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Success in college starts with childhood of shoveling and sweat By
Melissa Dymock I am the granddaughter, daughter, niece and sister of construction workers and was raised accordingly. How many 9-year-olds do you know who know all about shoveling gravel and driving equipment? I am proud to say I did. Living on a farm also gave me plenty opportunity to work. I was shoveling manure daily, from the time I could keep both ends of the shovel off the ground.. I've been darkened by the sun in the summer so much I was mistaken for a Mexican. I have calluses on top of calluses. I've been soaked in rain, covered in mud and manure, frozen and burnt. I am richly blessed. Those days of work are some of my finest memories. We are a family that knows how to work hard and play hard, but we are the exception. For the most part, Gen X'ers are spoiled children who feel mommy and daddy are the solution to all problems. According to a Time/CNN poll, 80 percent of those parents polled felt children are more spoiled today than 15 years ago and 75 percent said children have fewer chores. I was not of this negative opinion until I moved away to college and met my five new roommates. One girl had no conception of cleaning dirty dishes. Our kitchen was stacked with dishes, even our stove. She would wash when needed and leftover food stayed on the counter until eaten or molded. Two other roommates were failing biology because the 9 a.m. class was just to early. I don't think I ever saw one roommate awake; when I went to class she was asleep and when came back in the afternoons to change for work she was having a nap. Each one of them was being supported by their parents, who paid their tuition, rent, books, and a little something extra each month. They then would have the audacity to complain about being poor college students. Even with their poor grades their parents kept paying. Time magazine recently reported the story of Carla Wagner, 17, of Florida. After spending one day charging shots of tequila on her credit card she went for a drive in her AudiA4. While dialing her cell phone she ran over and killed another teen. At the preliminary hearing she was given a trial date. Her parents took this opportune moment to ask of the judge if it would be OK if she still went to France for the summer as she usually did. I am a full-time 3.7 GPA student. I am pursuing two degrees concurrently. Some semesters I am enrolled in upwards of 19 credits. I do all of this while working a part-time job and also working on the newspaper staff. Oh yeah, I am also an officer in two campus clubs. While my parents have never paid a dime for my education, they are the reason for my accomplishments. They taught me by example and by making me work. Because of this I am more happy, successful and self-sufficient than most other 20-year-olds.
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