By John Kenneth Macantan, Courier Staff Writer
With eight hours of school, eight hours of work, and eight hours of sleep, how do students student manage their busy schedule?
When reaching the age of 16, students are eligible to work for under 48 hours a week while juggling their schedule around their work. Even at an early age, students of James Logan High School already find themselves working for minimum wage, exposing themselves to a taste of adulthood. As student Daniel Tulao would put it, “I just wanna be able to use my own money and not have to rely on my parents to pay for me.”
For many seniors, money can be something to stress about, with Grad Night, graduation gowns, senior portraits, and more. Andre Perez, another student at James Logan, states, “I have to work just in order to pay for grad night and senior portraits.”
While some may argue against teens for working at such a young age and bringing extra stress upon themselves, there are those who feel that they have to keep working in order to financially support their parents and themselves.
James Logan High School has a population of about 4000 students coming in from different backgrounds. Some live in a gated community, others in poverty, and some are just in the middle. A student who wished to keep himself anonymous remarked, “I’ve been working since senior year, and since then I’ve been supporting my dad as well as my siblings.”
While many of us enjoy the our after-school time mainly in the comfort of your home, we must always remember that there are always many others who are not as privileged and lucky to live such lifestyles. We must understand the motivation behind working young, since money and food are not always granted in life.
