Get a Job

Working solely from anecdotal evidence, I've come to understand that people who work hate people who don't. Likely, it's a combination of lack of understanding and jealousy that breeds this distaste. When someone asks you if you work and you say "no," several other questions pop up: how are you making money? Who is taking care of you? What are you doing with your life that you feel you don't have to work? Then, when you tell them whatever circumstance you're in, their reply usually adds up to "figures."

I've had two jobs throughout my life, and neither of them were good ones. First, I worked at the Omaha Henry Doorly Zoo, which everyone except some employees will tell you is a wonderful place to be in. Specifically, I worked at the food stand next to the Sea Lions Exhibit. I'd cook hot dogs -- I was one of three people out of eight that was old enough at the time to cook there -- popcorn, and the like. I don't want to get too whiny about my responsibilities there, but to put it succinctly, there was a lot of walking and a lot of fake-smiling.

In the three months I worked there, I didn't really get the respect I thought I'd get from working there. See, I had several tasks around my house that were given to me purely because I didn't work. I didn't think that after I actually did get a job, I'd still have to do them. A new family member didn't come along and start doing those chores instead, so the responsibility came back around to me. When I quit, it was back to "You don't work, so you have to do this." Which is fair, quite frankly. It's the fact that having a job didn't do much for me that irked me. This happened for the year I worked at Burger King as well.

The other side of this is a monetary one. Because they spent their time doing something they'd rather not be doing to get it, people assume their money is worth more. I get most of my income from scholarships right now. Not a lot, but enough to get me through a semester living in a place where I don't pay rent. But though I did put in the effort to earn the grades, do the paper and legwork, and interview for those scholarships, people see that income as easy money. Which it kind of is. But I still earned it. It doesn't make the fact that you had to clock hours at a place you hate suck any less, but it doesn't make me a slacker. I do quite a bit of work without pay.

But I should still probably get job soon. That way I continue this cycle of condescension.