Wow, I was sixteen years old. I had my own vehicle and a
driver’s license. That was the most incredible, free feeling I had known, but
the repercussion of that was it was time to find a job. Luckily, I landed a job
with my Mom, but still, I couldn't go home and take naps after school or go eat
with my girlfriends. I had to go to work.
I make it sound a lot worse than it actually was. I had
money, more than I usually had in my pocket, but the constant reminder of my
car insurance note killed my motive to go get those new shoes. At first it was
hard to learn how to manage money. Many times I would not have enough money to
cover my one bill and my parents would give me a rain-check but would remind me
not to let it happen again.
Working made the biggest impression on me when I noticed
some of my friends who drove brand new cars and weren't expected to pay for any
of it or to help pay for any of their bills. It really bothered me. It made me
have respect for my parents for wanting me to go out and make money for myself
so I could become more responsible. I never mentioned that to my parents until
now because truly, I would have loved to be one of those kids but I knew these
decisions would help me in the long run.
That alone made the biggest impression on me as a teenager.
I experienced other occurrences that molded my view of my parents, but this was
the one that spoke volumes. This changed my view of my parents, or adults in
general, because going to work every day and having to support a family is a
lot harder than I thought. I didn't even have the children or husband to
support, just my little truck. That alone was enough to teach me major life
lessons.
Today, I still work and pay for my car insurance as well as
help my parents with some of my tuition. My parents deciding I needed to work
has molded me into a better person today. On the other hand, I have also lost
respect for some people. Even some of my friends, or so called friends, I
cannot stand to be around because they are so spoiled. Their parents pay for
the brand new car, all of their shopping expenses, and never ask them to help;
a huge mistake in my opinion.
It’s amazing how one change in a teenager's life can literally change an outlook on life forever. Knowing what I know now and what I've learned from being responsible
will help me teach my kids in the future to do the same. I don’t want them to
be irresponsible, spoiled little children. I will expect them to do the same as
I did when I turned sixteen, and if they have anything wrong with that then I
will keep their keys. It all comes down to wonderful parenting skills, and my
parent’s skills have helped me greatly and changed my viewpoint on adults, for the better.
Graduation 2012
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