To Work or Not to Work

Finding and keeping a part-time job while attending high school could be a baffling task. Balancing work with classes, homework, extracurricular activities and just hanging out with friends can be tough, but millions of teens are able to manage part-time jobs along with their other responsibilities.

This year as a junior, I took on the challenge of working a part-time job as a lifeguard. As my first job it has been fun so far and I do like making money, but it is definitely a challenge when it comes to putting in the same amount of work ethic into my assignments. If you plan on working a part-time job just remember that school should always come first.

There are different schools of thought on whether teenagers should have part-time jobs, but I find that the pros easily outweigh any cons. A teenager who works long hours every day after school could see his or her school work suffer, but a less intensive part-time job can be a wonderful learning experience.

I've come up with 4 part-time jobs that are popular among high school students and the advantages and disadvantages for each:

1. Animal Shelter Worker- If you love animals, working at an animal shelter could be a great part-time job while you are in school. Shelters hire minimum wage employees to spend time with the animals and clean our their cages. If you want to be a veterinarian, this part-time job provides you with hands on experience, working closely with animals. Although, you could end up assisting with sick animals which can be sad, messy, and heart-wrenching. For most people the rewards outweigh any uncomfortable moments.
2. Arts and Crafts Production and Sales- If you have artistic skills, there may be a market for items that you create, especially during the winter holidays. The only disadvantage for this would be the fact that you would have to pay for supplies and rental fees for booths or tables. It could be easier to set up your shop online, consider selling your arts and crafts on Etsy.
3. Babysitting- usually work Friday and Saturday evenings, leaving the week open for completing homework and participating in school-related activities. Babysitters are paid well for their time. You do have to be on your best behavior at all times in order to keep their job.
4. Car Wash Attendant- Especially for Las Vegas, the warm climate will guarantee you to stay busy. There's nothing worse than being bored at work, so that's a key perk of working for a car wash. Some possible downsides to working for a car wash include getting soaking wet, ruining your clothes, and working for minimum wage. On the plus side there is always the possibility of taking tips.

With this information take a good amount of time to think about whether working part-time would be beneficial towards you or not. Everyone is capable of doing anything as long as they are willing to work for it.

The Extra's in Extracurricular's

Want to get into the college of your dreams? ... Spend some time rethinking the role of extracurricular activities.

Most people who have the desire to attend a decent college stay on a predefined path, whether they are in high school, college, grade school or the working world. People will always try to set themselves up for success. However, if you are looking to do something more unique and meaningful, and you want to stand out, I would advise you not to follow a predefined course.

For example, a high school junior named McKenzie had an amazing passion for soccer. She played ever since she was at least 5-years-old. Towards the end of the school year she was invited to attend a camp that college soccer players were conducting. She went out of her comfort zone and went to the camp. She did the best she could, made new friends, and just wanted to have fun during her time there. This spontaneous action worked to her advantage. A scout from Harvard happened to be impressed with her performance and offered her a full ride to the university in order to have her on their team.

McKenzie made her own luck by taking a chance and exposing herself to a bit of randomness. It only took taking one opportunity to make the cut for excellence.

How can you reach this goal? First of all, don't compete with people like yourself, and do not do what everyone else is doing. Instead, explore your interests, use your skills, and do things outside of the box. Things other people aren't doing. This gives you the freedom to do things that will not only sound impressive, but will actually be impressive. And you'll eventually get to do something that will leave a mark on the world.

ProcrastiNATION

pro-cras-ti-na-tion

noun

the act or habit of putting off or delaying, especially something requiring immediate attention

Examples from the web for procrastination: Avoid procrastination and be prepared

Who would’ve thought after so many decades of procrastination in our society, that the all reliable dictionary.com had the solution to the problem all along. But you see, “avoid procrastination” is advice only given by those that are considered fake procrastinators. The people that say “I totally go on Twitter and Snapchat instead of doing my homework, because who needs homework anyways?” Those are the words that come from the individuals who for some odd and unknown reason, think that procrastination is “cool” ?

The real procrastinators usually deny the fact that they are procrastinators and give the advice by saying, “Just don’t procrastinate, it’s that simple.” The dictionary or any form of procrastinators do not know that procrastination is inevitable, it’s something they don’t know how to not do.

As a junior, I recently earned my license, giving me the opportunity to go out with friends and get a job as a lifeguard. I work five days a week… leaving right after school and not getting off until eight o'clock at night. This has definitely consumed most of the dedication and time I used to give to school projects and homework assignments. Coming home exhausted, I lose all motivation in attempting to do homework and end up crashing on my bed instead. I end up doing my assignments the morning they are due… which ends in me not showing my full potential, or just not doing the assignment at all.

The only way to get out of this constant state of procrastination is to embrace the point in time when panic mode kicks in. When you realize you have a D in your English class just because you were lazy, you know something has to change… but the question at hand is: how do we beat the want to procrastinate?

Well, a big thing about procrastination is the act of planning and not actually doing. Instead of wasting most of your time making a vague plan that sets you up for failure, go straight into the hard work. Planning is only acceptable when the time to do it is used wisely...make sure you know what your priorities are. Now as for the doing part, like the motto for Nike, JUST DO IT. Once you start a task, things will work out more smoothly and the time for more enjoyable things will come and feel more rewarding after your accomplishments. It all comes down to knowing that everything you do is a choice and coming up with helpful methods to defeat temptation will set you up for success.

Why is this topic so important?

Well, defeating procrastination is the same as gaining control over your life. Everything that makes people happy or even unhappy, such as, the level of fulfillment, self esteem, regret, or freetime; these components are affected by the simple mistake of procrastination. Why would a little short term satisfaction be worth your happiness? This is something worthy of being taken seriously, and the time to start improving is now.

Are You Ready to Take on High School?

First of all, I just wanna say I am currently a high school student, a junior to be exact, and I'm literally already counting down the days until graduation. Senioritis before senior year, what a tragedy. Let me tell you, high school is one of the most fun, yet not so fun things I have ever experienced so far. But don’t let my words scare you. You could be in high school and having the best time of your life for all I know . . . but no matter the case, I am here to SAVE THE DAY!!!!

My sole purpose in life (aka this blog) is to either help you youngsters prepare for the high school life, or get ready to take on the setbacks you are already experiencing. This is how the plan is going to work: 1) I share the different experiences that taught me a lesson or two, 2) I talk about my desire to invent a time traveling machine to go back and change the countless mistakes I've made already. Don’t worry, with me as your trusty blogger, my tips and tricks will hopefully help you to experience an enjoyably smooth journey. You can either choose to take these posts seriously or laugh at them, either way, no one is here to judge...right? And just because I think laughing, smiling, or even a little inspiration are some of the most important parts of my day, there will be some type of picture portion to my blog. This section could be totally random or go perfectly with the topic, whatever I feel like I absolutely need to share with you. 

I know that some people may not agree with my suggestions, but just remember that this is what I would do. My goal is to help out those that are in need of some guidance. Keep in mind the longing hope I had for some sort of guidance in high school, unfortunately, I had to get through every dreadful day the hard way. Lets have faith that I will make it through senior year. Anyhow, feel free to take in what I say and do with it what you will my friends.