Dolly Parton, a very powerful woman once sang, “Working 9 to 5 what a way to make a livin’/ barely gettin’ by/ it’s all takin’ and no givin’.” As many children grow older, there are songs about getting “your money up,” being “Miss Independent,” etc., but in reality, it isn’t always that easy for everyone to be able to do that. Working in high school can teach kids to balance school work and activities but also teach them the importance of money and ways to spend it. In some circumstances, some students have to work more than one job to get by or just to even keep them active. 

     Makayla Backous, junior, works at The Freeze, a daycare center, and is about to start her third job as well. On top of the work she does outside of school, she is also involved in soccer, show choir, jazz choir, the musical, Green Bandana, and LFS (Leadership for Five Seasons). She works around 20-25 hours a week, and while between soccer and the musical, she’s practicing around 19 hours a week. Being in a variety of activities keeps her quite busy, and she said, “It’s not that hard balancing everything; you just have to get used to it.” One of her main reasons for working so much is to be able to financially support herself as well. It shows a lot in her character as a student at the high school being involved in great things and also being able to be there for herself. Backous said she doesn’t suggest having two or more jobs because it can get stressful at times, but doing the activities she likes can help ease the stress. Balancing school, friendships, and work can be hard, but focusing on oneself can help that out.

     Not everyone gets a job because they are in need of money, some people just do it to keep themselves busy or like to have some extra cash for spending on wants. Jade Redmond, junior, currently has two workplaces, The Freeze and Crumbl, and in the summer, she’ll have three jobs with nannying. Redmond is also involved a lot at the high school with soccer, volleyball, NHS, Green Bandana, and Take Charge. She works around 12 hours a week when sports and her school load is heavy, but that’s all the time she usually has. Her reasoning for getting more than one job was to have a little extra cash for spending money. Redmond said, “I have a spending problem, and my parents told me I have to start buying my own stuff.” 

     Working two jobs has its pros and cons because some work just to get by, but some work to have a little extra cash on the side. They are perspectives that are very different from each other but both are very valuable to understand.