Hard work. by Ethan

Hard work. by Ethan - March 2024 Scholarship Essay

Having a good father-son relationship is one of the most valuable things in the world. In more recent years, society has seen that relationship grow apart. Being lucky enough to have a very active father figure, we always spend time together. That being said, it’s not always pretty. Through disagreements over work ethic, I have been able to learn how to work and I’ve been able to grow as a worker and adapt as a business owner all thanks to my dad.
Starting high school, I truly didn’t understand what hard work meant. I had always dreamt of starting my own lawn care business, but I had no clue what it took to be successful. After months of pestering my dad, he eventually decided to help me start my business by allowing me to mow my yard for a small fee. For me this was routine. I had been mowing my yard for years, but now my dad would pay me for it! I thought this couldn’t have been easier. Unexpectedly, what my dad taught me that day completely changed my perspective on hard work. After I had spent around an hour mowing and weed-eating my yard I had thought that my work was good enough. I had just spent an hour in the heat mowing the same yard I’ve done for years, what could I have done wrong? My good enough job wasn’t even close to his standard. My dad didn’t pay me and he told me if I ever was to get paid I would have to make sure the entire yard was spotless. As a fourteen-year-old kid, this couldn’t have sounded worse. I fought with him and eventually angrily finished perfecting my yard. What I didn’t know was that this advice would change my life forever.
While I was mowing that day, my neighbor took notice. He was impressed with my work and he hired me to mow his yard the rest of summer. That day was the start of my growing mowing business. I learned that what my dad had tried teaching me, was to make impressions and do good quality work. Three summers later, I now manage 4+ yards, and my business continues to take off. The advice my father gave to me has stuck with me. I now have a policy that if a customer is dissatisfied with my work, then I will work for free. I have never gotten any complaints from there on, and I always make sure to put in the extra effort. Learning from my dad has forever changed me and I can’t wait to take my work ethic with me to college and my later career.