I had taken the Texas Driving School two-week course when I was sixteen years old. The first week was devoted entirely to classroom instruction-learning the rules of the road and watching Ohio State highway films; whereas, the second week was actually getting behind the wheel and driving. When I completed the course I felt so much more confident in my driving ability — even on the crazy streets of Dallas.
My hope was to buy a car of my own so that I could drive to school, instead of taking the school bus. I didn’t want to ask my buddies, some of which had cars if I could hitch a ride with them every time.
The thing was I didn’t have the money to buy a decent used car at the time. So I knew that I’d have to pick up more hours at where I worked to be able to afford something that wouldn’t break down and leave me on the side of the road.
I felt bad because a few of my friends had cars and I didn’t. I so desperately wanted to have my own set of wheels. Like I said, I hated to ask people for anything to be truthful about it.
The problem was that I had to get a reliable car that I could reasonably pay for. My folks made it clear that I would be responsible for paying not only for a car, but the insurance and gas as well. So, if it was meant to be, then it was up to me.Then, as if by chance, something amazing happened.
That’s when a friend of mine said that Shoney’s Big Boy restaurant was hiring wait staff not too far from where I lived. I never had been a waiter before, but the thought of making tips sounded appealing to me. So that’s when I decided to go down and put in an application.
So my plan was to inquire as to the position, and to check back every couple of days or so to ensure that they’d be able to put a face with a name. I really looked forward to getting that job. But there still was a problem.
Every time that I would go and inquire about the job I’d always get the same song and dance. Did you put in an application they’d say? Or well, we’ll be in touch with you soon. I thought it was kind of strange since I knew that these folks were hiring. I ended up getting so frustrated that I just didn’t know what to do. It seemed that getting a car was some far off dream.
Then one day after school, my mom told me that the manager of the restaurant where I had applied, called and said if I could stop by that afternoon for an interview. I thought to myself wow, and headed straight away to the restaurant. Well, I passed the interview got the job, and I was so excited. I began to sock away as much money out of each check plus my tips that I made. I must’ve worked and saved up my money for about four months, before I had the cash to get the car I had my eye on — a Chevy Super-sport 327!
What all of this meant was that I finally ended up buying my dream car. What a valuable lesson in life to know that if you work hard enough and persevere you can grab hold of your dreams. I felt so good about myself to know that I busted my butt to accomplish my goal.
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