Anima
Don Juan
The title says it all. Here's my situation:
Family
My parents are divorced. My mother is rarely in the picture because of her alcoholism, and my dad has always been unable to provide. He's a used car salesman. He always sinks his money into "projects", and after that and bills, he has none left. He's always been a ridiculously cheap buyer, sacrificing quality for quantity. Nevertheless, there's always few, barebone groceries at my house. Lately, he's been making me pay for my car insurance and repairs. Some parents do that, but the thing is that I don't have a paying job. I had a mediocre savings plan at the beginning of summer as I got my first job (blame goes in part to the sh*tty bank my dad had me with), and then finally got it together by the end. I managed to have roughly $1200 in the bank as I quit my job for school. I also have three checks that I need to pick up and cash from the company. One is like $140, and I'm assuming that one is similar and the other like $50 for my last week. Normally, that would last me until summer starts and I get a paying job. But my dad has just been bombarding me with payments and I can't pursue my passions and pay all of this. I refuse to get stuck in a rut of poverty like him.
My Job
My passion is culinary arts. I'm going to the best school for that in the nation: J&W in the nearby town Charlotte. With that motive in mind, I've gotten where I am. My first job was in a seafood buffet. They started me off as a busboy, and then worked my *ss off I quickly moved up (i.e. busboy, dishwasher, food runner) until I was dealing with food and customers. Not a lot of culinary experience, though it broke the ice for the kitchen atmosphere and social skills. Then I got an opportunity for money from my brother, a pizza delivery boy. At this point, I realized how terrible of a boss I had and that my job was driving my insane. He was cheating people out of money. The new job was simpler (i.e. answering the phone, making pizza dough, and cleaning) for a slightly higher pay (7.25 to 7.50). I arguably made less money because I got a car and preferred a social life to more hours. Do I regret the change in jobs? Financially, absolutely. In terms of what I learned socially (more related to my journey as a DJ), arguably. I worked there until the summer was over. That's when my dad decided to tell me that I would need to pay my car insurance. I was really confused and depressed about how this would affect my life. How was I going to reach my passions if I was in this rut of working paycheck to paycheck with my dad? I started looking online for some jobs that give me culinary experience and money. On Craigslist, I found one at a place called Wicked Tuna for a sushi apprentice. Wicked Tuna has a location next to my campus and an apprenticeship program where they pay for tuition for people who stick with them until college. So I'm being prepped for college under one of the best people in my location as an apprentice, and then they'll pay my 48k a year? Sounds almost too good to be true. So I go there and talk to the head chef (not the head sushi chef, who wasn't there). He relates to me in that we have the same passions and the same college. They say they'll call me. I give them roughly a week or so and go up there again to ask them. This time I meet the guy who's going to be teaching me. I fill out another application, and they say to come in that Sunday. I go in and have my "first day". I loved it. They say they'll call me. I give them almost two weeks and don't hear anything. I go up there again and ask him about hit. He says that they can't afford to pay me because it's the off-season and they don't need the help therefore. I tell him that I want it and I'll work for free, so he offers to let me work for food. That's what I've been doing until now. I love the job and I'm learning a lot, but I'm not being paid with money. My boss is going on vacation soon, so I need to catch him before he does to talk to him about me being paid. Keep in mind that I need this job more than anything. It will get me ready for college more than anything else available to me; it's the best in my area. I'm at the top right now.
What I Want
There's many things I want to be by the time I'm an adult, but there's two things I will have by the time I start college: be a DJ and my "perfect" body (couldn't think of how to phrase that with "will have" to show my drive). To achieve those, I have to postpone or take some focus off of some of my hobbies. For example, I've wanted piano lessons for years now. Though I've recently found the best option for fitness in my location: CrossFit Vengeance. This man will help me sculpt my body by my deadline. He creates a routine specifically for me and what I want and is essentially my coach/trainer. This, unfortunately, costs $125 for twelve classes. These classes familiarize me with everything and make sure I know what I'm doing when I use the gym on my own. The gym from there is $29 a month, which is sustainable (my dad will pay for that). I went there today and talked to him, and he told me all about it and handed me a form that my dad needs to sign. I told him about it and he insists that I don't have the money for it. With roughly $500 (plus the three checks I need to cash, and the potential money I'll make after speaking with my boss), I'd think I can afford the $125. I'm paying roughly $70 a month for my car insurance. It seems like I could afford it, so I'm honestly scared for what he has planned for me to pay. So my questions:
Do you think I can afford this? Would it be drastically hindering if I paid for it?
How do you feel about my situation overall? What do you think of my choices and what I have going on?
How can I make it better? What can I do?
If you have questions/need further details, feel free to ask.
Thanks
Family
My parents are divorced. My mother is rarely in the picture because of her alcoholism, and my dad has always been unable to provide. He's a used car salesman. He always sinks his money into "projects", and after that and bills, he has none left. He's always been a ridiculously cheap buyer, sacrificing quality for quantity. Nevertheless, there's always few, barebone groceries at my house. Lately, he's been making me pay for my car insurance and repairs. Some parents do that, but the thing is that I don't have a paying job. I had a mediocre savings plan at the beginning of summer as I got my first job (blame goes in part to the sh*tty bank my dad had me with), and then finally got it together by the end. I managed to have roughly $1200 in the bank as I quit my job for school. I also have three checks that I need to pick up and cash from the company. One is like $140, and I'm assuming that one is similar and the other like $50 for my last week. Normally, that would last me until summer starts and I get a paying job. But my dad has just been bombarding me with payments and I can't pursue my passions and pay all of this. I refuse to get stuck in a rut of poverty like him.
My Job
My passion is culinary arts. I'm going to the best school for that in the nation: J&W in the nearby town Charlotte. With that motive in mind, I've gotten where I am. My first job was in a seafood buffet. They started me off as a busboy, and then worked my *ss off I quickly moved up (i.e. busboy, dishwasher, food runner) until I was dealing with food and customers. Not a lot of culinary experience, though it broke the ice for the kitchen atmosphere and social skills. Then I got an opportunity for money from my brother, a pizza delivery boy. At this point, I realized how terrible of a boss I had and that my job was driving my insane. He was cheating people out of money. The new job was simpler (i.e. answering the phone, making pizza dough, and cleaning) for a slightly higher pay (7.25 to 7.50). I arguably made less money because I got a car and preferred a social life to more hours. Do I regret the change in jobs? Financially, absolutely. In terms of what I learned socially (more related to my journey as a DJ), arguably. I worked there until the summer was over. That's when my dad decided to tell me that I would need to pay my car insurance. I was really confused and depressed about how this would affect my life. How was I going to reach my passions if I was in this rut of working paycheck to paycheck with my dad? I started looking online for some jobs that give me culinary experience and money. On Craigslist, I found one at a place called Wicked Tuna for a sushi apprentice. Wicked Tuna has a location next to my campus and an apprenticeship program where they pay for tuition for people who stick with them until college. So I'm being prepped for college under one of the best people in my location as an apprentice, and then they'll pay my 48k a year? Sounds almost too good to be true. So I go there and talk to the head chef (not the head sushi chef, who wasn't there). He relates to me in that we have the same passions and the same college. They say they'll call me. I give them roughly a week or so and go up there again to ask them. This time I meet the guy who's going to be teaching me. I fill out another application, and they say to come in that Sunday. I go in and have my "first day". I loved it. They say they'll call me. I give them almost two weeks and don't hear anything. I go up there again and ask him about hit. He says that they can't afford to pay me because it's the off-season and they don't need the help therefore. I tell him that I want it and I'll work for free, so he offers to let me work for food. That's what I've been doing until now. I love the job and I'm learning a lot, but I'm not being paid with money. My boss is going on vacation soon, so I need to catch him before he does to talk to him about me being paid. Keep in mind that I need this job more than anything. It will get me ready for college more than anything else available to me; it's the best in my area. I'm at the top right now.
What I Want
There's many things I want to be by the time I'm an adult, but there's two things I will have by the time I start college: be a DJ and my "perfect" body (couldn't think of how to phrase that with "will have" to show my drive). To achieve those, I have to postpone or take some focus off of some of my hobbies. For example, I've wanted piano lessons for years now. Though I've recently found the best option for fitness in my location: CrossFit Vengeance. This man will help me sculpt my body by my deadline. He creates a routine specifically for me and what I want and is essentially my coach/trainer. This, unfortunately, costs $125 for twelve classes. These classes familiarize me with everything and make sure I know what I'm doing when I use the gym on my own. The gym from there is $29 a month, which is sustainable (my dad will pay for that). I went there today and talked to him, and he told me all about it and handed me a form that my dad needs to sign. I told him about it and he insists that I don't have the money for it. With roughly $500 (plus the three checks I need to cash, and the potential money I'll make after speaking with my boss), I'd think I can afford the $125. I'm paying roughly $70 a month for my car insurance. It seems like I could afford it, so I'm honestly scared for what he has planned for me to pay. So my questions:
Do you think I can afford this? Would it be drastically hindering if I paid for it?
How do you feel about my situation overall? What do you think of my choices and what I have going on?
How can I make it better? What can I do?
If you have questions/need further details, feel free to ask.
Thanks
