First jobs to help my family‘s financial situation
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I was 12 years old, and seeing the terrible economic situation my family was in I decided to actively support. I went to neighborhoods outside of the one where we lived and I started to ask around if they needed me to do some work in their houses.
I also worked as a cashier on a bus and did the dishes in a restaurant. Maintaining people’s gardens, I cut my hands with the tools, and thorns of roses got stuck in my skin. When I was doing dishes in the restaurant, I faced conflicts with some other employees because they would not believe that I really needed money. They thought I was an informer of the owners. They would not leave me alone, to the point of almost wanting to beat me up. Cleaning the windows of a house, I was wrongly accused of stealing some jewelry.
Luckily, that situation got resolved a few days later. Turns out they had been stolen by the oldest son of the family who had become addicted to drugs. Working as a cashier on a bus, I was insulted many times by people who wanted to get off without paying their ticket. Once, one of the travelers even hit me, fortunately, it was nothing severe. All in all, I discovered that it was not easy to earn some extra money to help out my parents. But what joy I felt when I first brought home the money I had earned was rewarding.
My father delightedly told me: my son, thank you very much for the extra money you contributed to the house, but the most important thing is the initiative you showed. With your actions, you show me that not only did you notice our difficult situation, but you were also strong enough to go look for work on your own, instead of going to play football with your friends. Very well done son, you should always fight against adversity.
eRocha, Jan'20