. We're talking speedy, polite, the customer is always right. As a waitress, you're interacting with hundreds of people a night sometimes. And they're paying you to interact with them (and to bring them food) but the quality of food hardly matters. The tip won't be as good if the interaction wasn't satisfactory. With my internship and the Odyssey I get to interact with people constantly! I'm talking multiple times every day. It's fun to meet knew people and get to know new faces. Without my jobs I'd probably sit on the couch all day watching OITNB.
5. A busy summer makes parties more fun.
You get home from a long day of work and have SOOOO much work gossip it's practically spilling out of your pores. You just have to tell someone (but no one at work, you don't want to look bad in front of your colleagues) so you go to a party with all your home-friends and tell them about what Tina said about John's wife and how she tooootally just got some work done. Your friends won't know Tina or John or John's wife whose name you can't remember. The point is you finally get to talk about some drama in your life that doesn't actually implicate you!
6. A busy day makes Netflix oh, so, sweeter.
Yeah, you could watch Netflix all day if you weren't busy. But when you are busy and you get home and finally plop down into bed and open the computer you can finally indulge guilt-free. You worked hard for these precious hours so really enjoy and get the most out of them. Choose your show wisely and enjoy these few moments before you're grinding again tomorrow.
7. When you're busy your parents don't nag you as much.
If I wasn't doing anything this summer, my mom would be waking me up at nine or ten in the morning trying to make me get a job or help unpack boxes in the new house. Honestly, I don't think my mom has woken me up once this summer since getting an actual, paying job. I haven't woken up before 11 in about a month. School is going to be a rude awakening.
8. If you weren't doing anything this summer you'd have too much time to think.
If I didn't have a bunch of jobs I'd be thinking about my dorm room decorations too much and then I would be spending money that I really didn't have. I'd be overthinking my Political Science major and how hard it is. I'd be overthinking about how a lot of my friends are going abroad and might be different when they come back. Now that I'm busy, all I have to think about is the 86 board (If you don't know what this is, your summer isn't busy enough. It's a board restaurants use to tell the wait staff what items on the menu they're out of).
9. At the end of the busiest day, you feel super accomplished, excited and proud of your work.
Yes, this goes for waitressing too (if you're doing it right). I keep my tables bussed and my customers happy. As for the Odyssey and my internship, I get to work on creative writing pieces that I find fun and interesting.
