jennifercoponen
08-08-2009, 08:27 PM
At the age of six I received a toy car for Christmas. Now this wasn’t just any toy car, it was the object I had my eye on for some months now whenever my family ventured to the store. As I would wander down the aisles, I would always come back to this specific toy. The car was red and black with shiny metallic wheels. The box it came in notified that when the car was in motion, it would make noise. Now this car was mine. All mine.
I was young so as you can expect any 6-year old boy to do, I ripped open the box and started to play with it immediately (completely ignoring the various items I had gotten from “Santa” such as socks and pants.) As I pushed my new present down our floor, the car began to make noise just as the box had instructed. This toy car became my most memorable gift as that is how I became interested in the career I hold today.
Ever since I had gotten that present for Christmas, I was therefore interested in cars. Constantly I would remind my parents that a racecar driver was what I wanted to be when I grew up. This was because if I was a racecar driver subsequently I could go as fast as I pleased without it being against the law. Or so I thought then.
When I finally turned fourteen, I was ready to drive. After spending countless hours with my father in our car garage while growing up, he agreed. I knew more about cars than any one of my friends and that clearly showed when I passed my drivers course and they hadn’t. The reward was a brand-new license. The first place I headed to was my best friends’ house. We decided to drive around town seeing how many of our friends we could pick up and fit into my brand new car. The car wasn’t exactly “new” given that it was 10 years older than I but it was my first car so new seemed to be the right word.
After driving around for two hours, we’d managed to stuff 7 of my newly found friends into the vehicle. We pulled up to a stoplight with the music blaring at a high altitude and a few of my friends were yelling out of the window. I began to feel nervous for it was my first outing with my license and didn’t want anything bad to happen. Yet I kept my mouth closed because I was the cool kid with a car. Although low and behold, a state cop pulled up beside my car and instantaneously the music shut off. All of my friends struggled to find seat belts and instantly stopped talking. My heart was racing as the light turned green and we both took off at the same time. The cop sped ahead of us and I sighed a breath of relief. That was enough to scare me for awhile and to drive more cautiously.
At the age of fifteen I began helping my older brother at an auto-body shop. Everyday after school I would hang out there. Although I wasn’t being paid, I enjoyed the environment. After some time I realized that the racecar driver I wanted to be as a young boy had now become an auto-body mechanic. Although I ignored my reverie and began working construction.
For 2 years I continued working in the construction field but I was tired of the work and wanted to do something more. My uncle informed me of an opening he had at his dealership and said that he could use some more mechanics working on the vehicles. This feeling inside of me knew that I should take the job. It was less than what I was currently being paid but I thought maybe this could be the start of following what I truly wanted.
I accepted the job offer and began work immediately. A few months had gone by and the work was satisfying. Waking up every morning to head off to the shop was actually enjoyable. Although I still wasn’t receiving the pay that I would have liked, the job was better than construction.
I talked to my uncle about a raise because as I was getting older money was becoming more of a necessity. He told me that if I would like to be paid more than I was currently, then I would have to attend courses that would teach me more about mechanics. These classes would compose me to be additionally skilled and I would deserve to be paid more for my services. The classes cost a lot of money and would also last 6 months. I talked to my best friend about my situation and he stated that sometimes you have to spend money to make money. I was remaining languid about the whole thing and wasn’t feeling like going through courses that would last so long when the money would be helpful now.
The conclusion I came up with after a long week of thinking was to quit my job and head back into construction. My boss was given two weeks notice and by the time I was out of that job my crew on the construction site were happy to have me back. My happiness was not as much. For almost a year I continued working with my crew and every morning I missed my old job greatly. I had given up an amazing job opportunity on account of money. Money isn’t everything. It is very helpful under many circumstances and situations but shouldn’t be taken so lightly that I relinquish doing what I love for it.
After I thought about it a good deal, it hit me one night that I should recommence working for my uncle. Also take those classes that would insure me as a certified mechanic. I would pick up where I left off and start turning my dream into a reality! I had myself convinced, and all I had to do was convince my hopefully understanding uncle. The next day I talked him and liberally explained my situation to him. At first he seemed a little skeptical about the whole situation after I had up and left the job but after some reconciliation, he agreed to offer my old job back!
I was extremely grateful for him giving me that opportunity because if he hadn’t, I wouldn’t have taken those courses and passed them to become the certified mechanic I am today! No longer do I work for my uncle but I am working at a much bigger auto-body shop where I am paid decently. I get along great with everyone at work and am thus thankful everyday for returning into this field of work.
Now this seems strange how all this could have happened because of a simple toy car I received for Christmas many years ago. Maybe if I hadn’t gotten that toy car for Christmas I wouldn’t have been interested in cars in the first place and ended up with a job that I love! Though hell, I wouldn’t want to find out.
I was young so as you can expect any 6-year old boy to do, I ripped open the box and started to play with it immediately (completely ignoring the various items I had gotten from “Santa” such as socks and pants.) As I pushed my new present down our floor, the car began to make noise just as the box had instructed. This toy car became my most memorable gift as that is how I became interested in the career I hold today.
Ever since I had gotten that present for Christmas, I was therefore interested in cars. Constantly I would remind my parents that a racecar driver was what I wanted to be when I grew up. This was because if I was a racecar driver subsequently I could go as fast as I pleased without it being against the law. Or so I thought then.
When I finally turned fourteen, I was ready to drive. After spending countless hours with my father in our car garage while growing up, he agreed. I knew more about cars than any one of my friends and that clearly showed when I passed my drivers course and they hadn’t. The reward was a brand-new license. The first place I headed to was my best friends’ house. We decided to drive around town seeing how many of our friends we could pick up and fit into my brand new car. The car wasn’t exactly “new” given that it was 10 years older than I but it was my first car so new seemed to be the right word.
After driving around for two hours, we’d managed to stuff 7 of my newly found friends into the vehicle. We pulled up to a stoplight with the music blaring at a high altitude and a few of my friends were yelling out of the window. I began to feel nervous for it was my first outing with my license and didn’t want anything bad to happen. Yet I kept my mouth closed because I was the cool kid with a car. Although low and behold, a state cop pulled up beside my car and instantaneously the music shut off. All of my friends struggled to find seat belts and instantly stopped talking. My heart was racing as the light turned green and we both took off at the same time. The cop sped ahead of us and I sighed a breath of relief. That was enough to scare me for awhile and to drive more cautiously.
At the age of fifteen I began helping my older brother at an auto-body shop. Everyday after school I would hang out there. Although I wasn’t being paid, I enjoyed the environment. After some time I realized that the racecar driver I wanted to be as a young boy had now become an auto-body mechanic. Although I ignored my reverie and began working construction.
For 2 years I continued working in the construction field but I was tired of the work and wanted to do something more. My uncle informed me of an opening he had at his dealership and said that he could use some more mechanics working on the vehicles. This feeling inside of me knew that I should take the job. It was less than what I was currently being paid but I thought maybe this could be the start of following what I truly wanted.
I accepted the job offer and began work immediately. A few months had gone by and the work was satisfying. Waking up every morning to head off to the shop was actually enjoyable. Although I still wasn’t receiving the pay that I would have liked, the job was better than construction.
I talked to my uncle about a raise because as I was getting older money was becoming more of a necessity. He told me that if I would like to be paid more than I was currently, then I would have to attend courses that would teach me more about mechanics. These classes would compose me to be additionally skilled and I would deserve to be paid more for my services. The classes cost a lot of money and would also last 6 months. I talked to my best friend about my situation and he stated that sometimes you have to spend money to make money. I was remaining languid about the whole thing and wasn’t feeling like going through courses that would last so long when the money would be helpful now.
The conclusion I came up with after a long week of thinking was to quit my job and head back into construction. My boss was given two weeks notice and by the time I was out of that job my crew on the construction site were happy to have me back. My happiness was not as much. For almost a year I continued working with my crew and every morning I missed my old job greatly. I had given up an amazing job opportunity on account of money. Money isn’t everything. It is very helpful under many circumstances and situations but shouldn’t be taken so lightly that I relinquish doing what I love for it.
After I thought about it a good deal, it hit me one night that I should recommence working for my uncle. Also take those classes that would insure me as a certified mechanic. I would pick up where I left off and start turning my dream into a reality! I had myself convinced, and all I had to do was convince my hopefully understanding uncle. The next day I talked him and liberally explained my situation to him. At first he seemed a little skeptical about the whole situation after I had up and left the job but after some reconciliation, he agreed to offer my old job back!
I was extremely grateful for him giving me that opportunity because if he hadn’t, I wouldn’t have taken those courses and passed them to become the certified mechanic I am today! No longer do I work for my uncle but I am working at a much bigger auto-body shop where I am paid decently. I get along great with everyone at work and am thus thankful everyday for returning into this field of work.
Now this seems strange how all this could have happened because of a simple toy car I received for Christmas many years ago. Maybe if I hadn’t gotten that toy car for Christmas I wouldn’t have been interested in cars in the first place and ended up with a job that I love! Though hell, I wouldn’t want to find out.