9
votes

The Girls of Summer

posted June 17, 2008 - 12:05pm
The Girls of Summer

Non-Fiction by Mia

My daughter and her teenage friends have been pounding the pavement looking for summer work but with no luck. They are still a bit too young to find anything and if they do get an interview, they are up against college students looking for summer jobs and adults who are looking for a second part-time job. Without any experience to list on the job applications and a lot of blank space on their resume, they are finding that the real world is not so welcoming of their youthful enthusiasm. Sometimes the group of girls comes back from the mall completely surprised that they weren’t scooped up by TCBY to begin work immediately!

It’s the beginning of a life lesson for her; for all of them. They don’t know the song “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” by the ever-wise Rolling Stones whereas we grew up on that advice. The youth of today seem to thrive on instant gratification, the here and now, the unwillingness to wait one second longer than is absolutely necessary.

Is it their fault? Did we train them to be this way via on-line shopping with next day delivery? Instant messaging and viral videos? The one minute or less wait-time in the fast food drive-thru for the milkshake? Hmmm…

This is why I secretly (secretly!) smile when she comes home with no job offer and sore feet. The hours she spends looking unsuccessfully for work translate in to building her character while staying grounded. And that’s a fight worth fighting my friends.

Don’t get me wrong, I want her to work and be independent, to balance schoolwork and employment, but just not right now. And since you can’t tell a teen anything they don’t want to hear, it’s nice that the universe has a way of helping out the parents by smacking the me-me-me generation right upside the head with a reality check from time to time.

So for the moment, their lofty hopes of raking in the cash have been dashed upon the golden arches. They will return to being the girls of summer (or “tha grlz uv smmr” in today’s world) who will be able to enjoy the next three months lazing around, baby-sitting here and there, reading, watching movies, instant messaging, socializing and eating junk food. I, for one, am happy that they get to do this. After all, they will have the opportunity of working for the next 50 years but don’t tell them that. Let’s let them figure that out when they’re about 25 years in to this working gig.

Ladies and gentlemen, Sir Mick….


Author: Mia Northwest
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Comments

the girls of summer volunteer?

Mia Northwest - Wed, 2008-18-6 3:57 pm
I have suggested that to them. It may need to sink in awhile now that job offers aren't pouring in. Thanks for the info bigpink! Peace, Mia NW Visit my recent posts at: http://www.xomba.com/user/mia_northwest Get paid to be a xombie! Join us here at: http://www.xomba.com/referral/77793fec Thanks!

~Peace, Mia

Getting experience on your resume...

Joseph E Howard - Wed, 2008-18-6 10:20 am
Aside from an actual paying job, one thing, which looks extremely well on a resume is volunteer work. Washington County (Oregon) has a broad spectrum of volunteer jobs, perfect for young people. Volunteer jobs offer hands-on experience and allows a young person to learn and give back to the community all at the same time. Volunteering can also open up future opportunities to real paying jobs, both, within the volunteer job field itself, and through the process of meeting others, thus, becoming future contacts. And, young people who work volunteer jobs learn a better understanding of the world around them, and, they tend to get better grades in school, and achieve higher, all the way, and beyond college. Best place to check on volunteering? Here in Washington County, a good start is by calling 211 (the United Way Help Line -- serves Washington and Multnomah Counties, Oregon and Clark County, Washington) In other areas of the country, the United Way is listed in the White Pages, and seems to be in a way the clearing house for volunteering. ________________ It does matter what you believe, but, what you believe does not matter if you do not act upon your beliefs. you can not vote on the truth --Pope John Paul II, 1995

 Visit: "Along The Merry Way..." - Good Reading Every Day  

 

I agree silentlyscreaming

Mia Northwest - Tue, 2008-17-6 4:02 pm
and I want to thank you for sharing your story with us. I know that we are who we are today because of how our character was built growing up! Peace, Mia NW Visit my recent posts at: http://www.xomba.com/user/mia_northwest Get paid to be a xombie! Join us here at: http://www.xomba.com/referral/77793fec Thanks!

~Peace, Mia

Let Kids Be Kids!

silentlyscreaming - Tue, 2008-17-6 1:46 pm
The enthusiasim of youth. What I wouldn't give to have just an iota of that back! I've worked pretty much non-stop since I was 15 years old. I would love to have had one last summer to just veg out and be a kid. It was a case of necessity on my part as far as working went. If I wanted to have clothes for school in the fall or go out with friends at all, I had to work. At that point in my life we had gone from being upper middle class to receiving welfare. It was a point when the nuclear energy industry was restructuring, plants were shutting down, etc. After 15+ years in the industry my dad found himself out of work and faced a bias that I had never given any thought to at that point in my young life. Ageism. He was in his early fifties and companies that he had the experience for weren't hiring. Why invest in him when he'd be gone from the job market in a few short years? Other places wouldn't hire him because he was too experienced and they couldn't pay him what he was used to making. Their reasoning was as soon as something that pays even a dollar more on the hour comes along, he'd be gone. He finally did find a job making about $8 an hour. This was the early 90's so $8 an hour was better than $8 an hour by todays standards, but when raising a family, paying bills and trying to pay medical bills, well, we all know it wasn't that great. My mother was bedridden after an accident, so that left me having to work. You're right, you may not always get what you want, but you can usually manage to get what you need. Everyone needs that last summer to just be a kid. That summer where you hang out with friends and get to enjoy being young before the ensuing pressures of adulthood come knocking and in this day and age it seems to come earlier and earlier.

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