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Living In LA Taught Me That The Way We Think About 'The Hustle' Is Dangerous

To make ends meet in the present day can be tough. Many are still burning out as they work countless hours to make money. By society’s standards, there’s no such thing as working too hard. Though a step in the right direction, an increase in mental health conversations do not lower how expensive it is to survive – especially in a major city. With low wages that fail to keep up with the rising costs of living, many have multiple streams of income, and still struggle to cover expenses.

Like most creatives, I have worked an array of jobs to keep the lights on between acting gigs. As someone who’s lived in LA for five years, many years were spent Uber driving in the mornings, doing food deliveries at night and cleaning houses in between. With additional gigs in retail, restaurants, personal assisting and even doing valet, one friend made the joke that there isn’t a job I haven’t done. Despite having as many as five jobs at once, I still didn’t make enough to cover all my expenses.