The saying “work smarter, not harder” has always seemed a bit off to me. It’s as if when working smartly you aren’t necessarily working hard. In my experience working smart and working hard go hand in hand. In fact, all my life I have worked hard and I am proud of it. I think I get it from both my parents really. My father is always working. When he is not at his regular job, he is working on a side job or working at home. Forty hours a week is something he has never really known as he works much more than that and always has. My mother is always keeping up with the house and teaches both my brother and sister and me.
Ever since I was able to walk, I have been interested in tools and working. I would dress in my dad’s work clothes and act like him. When I was around eight, I started going with my dad on jobs and helping him. Although, I was probably not helping but more so just getting in the way, he still took me. That’s when I really started getting interested in carpentry and working with my hands. Once I got old enough to actually perform some of the work, my dad would let me do it. Over the years, I’ve gained a lot of experience just by watching and learning from him. He has taken the time to teach and show me how to do things and do them right. Despite all the times I messed up and cut a board wrong, and he lost time and money, he still let me try again and again. Because of his patience and guidance, I have gotten better and better and eventually developed skills that will not only benefit me in the line of work I am now choosing, which is carpentry, but will also serve me well in life in general.
As anyone can see, carpentry has been the center of my life for a long time, and the hard work that goes with it. But for me it’s not something to dread. It makes me feel good to be able to construct something, to work hard, and do a job well. I have learned from experience that hard work is something to be proud of. Being able to provide for yourself and a...