Humans of Downey - Haley

"One of my earliest experiences of success was when I was in high school. I was a swimmer and water polo player at school and then I got my first job at Blizzberry on Florence Avenue. They noticed my commitment to the job and so they promoted me to assistant manager while I was still just 16 years old. This early success affected my later decisions. One example is during the summer of my senior year I was working long hours. There were nights I wouldn't come home until 11:00. I thought, 'I'm a teenager, I shouldn't be working these long hours.' I thought about that and how I needed to remember I'm still a kid, I don't need to work this much. I need to have some fun in my life also. So that early success taught me to have balance in my life.

"When the manager asked me to work more hours, I felt obligated to work as much as they needed me to but at the same time, there was a struggle involved. It taught me to focus on my own self while reaching for higher goals. It's hard to say 'no' when you're asked to take on a challenge. You think, 'Well, I've done a good job before and now they want me to do more,' and you want to prove to them you can do it or you feel an obligation to continue to work hard for them. So, yes, it's hard to say 'no.'

"Sometimes, especially because now I work for my dad, you bring work home with you, and I work in the political world also so your job never ends. So, there are times you try to find the right amount, you try to find your own time away. But as a young person, the expectations are very high, especially in the political world, that you should be working 24/7. So, I don't think I have the ability to say 'no' yet because I'm still a young person and there are very high expectations. I just don't think I've reached the highest success yet that I can say 'no.'"
~ Haley