I’ve worked at a local restaurant in my hometown for about 2 years now. I originally started working there over the summer, just an extra source of cash while I was home from school on summer break. But seeing that I go to college only 20 minutes from home, I ended up keeping my Sunday night shift when I went back to school. This was my second job at the time, as I was already teaching dancing classes once a week while at school. It was great for a while; the money I made covered my groceries, gas and coffee for the week. But about a year in, I got a yearlong internship which took up 20 hours a week of hybrid work.
I maintained the three job, full time student lifestyle for almost the entirety of my junior year. But I’ve realized that it’s become too much for me. It’s not that I can’t successfully manage my time- I did it for a full school year. Instead, it’s the fact that I find myself not having time for me. I don’t have one day of the week where I can just rot in bed and watch Netflix if I want to. I find myself not fully enjoying the weekends out with my friends because I know I have to get up early and work the next morning. And going into my senior year after this summer, I know that these were things I want for myself. So, I had to cut back.
Quitting the restaurant was the obvious choice. I just signed my return offer for my internship, which I’m hoping will turn into a full-time job after I graduate. And dance- after retiring from competing when I graduated high school, I turned to teaching to keep me connected to the sport that had been a part of my life for 15 years. Giving that up would not only be hard on me, but also on the kids who I’m excited to see every week. And though the restaurant certainly paid more than dance, I knew what choice I had to make.
Last week, I put in my two weeks. And let me tell you, it was not well received. It was a hard conversation to have, and there were certainly some hard feelings conveyed during the conversation. But I know that I made the right choice.
The moral of the story: put yourself first. The right choice for you will not be the right choice for everyone. Most times, your choice might seem silly or illogical to others. In the eyes of my boss, it didn’t make sense that I was quitting this job when it did give me a good chunk of money every week. But money wasn’t the basis of my decision; it was time. In cases like these, you don’t have to share your reasoning. This is especially true as you enter the real world and have to make these hard decisions. Instead of explaining yourself, stand behind your decision and tune out the outside noise.