If you had told me three years ago that I would be working two jobs on top of being a full time student, I would have said you were insane. As a freshman I thought being a student was all the commitment I could make during the school year and, besides, there was no need for me to work.

And while both of those thoughts are still mostly true today–being a student is a big commitment and I’m fortunate not to need the money I make working two jobs–I have discovered there is great value in holding a job while in high school.

I am fortunate to come from a financially stable family. My parents have constructed a life for my family in which I don’t need for anything. As a result, I don’t need to work to support my family. My gas–for the car my parents got me–is paid for, any school related needs are paid for and my food when I go out is paid for. 

However, working part time has taught me invaluable lessons of becoming a responsible, aware young adult who can control how much I spend and how much I save.

As a lifeguard, I’ve worked both part time during the school year and 45-hour weeks during summertime for our local YMCA’s day camp. I learned the importance of waking up on time and the real commitment to full work days.

I have also learned life skills, like how to properly save a drowning victim or how to assess a potentially dangerous scene to understand how to respond to injuries. These lessons, though I have never needed to use them yet, have taught me how to keep myself and others safe and protected. 

My second job is babysitting.Through this job I have learned to network myself on Facebook to secure families for whom I can work. For some families, I work continuously every weekend or so; for others, it is a one-night-gig. Regardless, communicating with unfamiliar adults and becoming responsible for their children and households have instilled in me respect, alertness and sincerity when working with children. 

Both jobs have taught me invaluable lessons and helped me learn to become the person I am today. 

Furthermore, now that I have had the experience of making money that is entirely my own, I have learned greater lessons for spending and saving. 

Having the ability to purchase anything I want through my parents has led me to overspend and not give much thought to the importance of saving. Over the two years of working and receiving paychecks, I have taught myself how to both spend healthy amounts of money on things I really need and how to move funds into a separate savings account for future needs. 

I have also experienced a shift in my responsibilities now that I earn my own money. My parents look at me and treat me more like an adult, and I have greater responsibility for  paying for any monetary mistakes I make. 

For example I recently paid for car repairs for damages I caused in an accident. I also fund any non-essential purchases for myself, like makeup, clothes, shoes or trinkets. I am currently spending my own money on my upcoming Homecoming Dance: my dress, makeup and hair will all be on me. 

Though I fully recognize my privilege and understand that not all students have the good fortune of working optional jobs, these experiences have been new and eye-opening to me. Spending money of my own has taught me real monetary value and the importance of not assuming or shrugging off prices. 

Working is my choice. I wouldn’t give up my part-time occupations for more free time, like the me from three years ago may have. Yes, these jobs are my way of making a little extra spending money; but, I also have found genuine happiness in my jobs as a lifeguard and babysitter. 

Though they can be stressful, time consuming and even sometimes physically taxing, these jobs have taught me so much and have made me the well-rounded individual I am today.