As a Gen Xer from a middle class upbringing, I’d like to take this opportunity to apologize to all of the people who employed me before age 23. Confession: I am a reformed entitled worker. Although I’ve always worked, it wasn’t until reality hit me in my 20s that I really grew into my work ethic. When I was 15, I had my first job at dry cleaner’s tagging clothes. It was so hot and boring that I just HAD to quit. At 16, I was a hostess at Chili’s. I was fired by my college dropout, khaki-short-wearing manager after I came back from a weekend getaway to Venice Beach with a shiny, new nose ring. Lets just say that my nose ring was more important than my paycheck. At 17, I started working at Mrs. Field’s Bakery and came under fire for giving away too many free mochas to my friends and inventing a game that I called “baguette baseball.” My 43-year old manger, Eli, did not find it so entertaining. For most of college at NYU, I worked at a popular New York night club, where I got free drinks (even though I was only 19), made out with bad boys, and complained about not being 21. At my first internship at a record label, I was more invested in playing office pranks on my co-workers than learning anything. I sincerely thought my job was to make them laugh. Hey—my boss’ head taped to a beach ball WAS funny. Keep reading »
