Taxes really sting.

I’m 16 and recently started earning around $6K/month (self employed). Wasn’t expecting nearly 50% of it to go straight to taxes. If I hit $10K/month, I’d only take home about $1K more because of higher tax rates.

I get that taxes are necessary, but it’s kinda demotivating when working harder doesn’t mean keeping much more. Anyone else feel this way starting out?