The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
~Quill Editorial~
by Mitch Worley, Hancock County Quill
If there's one thing in life that I've learned in my twenty-plus years of living, it's not to burn yourself out.
The summer months tend to accompany that sentiment, but for whatever reason, some people can't relax and live the dream, if only for a week.
Upon leaving Lincoln Christian College last year, I found myself back in the real world, paying bills again, yet was unemployed. Luckily, I stumbled upon an awesome job as a radio personality and sports commentator for one of my favorite stations, but the downside was I didn't have a degree yet in broadcasting. Being an unskilled laborer was not a good thing at all, starting out and ending my tenure with a minimum wage rate of pay and limited part-time hours.
After squeaking by for a month or two at the radio station, I tried my hand as a full-time security guard in conjunction with the radio gig, working for minimum wage there as well.
I thought I needed more money to live off of after I found I couldn't support my former lifestyle of spending my money like it was going out of style on stupid things I didn't need.
Needless to say, the next eight months of my life was a living nightmare, leaving me out of the social loop, isolated in a sleep-deprived world with no light at the end of the tunnel.
The truth is, we're all too dependent upon a certain commodity that isn't gas: it's money. It is the root of all evil. I say that in a joking fashion, yet semi-seriously.
Some things are out of our control, but our happiness doesn't have to be. Rather than spending your paid vacation days from work on more work around the house or at another job to get more money, adjust your lifestyle to save some money, even if it cuts in to the lifestyle you've been accustom to.
In hindsight, I could have gotten by easily on one job and not worked myself to death for a year if I would have realized that I could live without owning every brand new Playstation 3 game, or cool new gadget that ate away two-thirds of my paycheck. There was no point in working two jobs just to have the cool new thing first, just to look like I had it all because I had no time to use it.
The real fun in life was spending time with my friends and family, doing things I love to do like play catch, go to Bees games, or just sit around and watch some television.
Undoubtedly, there is no monetary value for time or fun, so learn from my idiocy: do without the frills, save up, and live it up.