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Teen opens his first paycheck from McDonald's and his reaction is so relatable

There's nothing like the pride of that first paycheck.

u/ExactlySorta/Reddit

A teen was elated getting his first paycheck from McDonald's.

There are certain moments and milestones in life that hit harder than others. There are the biggies, of course—graduations, weddings, births, etc.—but there are also the smaller-but-still-significant ones that mark a major shift in life, when you officially cross a threshold into a whole new stage in your life's journey.

A mom captured one of those moments on video as her teen son opened his first paycheck from his job at McDonald's.

The video shared on Reddit shows a teen in a McDonald's hat sitting in the passenger seat of a car opening an envelope that contained his paycheck. His mom said it should be "200-and something" dollars, and after a hilariously long struggle to open the envelope (these Gen Zers have never snail mailed, no judgment), he looks over the check stub to get the full picture.

"That's $283," he says in astonishment. To his credit, he asks "After tax, what's that?" not realizing that the amount of the check is the after-tax take home amount. His smile and laughter says it all.

Watch:

"Let's take it to the bank, then!" Heck yeah, kid.

People are remembering with fondness their own first paychecks

Many viral videos of first paycheck reveals include complaints about how much is taken out it in taxes, so it's refreshing to see this young man's joy at his after-tax pay. It was a beautiful moment to capture on film, as most of us remember that feeling of empowerment that came with our own first real paychecks.

People in the comments are feeling the nostalgia:

"I remember that feeling - pretty sweet to see money you earned yourself. Feels good earning your own cash."

"God that first paycheck felt so unreal. I will never forget you ace hardware."

"I remember my first paycheck was for like $300 after two weeks of being a counselor and I felt RICH. I immediately spent it all on a guitar that I still have 20 years later."

"I remember mine - from my first proper job. £64.29 in a little brown packet with holes in it to see the cash inside. 1980. 😂"

"My first “paycheck” was like $65, I was so proud. I took my mom to pizzeria to treat her and she was very very touched."

"Man… I remember my first paycheck… 23 years ago now. For two weeks of what limited hours I could work being 14 years old… that baby was $96.19! HO-LY smokes was I on cloud 9. Cashed it right there at work and bought myself a bag of Skittles. It was a good day."

via GIPHY

Ah, to be young and unencumbered by adult expenses

Part of what makes this endearing is the innocence of it. As a teen, he's not worried about affording a mortgage or groceries or diapers or retirement savings. His elation over making $283 is adorable because he's just starting down the path of adulthood. Soon enough, that paycheck will seem small, but he's not there yet.

When you're a kid, money is kind of an abstract concept. Maybe you get a small allowance or get paid a few bucks for odd jobs, and opening a birthday card with some cash in it is exciting. It's not until you're fully into the working world for a while that the regular flow of money and what it means for your life really sinks in.

And it's not until you're a fully independent adult that you really grasp how relative your feelings about your paycheck can be. There's a big difference between being a 16-year-old getting your first paycheck and being a 30-year-old trying to raise a family on wages that don't cover all your needs. Things like cost-of-living and inflation start to actually mean something as you get older and experience their impact. You might find that you can make a lot more money and yet feel poorer than ever as expenses pile up into adulthood.

i.giphy.com

Don't we all wish we could go back to the hopeful, happy days of making our first real chunk of money before all of those grown-up concerns arose? That simple sense of pride in having worked hard and earned something. The excitement of being able to pay for something you want yourself. The sense of freedom that comes with those early earnings. We see and feel all of that in this teen's bright smile, and it's glorious.

He may not realize how different he might feel opening his paycheck down the road, but there's no need to tell him yet. We don't need to ruin this moment with "just you wait." He'll find out soon enough, as we all have, so let's just let him enjoy this moment of bliss. He's earned it.

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Jimmy has built a wonderful life, but his diagnosis presented some unexpected challenges.

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Muscular Dystrophy Association

Growing up, Jimmy Valdes' parents raised him to focus on all the things he could do, not the things he couldn’t.

Jimmy was diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) in 1971 when he was only 4 years old. SMA is a degenerative spinal disease that causes weakness of the voluntary muscles — often those in the shoulders, thighs, hips, and back. People who have it usually need assistance to complete physical tasks.

Check out Jimmy's story here, or read more below:

As Cuban immigrants, Jimmy's parents were driven and determined to give their family the most normal life possible. They took him on family vacations. He played catch with his dad. He went to school and went on dates and read comic books.

His parents made it clear to him that he would always need help but that nothing was impossible. And he believed them. Jimmy told Upworthy, "If not for the decisions they made back then, my life wouldn't have turned out the way it did. And it's still a work in progress, it's every day, every week, every month."

Jimmy can't do everything, though, and needs caretakers to assist him through his daily routine.

He needs help completing all physical activities, from hygiene to meal prep to transportation. This is a reality that he's dealt with for most of his life, and he hasn't let it limit him.

There are systems and programs in place to help people like Jimmy who live with disabilities. Unfortunately, those supports sometimes fall short. Jimmy’s reality is proof of that.

All images via Muscular Dystrophy Association/YouTube.

You see, in spite of Jimmy’s severe disability, he does not qualify for disability benefits.

He's the breadwinner in his family — he has worked for CBS for over 20 years — and because he earns an income that exceeds the amount allowed, Jimmy does not qualify for disability benefits through the Social Security Administration that would help him pay for the care and services necessary to live his everyday life.

Almost all of his care he pays for out-of-pocket.

And the costs are astronomical. He said he spends hundreds per week on caretakers. He even quipped that he's been audited by the IRS a number of times because they couldn't believe that a single man had such exorbitant expenses.

As he put it, "it costs more for me to live life."

The Social Security Administration makes it clear that it's possible to work and receive benefits, so long as your earnings aren't "substantial." What does that mean? For 2016, the SSA site says that per month, "we consider earnings over $1,130 ($1,820 if you're blind) to be substantial."

So, you can be making a barely livable wage, especially in a city as notoriously expensive as New York City and not qualify. If you make more than the figures mentioned above, your care isn't covered.

This is Jimmy's dilemma, and he’s not the only one.

The Muscular Dystrophy Association shared a post on Facebook asking for comments and insight regarding efforts to work while dealing with a muscle-debilitating disease. The responses are telling.

One person mentions that, like Jimmy, he doesn’t meet the stringent income requirements to receive benefits, but that "as long as I can work that is a far more fulfilling life then having to watch every cent to be sure I'm poor enough." Another person mentions that she is "afraid to get any kind of raise or promotion due to income caps."

These are men and women who want nothing more than to live life on their terms but who are, in effect, limited by a policy that is meant to serve them.

The very system that was built to support them has let them down.

As hard as it may be to pay for his care and continue supporting his family, Jimmy isn't letting it prevent him from living the life he dreamed of.

He continues to work because he genuinely likes what he does. He's built a career and has a network of people who support him. He met and married the love of his life and is devoted to her and her family, all of whom remain a source of endless inspiration for him. He goes to concerts and games and makes every effort to enjoy the life he's worked so hard to build.

In addition to working hard toward his own self-sufficiency, Jimmy is focused on helping others in a similar situation have the opportunity to live life on their terms.

He wants to use his voice to bring awareness to the issues that people who have disabilities face and to help find solutions. He wants everyone to have the opportunity to live life their way, much as he has. And he wants the systems that are built to support people like himself to not be the very thing that limits them.

He's not yet sure where to start, but he's determined.


People with disabilities can and do live meaningful and contributing lives, and we can work together to help ensure that the systems intended to lift up individuals with disabilities do not hold them back.

MDA is proud to be part of the collective effort to break down barriers to meaningful employment for those living with disabilities, including looking at ways to help individuals work while keeping benefits like personal care in place. Get involved today by joining MDA’s advocacy efforts, contributing to help individuals like Jimmy live unlimited, or sharing your story about how you balance employment and personal care needs by emailing advocacy@mdausa.org.

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A mom writes 2 raw letters to herself about the 2 lives she's led at home and work.

'I just wanted to let you know that I see you, and I recognize the sacrifices you’re making for your family.'

Read them both, all the way through. You'll thank us later.

Dear Stay-at-Home Mom,

Can I be honest? Sometimes, I get jealous of you.

Like, when I picture your mornings minus the chaos of hustling kids out the door to day care. I picture breakfasts eaten without staring at the clock, maybe a morning kids’ show, everyone still in PJs. I see you taking the kids to the zoo or the park or the lake mid-morning, snapping selfies with them and texting your husband the funny thing your oldest said. I see you throwing a load of laundry in the dryer when you get home (or whenever you WANT!), playing goofy games with the kids over lunch, eating food you didn’t have to pack at 11 p.m. the night before.

When the youngest goes down for a nap, I see you getting things done around the house or working on your in-home business or bonding with your oldest over a craft project.

I see you witnessing every milestone and every funny moment, amassing memories that will make you smile years from now.

Image via iStock.

I see you, glowing and healthy from days spent outside, chatting up the other moms at the park or the library or the gym, wearing whatever the heck you want, never going to boring department meetings, never realizing mid-day that you forgot to put deodorant on and can’t do a thing about it.

It all seems so nice as I sit in my cramped, sunless office, stressing about the project I’m way over my head in and wondering what my kids are doing right now (that I’m missing).

But don’t worry. I know there’s more to it than that.

I know you also deal with meltdowns and picky eaters and fighting over toys (over everything) and long, lonely days where you’re way over-touched and you don’t talk to a single person over the age of 4. I know there are rainy days, snowy days, teething days, and inexplicably-crazy-kids days. I know you go to the same park a bazillion times a week, repeat the same phrases to your kids all day, play the same games over and over, and prepare and clean up SO MUCH food.

I know you’re desperate for alone time and adult time, and I know you feel guilty when you take that out on the kids.

I know you think about your education and your pre-kids career, and you wonder if you’re doing the right thing. I know you wish you could contribute more financially. I know you worry that you’re pouring so much of yourself into your kids that you might lose sight of who you are.

I guess I just wanted to let you know that I see you, and I recognize the sacrifices you’re making for your family. It’s easy for me to focus on the highlights of your life — the things I’m personally missing out on — but I know that’s not the full picture.

The truth is, neither of our lives is perfect or easy, but they’re both pretty dang awesome — just in slightly different ways.

I see you, and I support you. Keep it up, girl!

Love,

Working Mom

Dear Working Mom,

Can I be honest? Sometimes, I get jealous of you.

Image via iStock.

Like, when I picture your mornings, sipping a still-hot latte alone at your quiet desk. I see you going to important meetings, talking to important people about important things (or at least, talking to adults about adult things). I see you grabbing lunch with your coworkers, gossiping about the office, maybe on an outdoor patio, maybe over some giant salads and still-cold iced teas. I see you giving presentations in that cute tailored blazer you have, speaking eloquently and confidently to a room of people who respect your ideas.

I see you planning out your days (and having that actually be a useful endeavor), working on projects that interest and challenge you, getting recognized for your hard work from your peers and superiors.

I see you traveling for work — sitting on a plane (ALONE!), staying in a nice hotel room, eating dinner on someone else’s dime. I see how proud you are of your career, how good it makes you feel. I see how extra special the time you spend with your kids is — the way you’re eager to pour into them in the evenings and on weekends, the way you treasure every minute.

It all seems so nice as I sit here eating leftover cold chicken nugget bits off my son’s plate, half-heartedly yelling at the kids to stop tackling each other and preemptively beating myself up for all the TV I know I’m going to let them watch later.

But don’t worry. I know there’s more to it than that.

I know that you still feel guilty sometimes after dropping off your kids, especially when they cling to you and cry. I know you envy the person who gets to spend their days with your children, seeing the funny things they do and hearing the funny things they say. I know you hate being stuck in your office on a beautiful day, wondering what your kids are up to and wishing you could be part of it.


Image via iStock.

I know it’s hard at the end of the day, when everyone’s tired and hungry and cranky, and you’re desperately cobbling dinner together before the frantic rush of baths and bedtime, and you SO wish it could be different because those are the only precious hours you get together as a family. I know it sucks to have to cram all the housework and errands into the weekends. I know you get lonely when you travel, and all the nice dinners and hotel rooms in the world can’t compete with those little faces at home that you can’t kiss goodnight. I know you miss your kids, and you wonder if you’re doing the right thing.

I guess I just wanted to let you know that I see you, and I recognize the sacrifices you’re making for your family.

It’s easy for me to focus on the highlights of your life — the things I’m personally missing out on — but I know that’s not the full picture.

The truth is, neither of our lives is perfect or easy, but they’re both pretty dang awesome — just in slightly different ways.

I see you, and I support you. Keep it up, girl!

Love,

Stay-at-Home Mom

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Tens of thousands of workers are demanding higher wages and better treatment.

Workers are doing what they can to lift up themselves and their families.

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SEIU

Something important is happening on April 14, 2016, and we don't mean National Dolphin Day (although that's pretty cool, too).

Workers across the globe are joining together to demand a living wage and the right to unionize.

The idea is pretty simple: that everybody who works should be paid enough to afford their basic needs and that it's wrong that profitable corporations like McDonald's choose to pay people so little that they are trapped in poverty.

Image via The All-Nite Images/Flickr.

What started as a movement of a couple hundred fast-food workers in November 2012 has gained tremendous momentum — not only across the country, but across the globe. It's expanded from fast-food workers to include child care, health care, higher education, and numerous other workers. Tens of thousands of workers are expected to turn out in hundreds of protests on April 14, 2016.

In advance of what the Fight for $15 is calling its "biggest ever" day of strikes, here are three inspiring things about the fight so far.

1. It's winning.

On April 4, 2016, the governors of California and New York signed bills establishing a minimum wage of $15 per hour in their states. That means raises for 9 million workers. That's HUGE.

"What we’re doing is working. We’re really making this happen," Naquasia LeGrand, one of the workers who has been part of the movement since the beginning, told Upworthy. She participated in the first walkout on November 29, 2012, and has since become a face of the movement, organizing flash strikes and even appearing on "The Colbert Report."

There's Naquasia, leading a protest. Image via SEIU, used with permission.

She recalls the first meeting she attended and what it was that convinced her to join. "It was just inspiring that we were willing to to stand up straight and tall and have our voices be heard. From there, I knew this is where I need to be to make a difference in our country."

2. It's only possible because people are banding together.

In a country that's been feeling more and more divided, it can be easy to look past the instances of people joining together. But the Fight for $15 is a pretty incredible reminder that when people work together, change happens.

As LeGrand puts it, "It made me feel that the only way Americans can survive in America is that we stick together to keep our country strong. These corporations try to divide us in so many different ways. ... We’re all in the same boat. We’re all struggling to take care of our families, to live a better life, to save money for our future."

In a delightful interview with Stephen Colbert, LeGrand explained why it's important to her to organize:

"Me as my one voice can't go to my manager and be like, 'Listen, I want these set days ... this is how much money I want' — no, I have to come with a team, I have to come with my coworkers and other workers around the country and let them know it's not just me who's going through this, it's all of us going through this."

Image via SEIU, used with permission.

3. It's about more than wages.

LeGrand enjoys and gets satisfaction from her job and goes out of her way to be a good employee. In return, the corporations she's worked for — well, they don't return the favor. The raise LeGrand received this year of just 15 cents, bringing her total wages to $8.15 an hour, only drove this point home for her.

"I enjoy working at my job and serving people and being able to please a customer knowing that I got their order right or their food was delicious or my service was so great they’re coming back again. I go out of my way for McDonald's and my customers, and they won’t go out of their way for me. ... A 15 cent raise tells you right there, McDonald's, tells you, they don’t care about their workers."

Image via SEIU, used with permission.

In addition to making it very difficult for workers to support themselves and their families, that undervaluing takes an emotional toll.

"With workers who work for so long for so little, we feel like that’s it. Like that’s what we settle for. That this is what we deserve. That we deserve $7.25," she said.

That's a feeling LeGrand doesn't want her son, who turned one in January, to ever know.

When asked about the jobs she envisions for her son, who, LeGrand says, may someday work at McDonald's or KFC given the growth in fast food jobs and stagnation in middle- and high-wage jobs, she said, "I will hope they offer better pay and of course benefits, paid sick days, paid vacation days. This is what I’m fighting for now so my son don’t have to know how it is to struggle so much for what they call a minimum wage job or low-wage job."

LeGrand is joining thousands of other low-wage workers in walkouts across the country on April 14, 2016.

She has spent almost four years fighting this fight and says she'll spend the next four years doing the same if that's what it takes. We really hope it doesn't take that long.

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