From a really early age I worked to earn money.  My first jobs were car waxing, lawn care, and paper routes.  I did those things in middle school.  When I lived in the house above and turned 14, I qualified for a motorcycle license and could then work further from home.  Incidentally, I now think it is very unwise for a 14 year old boy to have a motorcycle license!  Street cycle danger exacerbated by a dose of teenage recklessness is a flirtation with the grim reaper!

My first restaurant job was as a bus boy at a restaurant called "Johnnie's."  I also worked at a "Schlotzsky's" during my couple of years living in this home.  Concurrently, I threw newspapers in the wee hours of the morning, before school.

There are definitely pros and cons to young people throwing newspapers before school (yea---I know---that is so 20th century), working at restaurants late into the night, and otherwise joining the workforce before completing high school.  Responsibility can be developed.  Skills can be learned.  Family budgets can be helped.  An appreciation for personal budgeting and the effort it takes to earn money can be gained.  These and other benefits may outweigh the cons.  I personally remain unsure.

Two cons bother me in particular:

1) School is the most important job people under 18 years old have.  In my mind, school should be priority number one.  I was always tired as a teenager.  Too many of my hours were spent working jobs other than my most important one---> getting a good education.  I slept through classes, rarely did my homework, and otherwise spent much more energy on jobs outside of school than on the job of getting a good education.

2) Some of the least savory individuals I've met in my life worked in these jobs.  There were, of course, many good people too.  Nonetheless, there were too many real counter-examples to success and healthy life habits!  Teenagers are impressionable.  They are often thankfully ignorant of the seedier aspects of life.  Give them a minimum wage job with a vehicle and an excuse to be away from home way after dark and they will receive a crash course in vice...often corrupting adult vice. 

I'm torn about publishing this because later on in high school I was lucky enough to get some more "professional" jobs that were very good experience for the enterprising young person I was.  That is a story for another day. 

Yet, still to this day, I have a heavy education loan burden due at least in part to my lack of focus on the real job of the teenage years----> a focus on getting educated and excelling in school. 

For me personally, both the pros and the cons were more numerous than I've suggested here.  What do you think?  Should teenagers work before finishing high school?  Is school their most important job?  Should it be their only job?  Or, should we just be more selective about which jobs (and what hours) we allow them to work?

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Riding Stats: Day 84 & 85---Preparation for the next leg of the journey.  Day 86---232.5 miles traveled, 4 hours and 19 minutes of moving time, 1 hour and 12 minutes of stopped time, 53.7 miles per hour average moving time, 42 miles per hour overall average, and a max speed of 78.7 miles per hour.