My about seven years ago my sister managed a Subway shop in the Greater Cincinnatti area. She hired a teenager to work for her. He worked his tail off, every day, after school and through the summer.
One August, right before the start of his sophomore year, his parents decided that they couldn’t pay to send him to the private Catholic school that his siblings had gone to, anymore. This kid really valued that educational experience and he wanted it for himself.
He made a deal with his parents. He wanted to increase his after school working hours and weekend hours at the Subway shop, so that he could pay his own private tuition. They agreed, provided he kept his grades up.
He worked all the time and deposited his earnings into a joint account with his parents. He continued to work throughout his school year, saving money. And his parents wrote a tuition check for him, faithfully. He finished his sophomore year and junior year. He had enough money saved up at the end of his senior year to pay for the entire year, without having to kill himself working so many hours. He was very proud of his work ethic and thought that the work was worth it, because he loved going to that private Catholic school.
He enrolled for his senior year and started classes, very happy and well-adjusted.
Then the principal called him into the office to inform him that the tuition check hadn’t been sent in time for the fall semester. He wasn’t welcome at the school anymore.
He rushed home to his parents, worried. He knew he’d saved that money and that he had budgeted to pay for the full year’s tuition, all by himself.
What he didn’t know is that earlier that summer his parents had drained that account and spent it on themselves on frivolous things that they wanted and had nothing to do with nurturing or raising their son.
He had to work even more hours to pay for that last year. He rarely slept. He worked and went to school, scrimping and saving every penny.
I cannot imagine the huge hole in the trust that his parents had made when they’d squandered their own child’s educational savings. It must have damaged their relationship with their son.
He’s a good kid, and I hope that he has healed his heart while at the same time learned to really work for himself. He can’t count on his parents, obviously.
Heartwarming, that young man is a SON most normal parents would be very proud of. I will bet, he will take this experience into the future as a lesson in life. He is a self starter, and I predict he will do very well. These types tend to not repeat the past in raising their children. Bravo to him.
Let’s hope GL doesn’t read this.
Once in a while, a great-great while, a kid will slip the bonds of poverty and a second class education and make it. Sadly, they are few and far between.