This 14-year-old just finished her first work shift — and nailed what adulthood really feels like

Starting your first job as a teenager can feel like a milestone — the excitement of showing up on your first day hits differently, with your dreams finally seeming concrete. However, after a few days, once the reality sets in, you see the kind of back-breaking work you will be put up to, serving for hours on your feet without so much as a single break. Without any real idea of what to expect, it doesn’t take long before the novelty of the opportunity fades and exhaustion sets in. Taylor, a 14-year-old from Maryland, felt something similar after her first-ever shift as a restaurant host. Her reaction was shared by Taylor’s mom, Shana MzDiva Harris, to the TikTok account @divagirls310, with the caption, "Daughter's first day of work... wasn’t what she expected."

In the video, Taylor can be seen in the car with her grandmother, Ms. Ferguson, and her reaction is already starting to show: her eyes watering, and her voice shaking between laughter and disbelief. Ferguson can be heard saying, "I’m just now picking Taylor up from her first shift on her first day on the job," right as they both start laughing, after which she goes on to say, "Welcome to the working world." When she asks Taylor how her day went, the teen blurts out, "My back hurts." Laughing through her tears, Taylor adds, "I haven’t sat down since I got here at 3. I have not sat in six hours. There is no seating at all!" Ferguson tries to reassure her that tomorrow is a new day, but Taylor looks straight ahead and says, "And I gotta stay till close."

Ferguson later told Newsweek, "Her reaction was so authentic, I couldn’t help but laugh." She also shared that Taylor had prepared for the job by writing a resume and cover letter, and that she’d personally helped her fill out the paperwork required for minors. "She, for the first time, realized that this is the reality for many," Ferguson said. TikTok viewers knew exactly how Taylor was feeling and they didn't hold back in the comments. @dulcecortes5 commented, "Her crying and laughing is literally adulthood." @dvynangel added, "Take that baby home! She is ready for retirement!" @jellyroll929 said, "The fear in her eyes when she said, 'I gotta stay till close!’" 

@jazzyd23 wrote, "The taxes really gonna break her poor little heart. I felt the ‘my back hurt.'" @ursula_nu chimed in, When you said her first shift, she looked at you like, 'In my last.'" @thetheorobinson added, "Wait until she sees that first paycheck and sees those taxes taken out." @lexisalwayshere said, "And don’t tell her the secret that if you do your job really well, they give you MORE work." @christi3__ shared, "Don’t worry princess, after you’ve proven yourself, outworked everybody else, perfect attendance, and great attitude, you get a .25 cent raise in a year."

Taylor later followed up with another clip on her mom’s TikTok, thanking everyone who watched the original video. According to her grandma, she adjusted well to the role and actually enjoys it. "I did go back to work. I still work there to this day. I love my job, it just took a lot of adjusting," she said, going on to clarify what many viewers were wondering — "My back is fine!"

You can follow Shana MzDiva Harris (@divagirls310) for more parenting content.