Everyone’s worked a summer job that they absolutely loathe. For me, it was as the soup/sandwich guy at Nordstrom’s Café before my freshman and sophomore years in college [the pre-internship summers], where I had to wear funky clothes, a weird hat that concealed my mop-like hair, and spend six hours a day schmoozing with women who took their time ordering but felt I never moved fast enough.

Coincidentally, I learned to keep things in perspective when situations got a little, well, heated above the 160-degree stoves that kept the soup fresh. And that has a lot to do with training your mind to focus on more than just the present.

During those summers, I would leave Nordy’s and go straight to band practice or pre-production for a short film I was working on with some buddies. And throughout my daily shift, I found inspiration in the people who would pass through the food line; using said inspiration for song lyrics or characters/scenes that I could use in the script.

But if those types of endeavors aren’t of interest to you, all you have to do is focus on your forthcoming paycheck. True as it may be, you can have endless fun without money. But chances are, you’re going to need it at some point, albeit going to the movies with your friends or road-tripping somewhere.

[Then again, if payday is a long ways away and your shift isn't going as well as you'd like, your last resort is realizing that at least one of your friends are feeling the exact same way.]

But seriously, just keep your eyes focused on the big picture. ‘Cause even though they can be a pain throughout the day, summer jobs are a small price to pay for the fun things you can do with your friends post-shift.