I left school at 2:02 p.m. last Wednesday. Three different public buses, a plethora of transfers back and forth, a few less-than-pleasant seat partners, and a pair of very sore feet later, I found myself in the beloved Century 16, asking the girl behind the desk about open interviews that were being held that day.

I was applying for my first job!

I even skipped the gym so that I wouldn’t be red and sweaty when I arrived. I was handed a clipboard and asked to fill out what the employers called an “app-li-ca-tion?” Pretty basic stuff, I suppose.

Where do you attend school? Foothill. {sidebar id=65}

What times are you available to work? Always.

Have you ever been convicted of a felony? I…um…no?

I returned the forms and spoke with someone I assume was one of the supervisors. He gave me a rundown of the job descriptions, to which I hardly batted an eyelash. When you live in a house full of screaming children day and night, nothing really makes you nervous anymore. I made sure to shake his hand before I left, and once again thanked him for his time.

I felt a sense of accomplishment as I boarded the bus back home that day. I put on my big girl pants and did what I needed to do. Granted, I was totally worried that they’d take one look at me and ask me to just leave the building.

I can really only hope for the best at this point. There’s no way of knowing if I’m even up for consideration. I’m still in high school, I’m broke, and I don’t have a car. Definitely not the best qualifications.

The competition didn’t make me feel any better. Among the expected teenagers were several… adults? Like, real live adults. Applying to work at a…movie theater?

I can’t help but wonder if the 30-something that was behind me in line would get the job, considering that they probably had a much better resume than I, as well as firsthand experience.

This case is similar to a lot of jobs today. Thirty years ago, there probably would’ve been an 18-year-old working behind the counter at Circle K. Today, that now 48-year-old, may have come back to snag a job, boasting more experience and qualifications than the current teenagers that are struggling to try and support themselves. Of course, that seems virtually impossible with the repercussions of the 2008 recession and the increased cost of tuition, gas, food, and other necessities.

It’s a vicious cycle: needing money, therefore needing a job. Then, being shot down because there’s an adult that could do the same job and not have to do government homework that same day. Therefore, we are left jobless, which leads to us to be perceived as seemingly unmotivated and or lazy, which means getting criticized by the past generation (that took our jobs) with the routine “back in my day” lecture.

Our generation may not have to walk to and from school in the snow, uphill, but we’re stuck facing something our parents never could’ve dreamed of.