High school life is full of exciting responsibilities and new opportunities. One of the most important of these is getting your first job. Choosing the right job can make the difference between the time of your life or a complete nightmare. While their are many different job opportunities for high school students there are a few businesses that are very well know for sucking the life out of our St. Dominic students. Texas Road House, Smoothie King and Rock n’ Jump are some of the most popular workplaces for our Crusaders.

Having a job in high school has its ups and downs. The physical and mental exhaustion that often comes with starting a job, as well as the stress of learning new skills, can be difficult to handle. However, mistakes and mishaps on the job can teach you valuable lessons and give you some hilarious stories to tell your friends.

“I was taking out the trash one night and the raccoon that always chills around the dumpsters, I think his name is Xavier, came out and ran around my feet. I screamed and ran back inside,” said senior Alex Slaid, Texas Roadhouse employee.

“One time I was monitoring the dodgeball court on jump patrol and these two kids got in a fist fight, but one of them was probably like seven and the other was like thirteen. So then the parents started yelling at me and I just got really stressed out so I just kicked both of the kids out of the park with some help from my manager. It was terrible in the moment, but it’s a pretty cool story now,” said senior Teresa Enloe, Rock n’ Jump employee.

“A costumer told me I was horrible at my job and that I shouldn’t be ever allowed in a workplace because I sat the person who made a call ahead before him (the guy who just walked in),” said senior Ellee Rogers, Texas Roadhouse employee.

“I forgot to put the lid on the blender when I was making a smoothie and the smoothie shot up everywhere,” said junior Leah Pagano, Smoothie King employee.

While taking on a new job has its stressful and sometimes traumatic moments, it’s not all bad. For one, you get to earn money. It’s always nice to have some extra money to spend on gas, eating out or other activities. You also have the opportunity to learns lots of new skills that will benefit you after high school.

“Being able to communicate with others is a skill you should be able to take with you everywhere you go, especially as you get older. Working in the restaurant business teaches you all about that and more,” said Slaid.

“Working at Texas Road House has brought me out of my comfort zone and made me more confident through talking to a whole new group of people my age and talking to strangers so frequently,” said Rogers.

Work is also a great place to make new friends. While your coworkers aren’t always your favorite people to be around, it’s worth making an effort to get along with everyone in order to make your job somewhat enjoyable and make work go more smoothly. Whether you’re there to make friends or there just to make money, you’re guaranteed to have some great memories with your coworkers, regardless of who you work with.

“The group of people are all just really great and I’ve been able to become better friends with some of them through it. It gets me the opportunity to talk to people I usually wouldn’t be able to talk to and get to know them,” said Rogers.

“The best experience I’ve has working here was I was scooping butter in the back with one of my coworkers and a Spanish song we recently learned in Mrs. Guzman’s class came on and I shouted nearly every word. All the Spanish-speaking kitchen guys were in shock,” said Slaid.

It’s clear that having a job in high school has its drawbacks, but when it comes down to it, starting work as a teenager is a solid choice. A job is a great way to earn money, learn important new skills and make great memories that will last a lifetime.