After a five-day week of school, the weekend is what I look forward to most. I get to finally relax and have time to hang out with my friends and go places like the movies or the mall or something.

Oh wait… That’s not how my weekends go.

My weekends consist of working at Six Flags from 10:15 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Even though work takes time away from my social life, I honestly love having a job.

At Six Flags, I work in the games scattered all throughout the park. I love talking to every guest and joking around with them on the microphone. “Hey, you on the pink shirt. I know you want to play this game!” Knowing that I made their experience at Six Flags more fun for them makes me feel good about myself.

A job is a responsibility that teenagers should have. Work helps us to become more mature and responsible. I started working the weekend school let out at the start of summer break. I worked four days a week at least.

A job is something that makes a person wake up early in the morning in order to get there on time because we know that our bosses and coworkers are depending on us.

Getting a job at 15 years old shows that I can somewhat handle the real world because in the real world, if I show up three hours late to work, I’ll probably get fired.

Sure I have to be at school on time, but the punishment if I do show up late is going to be way less severe.

When I started working, I thought about what life would be like if I didn’t have my mom supporting me. (I don’t buy groceries and clothes and everything for myself. All of those things are paid with my mom’s money that she has to work for.)

The thought motivated me to work more because once I’m 18, I’ll be on my own. I’ll be in college, and I won’t have my mother to pay for my things anymore. I mean sure, she’s paying for me to go to college but… I’ll have to take care of myself and be responsible about my expenses.

Yet, earning my own money comes with it’s own price.

I’m a teenager. I love to sleep, but I can’t do that on weekend mornings.

Waking up for work in the morning on a Saturday is one of the hardest things I have to do on weekends.

Knowing I have the option to stay in bed and sleep instead of getting up isn’t fun at all… But I do it anyway. I get up and go to work every single morning on weekends when I could be hanging out with my friends.

Not only does it make me feel good to work and earn my own money, but it makes my mother so proud to know that her daughter can take responsibility for a job of her own.

My mother loves to drive me to work in the mornings. She takes comfort in the fact that I’m already taking on a small part of the real world.

My job makes me a better person… and it really makes me appreciate my mother. I can’t imagine giving away $20 every time I was asked for it. I worked for that money!