My memories about being a teenager are colored in gold. Not that everything was bright and easy back then; I bet, for many people, adolescence is harsh. But I still tend to think about this period of my life with warmth and sympathy. First love, rejection and recognition, peer pressure, high school problems, juvenile ambition and idealism: those were valuable experiences which made me the person I am today. I was preoccupied and worried about a thousand things: global conspiracies, capitalistic wrongs, animal rights, whether there is God or not, why are my parents so lame, am I a good son, and whether Judy likes me as much as I like her. And one of the most overwhelming problems I remember having back then was the constant lack of money.
✅ AI Essay Writer ✅ AI Detector ✅ Plagchecker ✅ Paraphraser
✅ Summarizer ✅ Citation Generator
Not that I was materialistic: money was a symbol of freedom. Be it a date with a girlfriend, a new video game I wanted to buy, a pair of sneakers, or anything else, I needed money desperately. And, as any teenager, I could not ask my parents for it that easily: first of all, I did not want to be a freeloader (although I was–all kids are, until a certain age), and secondly, I did not want to involve my parents in things I was into. So, at some point, I realized I needed to start making my own money. Even today, I think this was one of the best decisions I ever made.
Why? Mostly because I learned there is no such thing as easy money. When you are given some, you take it easy. When you earn some, you start valuing every dollar. So, I tried a number of legal ways to earn money, and here is what I did.
I always liked to draw. I never attended any art school, and no one taught it to me, but I remember myself with a pencil in my hands since the age of four. Starting from doodles and ugly stuff, I gradually learned the basics of composition, sketching, and shading. I bought a book on anatomy for painters, and tried copying muscles, bones, and tissues from there. I learned to draw human bodies–although facial features are something I cannot draw well enough, even today. Anyways, I figured out I could earn money by drawing. Given that my surrounding consisted mostly of guys, the top things for me to draw was concept art with half-naked women or fully-armored fantasy/science-fiction warriors. Depending on the complexity of work done, I charged people up to five dollars per poster. I even participated in several contests, but I never won anything.
Another way I tried to make money was working as a courier. You have probably seen guys like me in movies: a teenager boy on an old bike throwing newspapers anywhere but where he is supposed to. Well, that was me. I did my best for several months, but I still gave up in the end. I hated it. Waking up early in the morning, getting out regardless of the weather outside, riding back and forth past barking dogs–I think I experienced all the stereotypes about delivery boys. And it did not pay well either. After this job, I tried a plethora of other ones: washing cars, working at my local grocery store, helping people clean their garages or walk their dogs, and so on. It was more fun than throwing newspapers around because I could meet new people, many of which were nice.
Another thing I did was tutoring. I was pretty good at math, so I helped younger children in the neighborhood to get on track–and their grateful parents were kind to pay me for this. And although I am sure I had little talent in teaching, I like to think I helped someone.
Anyways, there are many ways for a teenager to earn extra cash. My firm belief is that the earlier one starts doing it, the better. Working in teenage years is like a demo-version of what awaits for you in the future, and it is in your best interest to adapt to it–and obviously, such labor should be voluntary.
Follow us on Reddit for more insights and updates.
More from Reflective Essay Examples and Samples
Comments (0)
Welcome to A*Help comments!
We’re all about debate and discussion at A*Help.
We value the diverse opinions of users, so you may find points of view that you don’t agree with. And that’s cool. However, there are certain things we’re not OK with: attempts to manipulate our data in any way, for example, or the posting of discriminative, offensive, hateful, or disparaging material.