I'm 21, going on my 4th year of college, have my own house at the University of Maryland, get my gas paid for, and can pretty much go home anytime I want to get groceries, or anything else I might need. Feel sorry for me? I wouldn't. I kind of live the life any college student might want. So how in the world did I get an overdose on reality you might ask? Well.. it all started when I got home after a week in the Bahamas (I know, poor me)..
After having struggled (OK, well not really struggled) with the decision to stop going to school and find a job and live my life from there, I found a job as a marketing intern with a media company, working as a 'Rush Rookie' with an obstacle race. Kind of a perfect job for me. I use to study marketing, work well with people, am in the fire department (it's a firefighter themed race) and get to work with my best friend everyday, my cousin, Nick (you will learn much more about him later).
So I figured, this is gonna be great. I'm going to get paid to do something I will most likely enjoy, not have to go to school and figure out my life from there. Well, yes and no. I LOVE my job. I will shout it from the rooftops and tell everyone that asks me. It is the best job I have ever had. I love the people I work with (like my co-rookie Jess, who also has a blog, Here, you must check it out). We have so much fun bantering back in forth about what should we say to this person and check out this email, "this person is so rude!" to laughing at all the weird things other people say and do. And then theres the dreaded phone calls, which I found out I suck at because I sound like a freaking operator. But at the end of the day we laugh because most people, that aren't us, are so awkward on the phone. Like who answers the phone with a "hi"...? Maybe you can tell me your name? Or make sure I'm calling the right company? I'm not a mind reader.
But you know whats really hard?! Getting up at 8AM every morning! Oh my god that is the worst. Most of you fellow workers are probably thinking, "are you serious? That is late." Yea, well I'm not much of a morning person. I'm more of the 'get away from me before I stab you' person when I first wake up. That alarm on my phone goes off and I literally want to throw it across the room and crawl farther under my covers. When I finally do get up, it gets way easier. I can kind of move around and make progress. I sometimes make breakfast and then make lunch, because to buy a lunch for a day.. at least 10 freaking dollars!! I feel like I would just benefit by opening my own 'lunchery' and charge everyone insane amounts of money for food they could have bought for a third of the price at the grocery store. So I try to pack my lunch everyday. That is also hard. Because I never know what I'm gonna be in the mood for. And if you know me.. You know I love to eat. My desk could be a grocery store of it's own. I literally have everything you could want to snack on all day next to my computer. Cheez-its (low fat of course), 100 calorie snack packs, pop tarts, organic chocolate covered ginger and banana pieces (which are kind of disgusting), and my newest addition chocolate covered edamame.. Which I might add are pretty freaking delicious. As weird as that sounds, and they are healthy! Win-win.
As I said before that lunch is expensive, well food in general costs money, and it's not cheap when you want to buy unprocessed, healthy food because your sitting at a desk all day, inactive, staring at a computer and you don't want to become more of a fat ass than you already are! Now that I'm working, I have to pretty much buy my own stuff (with the exception of telling my mom I'm starving and broke and I NEED that.. Whatever 'that' may be). My friends would probably tell you I have expensive taste. And that I may have a slight shopping addiction. I just can't help it! I love pretty things. So it's been a big change having to pay for groceries along with all my other debts to pay off.
And what other debts can a 21 (well almost 22!) year old have?? Nordstrom. Best place in the entire world. Worst place to get a credit card. Whenever I need something, and don't have money, I just buy it at Nordstrom. However, there is the issue of it being 5 times more expensive then anywhere else. Need a dog bed? Yea I bought it at Nordstrom. But it was faux mink, huge and only $75 dollars! Plus Mason (my adopted rottweiler/shepherd mix) loves it! He also has the matching blanket. So now $600 dollars in debt later (and hey, Ive paid a lot off so far) I am trying to pay it off as much as I can at a time. But getting those Nordstrom emails does not help! So much I want to buy, so little pay check!
Bills. Bills. And more bills. Yes, I have to split the bills with my 4 other roommates and sometimes that can get difficult. Especially if I have bought too much that week before. And it doesn't make it any easier that the one roommate who collects the money and pays the bills is never here (she's a bit of a flake) and we have to make sure to pay up before she leaves for days at a time. I will talk more about my roommates at a later date, but that is a very extensive conversation and I do not want to overwhelm you more than I have.
So for now, I am working, paying bills and trying to buy other things I enjoy.. basically living my reality. Everyday is a new adventure. And I'm curious about what tomorrow might bring. Oh did I mention it's a 3 day weekend?! Bring it on Presidents day!
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