Yesterday, at work one of my co-workers showed me her one year anniversary pin she had received for working at Old Navy for a year. She was all excited and rightfully so, then it hit me that I will be celebrating my one year of working for Gap Inc. at Old Navy in November and I can’t wait. Sure, all you get from the company is a shiny silver pin that says 1 year of service that you can put on your name tag and a card that says congratulations with your name on it, but it’s so much more than that…it’s a year of great times with some pretty cool co-workers as well as a personal feat of being able to hold a job for an entire year!

I’ve come to realize as I’ve gotten older that having a job and access to money is a necessity, not an option and something we can’t live without. I’ve also realized how important it is to save a proportion of your earnings because you’ll never know when you’ll be hit with an emergenacy that calls for back up funds or if you want to splurge alittle on yourself. Not only that, I’ve realized how much I’ve grown personally and how far I’ve come from being a lazy high school teenager who didn’t give a rats ass about working to feeling bad if I call out of work because I know I’m letting someone else down, someone that depends on me to be there.

And when I sit down to pay what little bills I do have because I still live at home, I wonder how the people who are too lazy to lift a finger and don’t have jobs - those who should be working - really feel about themselves…I know I would feel awful if I had to depend on everyone else to take care of me, whether it’s paying bills or lending money.  I know seeing my paychecks deposited into my bank account every two weeks is exciting because I know I worked hard for my money and I earned the things I am able to buy for myself, even if those things are few and far between. It also makes me feel great to know that I can take care of the responsibilities I do have even if it’s only $70/month ($462 over six months) for car insurance and $104/month for access to the Internet and cable TV. And while, I haven’t splurged on myself with my earnings because I’m a very frugal spender I have been able to buy clothes and items I’ve needed when I’ve wanted too…I don’t have to ask my mom to purchase the small stuff anymore, and that’s a good feeling.

However, with classes starting up next month and finally attending a larger university and being able to live on my own in a one bedroom apartment where I’ll be responsible for every last bill known to man when it comes to living on your own, saving has become more important than ever and I’m a bit worried. I’ll be able to transfer my current position with Old Navy (ON) to ON in Lawrence (if I go to KU; KS) but with being a full time student who will be taking between 12-15 credits (4 to 5 classes) it’ll be more difficult for me to work.

Currently, I work part time which is what I’ve been working since hired and average about 25 hours a week with 2 days off, it’s been a bit more because it’s summer time and my availability is wide open but when classes start it’ll change drastically. Hopefully, I’ll be able to find a good deal on an apartment which will be paid for using reimbursed tuition money that originally would have gone to on-campus housing. I’m just worried about the extras - Internet/cable, any utilities that aren’t paid for by the apartment, food, etc. - because I won’t be able to work as much and school comes first. Hopefully though, it’ll all work out for the better and I won’t have to stress out about money and whether or not, I can completely afford it which I want to be able to do on my own without any help, I know that my mom will always be there to help me in the littlest ways.

With that being said, don’t be alarmed should you start seeing random links about simple project management software- it’s only temporary (this blog will not become a bunch of spam!) and a means to make a little extra saving money for a college student who will soon be poor…okay, not poor but you get what I’m saying I look forward to this next chapter in life, even though I’m absolutely scared out of my mind and filled with anxiety at this point which will only get worse when I finalize my decision but like I tell my friends - keep your head up and have faith because things will work themselves out for the better, and everything happens for a reason!

Tags: Classes, College, Money, School, Work

This entry was posted on Saturday, July 19th, 2008 at 2:49 am and is filed under Job, Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.