Twenty-twenty; the year I became an addict. In late May, I saw the real impact C

Twenty-twenty; the year I became an addict. In late May, I saw the real impact COVID-19 had on my family financially and knew it was time for me to help. I was quick to be employed and began working in early June. At first, I was only working to help pay a bill here and there, but over time, I realized acquiring this job only made me greedy. I was no longer working to help my mother but to satisfy a lingering internal hunger for money. No matter how many pay cheques I received, I never seemed to be fulfilled. In the summer, I worked over forty hours a week; to feel pride when my paycheques came in.
In September, I decided to lower my hours as school was far more important than my job, so I thought. Within the next two months, I began working two jobs. Although I knew these jobs were taking a toll on my well-being, I seemed to not mind waking up two to three hours before school to study, then working four to six-hour shifts after school. I attained the highest grades I had ever received in school and concluded this lifestyle was doing me no harm.
An addict will never admit to being an addict until they recover. Looking back to just last year, I can see how little time I had for myself, my friends and my family. Last summer, I took a month off both jobs to visit my dad in the United States. Over most of my time there, I felt burnt out and irritated that I was doing “nothing.” I felt the need to check in on the spreadsheet I made to track how much I made every day, every week, and every paycheque. It drove me crazy seeing zero, zero, and zero. It was only after three weeks I forgot to check in on my very inactive spreadsheet. I started to enjoy the activities I used to love but claimed I had no time for. Within the third and fourth week of what I like to call my “personal rehab,” I began to realize these jobs were temporary. Life was so much more than just working. With great difficulty, I decided to cut down my hours for both jobs to manage this year.
I now have more time to join school clubs, hang out with my friends and family, and most importantly, have time for myself. Looking back, I can now confirm I was addicted to working, a workaholic.