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| Your Life Is What You Make Of It |
This article describes how your life is what you make of it. If you are willing to work hard to reach your ambitions and goals, there is no reason why you should not attain them. In my opinion, far too many people try to take shortcuts or are too willing to expect free handouts from other people or have the credit card attitude of buy now, pay later. I hope you enjoy the read.
One of my best friends, Chris, turned seventeen around a month before I did. For his birthday, his father bought him an adorable and sporty-looking car. Chris was delighted and showed his new present to all his mates, including myself. He could not take us out for a spin as he had yet to learn to drive, and I thought what a great gift it had been and returned home to tell my parents.
I now had it in my head that I also wanted a car for my birthday. Chris only lived a few doors away from my house, and my parents looked out of the window to view his new vehicle. I stated to them that I would love a car for my seventeenth, and my parents started to laugh and replied with, I bet you would.
Despite this negative comment, I really believed they were only joking and was convinced that they would not let me down. My birthday arrived, and I opened all of their gifts. The immediate present they had bought me was a pair of trainers. I admit they were a quality pair of trainers; however, I wondered where they had hidden the car. The car was not hidden; it had not been bought.
An ungrateful young man went to bed, not best pleased. I then started to take driving lessons and, on the second attempt, managed to pass the driving test. I came home to inform my parents of the good news. My dad congratulated me and seemed proud of my achievement. I stated that I was also pleased; however, what was the point if I had no car to drive. My father did not reply to this comment.
A couple of months later, my eighteenth birthday was now approaching. My father told me that because this was quite a big birthday, he planned to spend a bit more money on my presents this year. He asked me if I had any idea of what I would like. For the second year in a row, I replied that I would love a car. Yet again, he laughed and stated that he had said a bit more, not hundreds.
I really believed that because it was, in his words, a big birthday and because I was now legally able to drive, that he would buy me a car. Guess what, he didn’t. Yet again, I was not impressed.
I waited a couple of months and then tried the head-on approach. I spoke to my parents and told them that I needed a car, they agreed. My dad started that if I wanted a car, I should go and buy one. I replied that I had no money, and he stated that I should start to save up then.
I started to save and had to sacrifice many things. Eventually, I bought a car. It was not exactly sporty, but it was my pride and joy. I washed the car every weekend and am sure that I loved it ten times more than Chris loved his car because I had earned it.
Whenever I want to achieve something in life, I am aware that I have to work very hard and am very grateful for the lesson my parents taught me, even though it seemed harsh and cruel.
Photo: https://pixabay.com
