When I was younger, my parents made me do chores. A lot of them. And I absolutely hated it and I was constantly jealous of my friends who either didn't have to do chores at all or only had to do one or two a week. But for me, my parents made it a daily routine. I was assigned a room and if that room got dirty at all during the day, it was my responsibility to clean it up.
The chore that was the absolute worst was the dishes. I hated dishes with a passion and they hated me.
My parents would even make me stay in the kitchen until the dishes were done, leaving me in there for an hour and a half sometimes until I finally just did it.
This has taught me many life lessons, however, which are helping me grow as I get older and move through college.
First of all, because my parents raised me to clean the house and do dishes, I now know how to do the same thing in my own house, making my life less stressful. I don't come back to an apartment that is a pig sty.
It has helped with my relationship because my girlfriend hates dishes, so I lovingly do it for her and am rewarded with kisses.
It has also helped me in my career because I don't stop until the job gets finished. I give 100 percent and I make sure that I do an adequate and efficient job. Because of the initiative and the work ethic I show as an employee, I find myself being promoted faster and more easily by my employers.
When I was going through high school, my parents did not give me an allowance for the chores I did inside, including dishes. They made me mow the lawn every week and do yard work. Depending on whether I did this, I had the chance to earn some money. This led to my belief that, if you want something, you have to work for it. It's not going to just be given to you. Just because I'm their son doesn't mean I am entitled to their money. I have to earn it.
Because of this lesson, I strengthened my work ethic enormously. It also led to my creating good spending habits. I started to see money much differently. I took care to not use all my money at once because I knew I wasn't going to be able to earn any more for another week and who knew if I would feel up to doing the yard the next weekend.
I understand that all kids hate chores and think their parents are ruining their social lives when they have to do them before they can go hang out with friends, but that's real life. You can't go out and have a good time with your best buds until after you are done at work.
Parents are just trying to prepare you for the future that every kid is going to eventually have to face. I'm glad that mine raised me to have a good work ethic and to not spend money outrageously.
