I was reading Nostagic Chica's post on how she felt indebted to her dad for living on his money and how she feels good to earn and not spend his money.
I can soooooo relate to that feeling.
When I was in India, in college, I did not have the need to spend too much. We were considered "well to do" by most standards and so sis and I never had any exposure to money troubles. When I was in college/hostel, I used to get a good sum as pocket money and I hardly spent it .
Then, I landed in the US as a grad student and things changed over night. I was no longer the privileged and sheltered daughter- I was a poor Indian graduate student. It felt so bad to spend even a dollar, with very little income form my part time job. I realized how much my parents must have worked to give us all the comforts in life. I used to feel terribly guilty for taking money from my dad and not having an assistantship. For the first one year- dad paid for my tuition and I was able to cover only living expenses with my part time job. Even though, my dad had enough resources to support my tuition, it still felt horrible.
When summer came, I worked 3 different jobs- to save up for the next semester's tuition. My parents had no clue I was doing this. The jobs weren’t easy ones either. One of the jobs was particularly difficult. I was an assistant in the "Soil and water research" department. I had to go to a shed in middle of a marshland and grind dry soil all day long- the hard thing was , since I couldn’t drive, I couldn’t even take rest room breaks. The nearest restroom was about a mile away and I knew walking a mile to and fro would cut down the number of hours I put in( and hence my pay :)). The other tough thing was that, I have dust allergies and the soil grinding and powdering wasn’t helping :)!
Anyways, all these felt like nothing, compared to the feeling of "standing on your own two feet"!
I was one of those unlucky few who did not have an assistantship in graduate school and had to work over summer to pay tuition.
Then came the real thing- job hunting. ..So many horrible memories which cannot be shared at this time :). Receiving my first pay check.. that feeling can compare to nothing.
What about you guys? Does everyone feel the same way after college? or is it just me?
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6 comments:
I hear you.
When I was doing my Master's (in India) I felt terrible about the money my parents were sending me for my living expenses/tuition. The first summer when I went back home, I started looking for jobs. When my dad heard of it he told me that I needn't work..what was the money he was earning for if not to spend on my education, he said. I didn't agree, but I also couldn't find a suitable short-term job. I felt guilty about it all the way until I got my first job.
Oh, and the money they spend on the wedding..let's not even go there!
i feel guilty! my job is a piece of cake as compared to what you had to do!
anyways, thanks for sharing :)
@CW,
Dads are like that- they will never let their precious princesses work ...I so hear you on the wedding front.. that is a whole different Pandora's box..
@NC,
Shucks! Didnt mean to make you feel guilty... I was just particularly unlucky! kudos to you for wanting to be independent.. its the spirit that matters:)
Rums..
Poor you..all tht you had to go thru :(..
but u know wat, the sense of pride it gives you,is matchless..
@MK,
good to have you back..:) and yes the satisfaction was just IMMENSE!
Hey
Just reading your old blogs cos I am super bored.
But yes, I do understand the feeling.
Job hunting - associated horrible memories - I hear ya. Esp I think the year we graduated was the worst time in years for employment in the US.
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