Quantcast
Channel: Chicz Magazine » Single Chicz
Viewing all articles
Browse latest Browse all 3

Single Chicz: Living paycheck by paycheck

$
0
0

wallet57283840By Annie Harman

When you’re about to graduate high school, the only thing you see on your horizon is the shiny lure that is college. It delectably dangles in front of you dreams of independence.
Then college comes to an end and the only thing you’re looking at is the deep, dark tunnel of the real world.
I couldn’t wait to be out on my own after college. I was tired of putting “Student” down as my occupation and was ready to go out there and make some real money. In college I felt like I was always bouncing from paycheck to paycheck to make ends meet. I barely ever had any extra cash to spend on going out or treats for myself. It was all so frustrating!
Little did I know what living paycheck to paycheck really meant.
Now that I’m an independent, out-of-college 20-something, the reality of life has certainly done a bang up job of slapping me in the face with bills and responsibilities.
In college, I was scraping pennies to go out on Friday night. Now? I’m searching under my couch cushions to find spare change so that I’ll have clean clothes to wear to work on Monday.
I thought I was long past my days of living paycheck to paycheck, desperately trying to keep my head above water. But I was very, very wrong. This new reality I am living in is like nothing I ever imagined. Not only am I clinging to payday as my last lifeline, but there are times I actually have to decide which late fee I wouldn’t mind paying that month.
When it comes down to it, it’s just not easy being a college graduate in today’s world. I have many peers that either stay in school as long as possible or have returned to school, simply because they can’t handle the overload of bills that their entry-level job is supposed to provide for.
Going back to school isn’t an option for me. It’s not that I didn’t love school while I was in it, but it was definitely a chapter of my life that I was ready to close.
Instead of going back to school to further defer my student loans, I decided to suck it up and get a part time job. Now when I clock out from my real world job I step behind the bar and pour cocktails and listen to the daily grind from my patrons. It may not be the most ideal life, but it’s helping me make ends meet.
On the bright side, I can happily say I am doing what I love. I have a career I’ve always wanted and a part time job that allows me to be social and meet new people. I may be making peanuts, I can’t help feeling that I’m still living the dream.

Annie Harman of Alexandria is a free-spirited writer who believes in dreams, laughing and champagne.


Viewing all articles
Browse latest Browse all 3

Trending Articles