As I sat in 2nd block the other morning, still half asleep, I absentmindedly tuned into the conversation next to me, in which a boy was explaining that he couldn’t participate in track this season because of his job. Apparently, the teacher was also listening in on the conversation, because she piped in with “I just don’t see the point in teenagers having jobs!” This handful of words stirred the sleepy students of the class more than the bagel call in seminar. Immediately, protests began to fly from every corner of the classroom, and my once peaceful 2nd block was peaceful no more.

It seems as though many adults think that a teenager in the job market is pointless. After all, we’re just kids, what could we possibly have to buy that would require a weekly paycheck, right? Unfortunately, the teens of today do not live in a time where ten bucks can fill up a gas tank, buy dinner, and still leave a little pocket change. The value of the dollar has seriously decreased over the years, and for some of us, the invention of McDonald’s Dollar Menu isn’t enough to save us from bankruptcy.

Assume a teenager has no job, and is given a weekly allowance of thirty dollars. On his way to school Monday, he puts a half tank of gas in his tank: $15. Once at school, lunchtime rolls around, and he buys a Vitamin Water and a bagel: $2. The next night, he takes his girlfriend out to Coney for dinner: $12. Now, for all of the mathematically challenged (myself included), that’s $29 before the week even gets started. This hypothetical teenager is not handling his money irresponsibly; he’s simply leading a normal life. Still, some adults argue the alternatives to pocket a little extra cash: taking the bus, or brown bagging it for lunch. But why should we? Most teens would prefer to just work a few days a week and live a little bit more comfortably.

Besides the comfort factor, teenagers have recently become much more independent than the parent moochers of the past. Many of us now enjoy paying for our own things such as cell phone bills, clothes and food, and even, the big one, our college educations—things that would not be possible without a steady income. With this independence also comes a sense of responsibility and work ethic, preparing us for our futures in the job market.

Times have changed. When our parent’s generation were teenagers, jobs may not have been completely necessary. However, it’s now the year 2007, and in today’s society where everything costs an arm and a leg, I just don’t see how a jobless teenager could get by without losing all of their limbs.