When we are at a young age, we tend to only focus on small
parts of pictures that pop out to us in some way instead of taking them in as a
whole image. We don't see the rest of the picture as important because we might
not be matured enough to make sense of it. As we grow into our teen and
pre-teen years we learn to see more of the bigger picture and why things are
the way they are. For me, the value of money was something that took years to
fully grasp.
Like any other kid, I would often see commercials for toys
on TV. By the end of it they'd say, "It was once valued at $100.00, but
now you can have this toy for ONLY $49.99!" I'd immediately run to my
parents and tell them all about it and how little it would cost compared to the
larger price. Often times they would looked amused by how "little" I
thought the cost was and try to explain how they couldn't afford to get it at
that time. It made no sense to me how they were not able to buy me something
that I had wanted, yet they could go get groceries the next day. Life just felt
so unfair.
In my early teenage years, I gradually started to realize
just how much money it takes to keep up our lifestyle and how to not take it
for granted. It wasn't until after I graduated from high school, enrolled in
college, and started working as an assistant in my mom's daycare that the whole
bigger picture came into view much more clearly. I started to pay for my own school
books, supplies, clothes, outings, and whatever else I needed. Having that
responsibility forced me to recognize all the aspects of life that come with a
dollar sign that I hadn't always noticed before.
Ultimately, I now have a better understanding of how hard my
parents work for their money in order to support their kids. It pushes me to
try my best to help out and lessen the financial load off of their shoulders
whenever I can.
"Money doesn't come easy" my dad used to say. I learned that around my teen years as well.
ReplyDeleteIt is great that you are trying to helping your parents with their financial when you can, some people still do not get that reality. As a young person, we do not think until the responsibility is given to us.
ReplyDeleteSame for me when I was little I didn't fully realized how much it actually is worth. Now that we are older we have more knowledge, we are more wise, and we have better responsibility.
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