Growing up I knew that money can’t be earned easily. You need to consistently work hard to get it. That’s why I get a bit frustrated with people who are well off and don’t appreciate what they have, that they don’t need to exert extra effort just to get what they want. Most kids nowadays feel entitled that everything should go there way and in some cases turns to violence if their wishes aren’t granted. Thankfully I wasn’t raised like this. We weren’t poor, but we weren’t rich either. I wanted to be independent and maybe one of the reasons why was because I was adopted. I hated the fact that I had to keep relying on someone else so I’ve tried a lot of things including odd jobs in order to earn money at a young age and somehow help them as well.
1. Sold popcorn and drinks at school events
We knew someone who was a food concessionaire at school events and was looking for other staff to work for them. The first day of my shift was exhausting but I was excited to learn new things like how to use the popcorn machine same as the ones you see at movie theaters. When I got home, I immediately fell asleep. My sister even joked about how tired I was on my first official job.
This continued for a few months whenever there’s a school event. I woke up at 5am during those days because I need to be there to set the booth up before students came in. We’d pack up around 6pm and I’d be home by 8pm. That was my routine. I earned around Php300.00 to Php350.00 ($5.80-$6.77) per day. I’d even buy some groceries that we need at home from time to time using the money I earned.
2. Made written copies of certain laws for law students
My sister was studying at one of the most prestigious law schools in the Philippines during that time. They had a project where they needed to write a copy of certain laws, maybe to help them memorize it to be submitted in a couple of days. Since they didn’t have the time with all the studying they had to do, they looked for someone capable of doing the notes for them. My sister informed me about it and I agreed. Thankfully, there were only three people who availed my services, because if there were more, I wouldn’t have finished it on time.
I remember spending the last 2 days up all night without power naps because I knew that if I slept I wouldn’t be able to finish it. The only time got up from my chair and left the laptop is if I had to eat or use the bathroom. I even asked one of my best friends for extra help during the last day. Of course, I had to share some of the profit. When it was done, I slept for 16 hours straight. When I got the payment, I gave my sister a part of it as payment for using her laptop and for the electricity bill, then some for my best friend.
3. Became a marshall for a school’s racing event
There was an amazing race event at my sister’s school. They needed more people to act as marshalls for each team. Since they said they needed 1 more, I asked one of my classmates to join me. Unfortunately, I suddenly had diarrhea during the event. I couldn’t back out and had to endure the urge the whole time. But I did my job nonetheless and the team I was assigned to got in the top 3. It’s a good thing I was able to suppress it or it would have been a mess – literally and figuratively speaking. Yikes!
These were just a few of the odd jobs I did in my attempt to earn my own money. Even though it wasn’t easy and there were some epic moments, I’m glad I was able to experience it. Along with the experience it brought me, I also learned other things as well.
1. Discipline
Having discipline is very important, not just in your personal life, but professionally as well. If I didn’t apply discipline, I wouldn’t have been able to wake up at 5 in the morning during my duty just so I can get there and set the booth up before the students came in. I wouldn’t have been able to finish the project if I decided to slack off a bit. Discipline is definitely something that everyone should have and practice.
2. Perseverance
If you want to have something, you need to have the determination to get it. The journey to success is never an easy one, even the richest men on earth faced difficulties. My resilient determination to be able to provide for myself was what pushed me to stay up just so I could finish writing those notes or reach the end of the line for that racing event even though I had a stomach ache. Your goals in life will be able to help you persevere.
Whatever we do in life, no matter how odd it is will teach us life lessons. So make sure you’ll make the most out of it.
So what odd jobs have you tried and the lessons you’ve learned from it?
