From the Heritage Foundation, I'm Michelle Cordero, and this is Heritage Explains.

We all remember our first job.

And I'm willing to bet we all get a little twinkle in our eye when we talk about it.

I worked at a greenhouse in high school.

My first job was cleaning office buildings in Long Island for $3 an hour.

And what that allowed me to do being that my family didn't have any money growing up was to buy football cleats and other equipment in order to be able to play football.

I was a barista at a coffee shop in downtown Montgomery, Alabama, during the Siegelman trial.

So that's why I remember that.

It was a really exciting time to be down there.

That's my first job.

Those are some of my colleagues.

And every single one of them had a smile on their face when they talked to me.

What is it about work that makes us feel this way? It's pride. Pride in the effort you put forth and the self-esteem that comes

along with it. Science has proven this. I backedged groceries at a local supermarket.

I was 14 years old, and it was the only place in town that would hire me so young.

My mom was intent on me working as soon as possible.

Next came a small McDonald's and a Walmart.

I wasn't allowed to work the friar because I was only 15, and it wasn't glamorous.

I had a purple visor, but it was a job, and I'm proud of it.

I didn't have a driver's license, and my mom was too busy working herself to drive me,

so I got jobs that I could walk to.

And you know, I don't just get a twinkle in my eye

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