Biographical Narrative Essay
“Work isn’t to make money, you work to justify life”-Marc Chagall When I was younger, everything was handed to me. Well, not everything but most of what I wanted or thought I needed like new clothes, toys, the latest electronics things that cost money. When the economy started to crash thing had to change around my house. My mother lost her job and my dad’s pay was cut short plus on top of that he was sick for 8 months with a type of liver disease. We had to cut down on how much money we spent especially on the wants compared to our needs.
With our financial struggle I had to learn how to live with the things that I already had and not want what other people had. Having my first job as a snow cone maker I also had to learn that you have to work for the things you want in life. Nothing in life is just handed to you, you have to earn it. My parents always reminded us that we had it better than others which helped me appreciate the things I had a little more. When I got my first job I started to appreciate the money that was spent on me because I knew what hard work it took to earn it.
I started working at age 15 for a kettle corn and snow cone vendor called Hunsaker Bros Kettle Corn. I can remember my first day at work, shaking nerves up and down my spine, thinking of smart word that I can put in my sentences when I talk to my first costumer. All I wanted to do was to please my boss and be the best worker I can be. By working hard, I learned that it takes great responsibility to maintain a good work ethic. Learning these responsibilities and good work ethics I have managed to provide for myself.
I now know how to pay bills, separate necessities with desires and manage my funds. Before, when my parents would always pay my Iphone bill and complain to me that it is too expensive, my response was always “Well, if you can pay for a brand new refrigerator we can pay for my I phone! It’s something that we ‘have’ to pay for”. Having a job has given me a different perspective on what money is spent on. I never thought how much money is wasted on things that don’t even matter in life. In life, we get side tracked on useless material objects.
It is very controversial on what we believe are wants versus our needs. I remember going school shopping for clothes and I asked my mom for a pair of rock revival jeans. In my mind it was a necessity, it was a piece of clothing that I “needed” to make me cool and dress like everyone else. But in reality, it was a pair of jeans that was more for luxury and high price which I ended up getting four pairs of off brand jeans for the price of one. I now understand why my mom managed to spend money on my sibling and I so wisely.
Each penny that was spent on us was worked hard for and then given to us. I have learned from my parents that if I want something in life, the only way to accomplish it is to work hard, and then I will deserve it. Earning my own money at a young age has impacted my life as I enter adulthood by giving me goals that I want to accomplish later in life and setting morals and responsibilities. I also realized that life isn’t about living for making money or how much money you make but what you have to leave behind as a person. Nothing in life is given for free you have to work hard and earn it.
