As childish as it feels to write down such a title akin to a kindergartner’s My First Day at School or Rainy Day compositions, this also happens to be the most grown-up moment I have ever felt in my life. 14 years of school education, the last few of which were grueling to say the least, and 4 more years of engineering (sort of) have all culminated to this moment, a faint buzz from your phone, and you open the message you’ve been waiting for all day, saying XX amount has been deposited in your account, and it’s just wow. A new found sense of belonging and perhaps some astonishment that even someone such as myself is worth something in this society. No matter how many or how few 0s there are in that number, no matter whether you actually worked and deserved that salary or not (fyi: you don’t do much during your first month of employment), after essentially spending a month pining for college life once more, wondering why the people you’re with now aren’t half as cool as the people you miss (you will warm up eventually, I promise), and not to mention enduring the physical anxiety that comes with being tied down to a 6x6 cubicle for at least 8 hours of the day, that particular message fixes a lot of the negativity. It all feels sure as hell worth it. And next comes one of the most important decisions you will ever make. How to spend that first paycheck. For those not at home, food and rent are expenses, but hey, independence and responsibility go hand in hand. And if randomly booking a flight across the country for a weekend to kill boredom is what you want to do, who are the rest of us to ask? Every penny is yours to save, to spend, to throw, to lend, to just withdraw it all and lie down in it for a night (I did not do that). But seriously, after the mandatory offerings to the Gods (if that’s your style), what next? If like me, you’re lucky (or unlucky) enough to be living with your parents, all that cha ching is just waiting to be splurged.

And after desperately drowning the sound of every adult in the world talking about fixed deposits, it’s so hard to choose between donating the money to help feed kids in Africa and just buying yourself pizza. (OK, not that hard).

And after desperately drowning the sound of every adult in the world talking about fixed deposits, it’s so hard to choose between donating the money to help feed kids in Africa and just buying yourself pizza. (OK, not that hard). Should probably get something nice for parents and friends, although, one could blow it all on the expensive spa treatment said parents never approved of.  The magic and possibilities of your first salary are endless…so look forward to and enjoy the short lived excitement of making money while it lasts.

Disclaimer: The above mentioned options may or may not have been inspired by choices made by real people freaking out over their salaries, and any resemblance to people you know may or may not be coincidental. So don’t judge.