“I started working after finishing college apps. It’s fun, you get to meet new people and experience new things. It’s a good way to spend free time while earning some money. But then you start realizing how expensive everything is. I’m grateful minimum wage is higher here in Milpitas compared to other places, but it’s so much easier to spend money than it is to earn. I started comparing the price of stuff to how many hours I needed to work to buy it and it’s definitely an eye-opener. One milk tea at a more expensive place like Tastea is almost half an hour’s worth of work. A prom ticket is like 7 hours of work. And AP exams for me this year is 32 hours of work. So not worth.”
Photographer: Vivian Tsang