Losing the "it's a Job" Mentality

I am currently in college and am very well aware that until the day I graduate, which will be forever because I still have graduate school, I will be stuck with unappealing jobs. But do I really have to? I mean, do I really have to work someplace that drains every last bit of joy out my heart, or are there options?

Last semester I finally decided on making my primary major history. At first I was majoring in psychology because I had heard the salary was high and although I was interested in it, I didn't love it. Especially with the economy in the shape that it was, and still is, I was more concerned about the salary I would be making rather than whether or not I would be happy in a career that I would not only be stuck with for a few decades, but also would be paying enough to by a small home just to get a PhD for it! So I changed to history when I realized that I not only loved it, but wanted more than anything to be a college professor of it! This is a huge gamble because graduate school for history is extremely competitive, not to even mention getting a job as a professor! But I am more concerned about be satisfied with and proud of the work I do, and I am willing to wait however long it takes in order to achieve that!

As of now I am a server at a residential apartment building for retirees. Although I love the people that live there, most of my co-workers are teenagers or just beginning college (so all younger than me) and don't take the job quite as seriously as I do; the managers, at least the ones in charge, give a whole new meaning to "bad management." The cooks, with the exception of one, go on power trips and are disrespectful and don't seem to care so much about the food as they do "getting out of there." One reason I am unhappy, besides the fact I have to work Christmas and fight with a bunch of high schoolers for time off for my college classes, is because of the fact that I have fallen in love with the residents and have become quite doting towards them. I do care if they get what they need; I do care if they are treated with dignity; I do care that they are not only fed but fed well, and it seems that I am the only one who cares. It also doesn't help that my grandma's living here and that I have to listen to her complain about things that I would change in an instant if I could.

It is inevitable that when going into a job you're bound to run across one or two people with bad work ethic, and also maybe some managers who aren't doing what they're supposed to be, but those people are generally the minority and are not working with the elderly! My dad keeps telling me, "At least you have a job! A job is a job!" For some people, yes. It's a job. But in my case, I was so excited to get out of high school almost three years ago and I am not about to be told that I have to do something that makes me unhappy. Don't get me wrong, I want to work and maintain some sort of autonomy! But I will not do so while having to work around band camp and cheer squad practice when I have finals the same week, and I will not do so if I am not only unhappy, but miserable!

I urge young people my age (20) or around my age to do what you love, not what you feel you need to. When it comes to determining your life and the journey through it, that should be up to you and your aspirations, not according to what your parents, friends, or even the economy say you should do! So what if computer tech stuff gets you an instant job and income? If you hate it, don't do it! If your in my situation where you feel trapped in a bad part-time job, there are options! The job market may be crappy, but it's not destitute of positions and not all of them are in factories or McDonald's! If you want it, make it happen! When it comes to your life, especially in a country like America aka "the land of opportunity," you should do what makes you happy!