“I want a car!” says every soon to be sixteen-year-old. Nearing the age of sixteen my time came, I asked the coveted question. “Dad can I have a car?”. As the anticipation climaxed my father uttered a calm and reassuring “No.”. The answer “No” did not cross my mind as a potential outcome. What was I to do in the midst of this rejection? I could pout and not get anywhere towards my goal, or I could suck it up, get a job, and buy my own car. The very next week I had a job and was ferociously pursuing my goal. My father had no intention on stopping me but he did warn me that if I were to reach my goal, I should possibly consider applying for a second job. I now know what he was talking about, well, at least my wallet does anyways. Car expenses …show more content…
Driving down the road was not pleasant; My entire chassis rattled as I approached fifty miles an hour, my car would lose traction if I encountered any liquid, and I always feared a tire blowout. The tires that came with the car had close to no tread and dry rotting. The time had come to put a new set of tires on my car. Exploring my options, I went all around town is search of the cheapest tires. I started at a high dollar tire shop and was quickly humbled down when the dealer brought out the price sheet. Next I found myself at the other end of the spectrum at a used tire wholesale. The tires there did not seem to be any better than the tires that rested underneath my car. With little hope, I pursed my final option. Walmart gave me what seemed to be the most reasonable deal. Using an intricate algorithm, I figured up the price. It was to be $500, two months’ worth of pay. I headed over to Trustmark ATM and withdrew all of my money from my bank account. As I proceeded to check out, a sense of befuddlement cast upon me. The register rang up $700. Apparently my fool proof math was not quite so concrete! There I was with a brand new set of tires that I could not pay for. Faced with no option, I called my dad and pleaded for help. He reluctantly wired over the difference and I was on my way. It was great having new tires, but I had no money to utilize my …show more content…
For example, one time I made an emergency drive to Jackson to obtain my birth certificate for a pending job application. I was attempting a swift return back to Southwest when the power steering in my car quit working. My first thought told me to keep driving but a gut feeling made me stop at the nearest exit. I left my car running because, I was unsure that I would be able to crank it back if I determined it was adequate to keep driving. I entered a gas station and called my dad, asking for advice. Soon after I noticed a thick smog forming outside, so I rushed to the seen. My car was engulfed in smoke. Quickly turning my car off, I realized that I would not be driving home that
The one instance that really sticks out to me was a few years ago. It was an early winter day, and I was up early for some odd reason. It was just like any other day, I was eating a granola bar and watching the morning news. I was just sitting there on the couch, and then my mom walked in. I noticed that she was not quite herself as soon as she walked into the room. She was walking kind of funny and slurring her speech. I asked her if she was okay, and of course she said “yes, I am fine.” I continued to eat my granola bar and ponder the situation. She was still in the kitchen searching for something to eat, but she left with nothing. She returned back to her bed. I knew something was obviously wrong, but I didn’t know what to do. My mom hated when I asked her about her blood sugar, but I decided to ask anyway. I walked into
dissonance, I decided to store the car at my parents house and only drive the car infrequently. I
My story began on a cool summer’s night twenty short years ago. From my earliest memory, I recall my father’s disdain for pursuing education. “Quit school and get a job” was his motto. My mother, in contrast, valued education, but she would never put pressure on anyone: a sixty-five was passing, and there was no motivation to do better. As a child, my uncle was my major role-model. He was a living example of how one could strive for greatness with a proper education and hard work. At this tender age of seven, I knew little about how I would achieve my goals, but I knew that education and hard work were going to be valuable. However, all of my youthful fantasies for broader horizons vanished like smoke when school began.
When I turned twenty-two I was excited to purchase my first car, I had been saving for 5 years in order to obtain the car of my dreams. I knew exactly what I wanted, all the “bells and whistles”, and I knew exactly what I was willing to pay and not a penny more. I thought I had a strong knowledge of the sales and pricing of the particular car I was hoping to buy, because I had done my research for weeks browsing and comparing the Sunday car ads. I was assured that my knowledge of the sales would get me a fair price and a great deal. However, my overconfidence and naivety, in the “creepy” sales tactics used by the dealership, made me unaware of the three hour nightmare that was about to ensue; leaving me brokenhearted, angry and vowing to never step foot on a car lot again.
New tires are extremely expensive where prices range from eight hundred dollars to fifteen hundred dollars. The average consumer can’t afford this as a result they resort to purchasing of used tires.
As the younger generation I grew up with began to mature, their priorities were forced to change drastically. Mortgages and rent had now plagued the once uncomplicated lives of my friends. Without having to worry about the heavy burden of making rent, I was able to better prepare for my future. I was taught how to save for major purchases, while my friends jumped at opportunities to take out loans. By the age of 26, I had enough money to purchase my dream truck, which I still own to this day. I will never forget the brilliant sparkle of the black paint, the masculine perfume of the new leather, and the pride I felt when the salesman handed me the shiny black keys. My vivacity for life at this point was unrivalled, as was this type of benefit from a
As I walked out of Cazares Driving school, I looked at my mom in disappointment and embarrassment. I never wanted to return to that awful place. All I wanted to do was curl up in a little ball and I didn't want anyone else to know what I had done. I didn't even want to hear what my mom had to say. As I entered the car I could feel my face burning like hell surely enough it was red like an apple. I was trying to hide my face in the palms of my hands as I imagined all the remarks my mom and brothers had to make. "Darling how could we have miscalculated six months?"
I didn’t know where my god sister or my mom was. I checked to see if I could stand in that particular spot it was deep so I swam to a rock and it literally hugged it for my life. People that were in the river looked at me like I was a crazy person. One person that was rafting said, “you know that you can just stand up.”
Abandoned by my father when I was 13 years old has made the family's finances worse. Therefore, I am committed not to charge my education to my family. Since junior high school, I had funded my education with scholarships or prizes from some competitions. Being the first child who got an undergraduate education, I realized that the responsibility to raise the dignity of my family was on my shoulders. Therefore, I always focus on every single dream I have.
I have been in my car since 10 a.m. It is currently 12 p.m. and I have endured the chilly morning and now the blazing sun. I hang a long, blue blanket from the windows with the intent to block the bright sunlight out. I get frustrated with the heat
When I was younger I always wonder, when was I going to get my first car? I remember my friends from high school having there on car and I was the only one without a car. I ask my friends to take me to school because I didn’t wanted to ride the bus. The bus was kind of a long ride and I thought it wasn’t cool enough.
We were stopping almost in every gas station in our way to Orlando asking for instructions. It was 3 am and we were lost without GPS, we couldn’t talk to our family to say that we arrived to the U.S., and we were frightened about the idea of missing our hotel reservations because we probably couldn’t find the hotel. After two more hours of driving, I started to fell asleep. Christian was worried about it and he asked me to stopped and rest for a while.
When I was young living in Kenya my siblings and I were blessed. We were a few of the fortunate kids whose parents had the money and cared enough to spend a fortune on our education. My parents did this in hopes that one day my siblings and I would all graduate, make something of ourselves, bring wealth to the family and greatness to our name. This was a great investment betted on my siblings, but when it came to me this was a gamble and I knew it. I could also see it in my father’s eyes as my teachers would express to my parents that I was smart but lazy. Bearly passing most of my classes but receiving A’s the subjects I had interest in. “He 's clever but a daydreamer.” My teachers would say. This is when my father would explode with anger and yell “We don 't pay for you to come to school and dream. If that was the case you might as well stay home and dream there.” I would apologize and promise to do better but continued having similar conversations till my last year of highschool. This is when I fell in love with computers and found my passion in software.
I lived with my father for my entire life, but due to his work I did not spend much time with him. My father worked at a different city; and thus he comes home only a few times a month. My father is a mechanic. He works at a company that is distant from our home. This was due to the company being the only one and the first where cars were being assembled in Ethiopia. Sometimes on the weekends I used to go to his work place. He would give me a trip of the place; the station was filled with vehicles, trucks, and motorcycles. It was separated by sections. In each section there were only one type of vehicle and the assembly process was shown step by step. From a fuse to large engine of the car, components were getting attached.
The first time I asked for a cell phone, my mother looked at me like I was speaking Gibberish from a third head. She didn’t need to tell me no, her look had already given me my answer. However, I still received a slew of reasons why it was unnecessary along with all the reasons why I was too young and too irresponsible. Needless to say I was disappointed but I continued to beg for weeks. It may have been the “nag factor” that we learned about in the documentary on Consuming Kids that broke my parents down because I was undoubtedly relentless for weeks (Consuming Kids). Or it may have been the fact that they realized that this was not something I was going to give up on, either way they finally told me that I could get a cell phone when I turned thirteen Although I was thrilled to know that I was not going to be without a phone forever, the months leading up my birthday were agonizing.