Personal Narrative: The Joy Of Buying A Car

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My family has always been frugal. From vacations to dinners to buying just about anything, we (especially my father) almost always opted for the cheapest or nothing at all. Which is why I never expected my parents to ever help me out when it came to buying a car. We got by with two cars for years with both of my parents working and my brother and I borrowing the cars for our jobs and school. Whether it meant carpooling, working from home, or simply walking to where you needed to go, we always figured something out.

When I decided that I wanted to spend my summer down in Bloomington to work and study for my upcoming MCAT test, I brought up the idea of getting a car to my parents. With fewer friends around to rely on for rides, as well as the fact that I would want to make the 4 hour drive back home several times during the summer, I felt like
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My family went through very difficult times during the economic collapse of 2008 in which my father was unemployed for almost a full year. I understand why big purchases like that are unnerving. It was hard for me because he broke a promise. It hurt because I had an expectation built up and it suddenly disappeared. I tried to explain that with no good forms of transportation, I would be limiting the places I could work. I had no way to get groceries. It would harder to visit friends who lived across town. "Ride your bike," he responded. Classic dad.

It really upset me, but I didn't really talk about it much with friends as I didn't want to come off as someone who feels that they are entitled to have a car bought for them. So I spent my summer biking to work at 6 am in the rain, walking 1.5 miles in the sweltering heat carrying bags of groceries back to my apartment, and mooching rides off of friends. I didn't complain. I knew it wasn't the first time I've had a disagreement with my father about his (lack of) spending, and I'm sure it won't be the