A couple of days after I got my driver’s license, my dad made me go to nearby restaurants and clothing stores and fill out applications.
One week later I had my very first job.
Two months later, I got my very first truck. It was a 72 Ford pick up truck with no engine or air conditioning, but it was free. My dad bought the incredibly cheap engine. I called her Blue….because she was blue.
Freedom.
I paid for the gas. I paid for the insurance. I’ve done my own taxes since after that first year (with the help of TurboTax). I’ve done my own laundry since I was a teenager. I knew how to vacuum and do the dishes (without a dishwasher!) and dust the crevices before I left the nest.
I’m thankful for my parents everyday. I wouldn’t have been able to buy my first car at the age 19. I wouldn’t have been able to buy groceries in college. I wouldn’t have moved straight to New York City without knowing a soul and with very little money right after graduating from undergrad.
When I see the spoiled young children that come into my work and are given whatever they want, I feel sorry for them. Well, that and I want to teach them some manners. But they’ll depend on someone until the day that they die because no one is going to teach them how to be truly independent.
Sometimes I call my mom to ask her where in the grocery store do they keep chicken bouillon. Sometimes I call my dad and ask if my birthday present can be that plane ticket for when I come home. But I’ve been able to make it on my own with minimal help from others because my parents knew that I would have to enter the real world eventually. And I wouldn’t change a second of my upbringing.
Except for when I chopped my Barbie’s hair off. Lesson learned.
