This past weekend, I received my paycheck from my employer. While I am mostly the kind of person to save as much money as I can, I thought that I would go out and treat myself to a little bit of shopping with my friends.

I nearly cried when I found out that I had spent just about half of my paycheck in two stores. (I purchased one item from each store..) Now, I get it, I didn’t need any of the items I bought, but I should be able to buy things to treat myself and make myself feel good without breaking the bank.

The problem, I realized, was not that everything was too expensive (Which it mostly is) but that I did not get paid enough. We all know that teenagers get paid very little. Any employer who hires teens knows that a teenager will pretty much do any job because they need money. I work eight hour shifts and only get paid a tiny bit more than minimum wage. If I purchase one bra at Victoria’s secret, that’s is three hours of work, and that’s if the bra is on sale!

Surely you’re thinking that we should not pay teenagers more because then they will spend their money unwisely. However, that is not true. My parents have told me now that I have my job, I need to buy my own items. If I do not have enough money, they will tell me, “You have a job, you pay for it.” So, I cannot spend my money willy nilly and buy the new pair of Vans just because. I have to actually play out my expenses and limit myself so that I have a certain amount of money in my bank account at all times.

Of course no company wants to pay a teenager larger wages because they feel like teenagers are the dogs that should get paid the least. However, that is why teenagers should get paid more. At work, I am whipped to do my Supervisors bidding. (Cleaning, cooking, etc) They yell and bark orders without taking into consideration that I am a human, and that I do have a speed limit even though I am not a road. They also do not seem to understand that this is most teenagers’ first job. (We are not accustomed to the working world yet! Give us a chance to take it all in) I know most adult employees face the same treatment, however, you get paid way more than I do now, for the same treatment.

Sure, I sound biased because I am a teenager. What I can tell you is this: Teenagers will NOT blow their money on useless purchases because odds are their parents make them buy everything on their own once they get a job, They deal with all the cruddy employer attitudes, and they do it for less than what you get paid, with school and work there is little to no time for any free time to even relax or hangout with friends (I know that most adults work 40 hours a week, and I am sure that kids, etc gets in the way of “free” time, but you have some time off somewhere) and lastly, teens get worked down to the bone and still only get minimum wage.