My childhood by Hubert

My childhood by Hubert - October 2013 Scholarship Essay

This isn't one instance of me learning something but this is what I learned throughout my entire childhood, learning multiple things rather than just one. I started with a unique modest background. It started about thirty years ago when my parents had met each other in Australia; they both had emigrated from China. They each attended schools to learn English while working part-time jobs, my mother was a waitress in a restaurant, and my father worked as a technician to support themselves. After several years, my brother was born, and after a couple months, he was sent to Winston-Salem with my mom’s sister. After a year or so, I was born and also sent to Winston-Salem with my mother. The price of all the plane tickets and the return trips put a toll on the family, which my father continued to pay off as he continued his stay in Australia. My father then received a job in Charlotte at McKesson as a computer software engineer after moving to America. We were able to rent a fairly small space near downtown that was furnished with a wooden board, which became a makeshift desk, and two mattresses. For food, my and my brother would often eat chips for sustenance and eat very rationed portions. As years went on, and the stability that continued with it, we were able to rent a small apartment near Eastland mall, which was still relatively small but was far superior in furnishing and available space than our previous living area. Ten years later, my parents now own two houses, one where we lived in a couple years ago that is being rented out for extra income and the house that we are currently living in. How far my parents have gone makes me aware an idea of how much I am able to achieve with just hard work, starting with Chinese immigrants in Australia working part-time and not knowing a scrap of English to having two stable jobs with two well furnished houses. After being exposed to this story when I was around the tender age of ten, I learned to try hard and believe that I am able to achieve nearly everything if I put my mind to it. A large portion of this success results in frugal spending, cutting corners and rarely purchasing anything without scouring around for savings or another way to not pay for it. This includes, but is not limited to, joining Sam’s Club, getting the Magic Jack service, and rarely spending money on luxury objects and when doing so, they had looked for the best deals for that objects over the span of two weeks, comparing prices of different competitors and expanding the search to other products that offer more of a service for less money. A large deal of failures for many people is their inability to budget their expenses and have the will to not buy a specific item. This problem is not one for me as my parents’ actions had taught me to be more frugal with my money and with this, I am able to spend my money wisely on only the essentials and rarely on luxury items. With the combination of the poor conditions that I had grown up with along with my parents’ constant thriftiness, I am aware of how to accomplish much with little. With this, I have grown to be an non-materialistic person and believe possessions bring little self-fulfillment in comparison to experiences and family as that is what I had growing up. Throughout my childhood, I had learned to be less materialistic, to work hard, and to be frugal.