Firsts (Part 2)

Today, I'm remembering the first time I drove a car.

Winter break, 10th grade.

My first time behind the wheel WAS.A.TOTAL.DISASTER! I was convinced I was going to lose control of the car and crash into something, or worse, kill someone.

Never mind the fact that:
1. I was practicing in a practically deserted parking lot of my neighborhood
2. I had to be driving at a top speed of 5 mph
3. There weren't any people walking around anywhere
4. I was driving to the neighborhood pool, which was about 300 feet away

I freaked out when I realized there was a car behind me and I started to panic and sweat profusely LOL. I laugh now but then, I was about ready to pass out. I had had enough and was ready to throw in the towel but my brother, who was giving me the lesson at the time would not let me quit. It took me forever and a day to drive those 300 feet!!!!!!  After that, I was DONE...

Until I had to go back to school in a few weeks to begin drivers ed. Luckily, the jitters were all gone by then.

Firsts

Happy New Year!


Been a while...

Moving on.

As I was laying in bed yesterday, my mind was doing what it does best on lazy mornings, like thinking very random thoughts about debit cards, then I was somehow taken back to when I opened my first bank account. So today, and for the next couple of blog posts, I'm going to touch on the first time I ever _____________.

Today's blog as I mentioned will be chronicling the first time I opened a personal bank account.

In 9th grade, I had no job so the only money I made came from my parents wallets and other kind and generous family members... those were the days! In 10th grade, I started babysitting a few days a week and on some weekends. I used to make decent money. It was pretty awesome to be able to drop a $20 while out and about and STILL have tons of money left over, and by  tons of money left over, I mean like another $80-$100 dollars. It was the greatest feeling at the time to have my OWN lunch and pocket money. I was doing big things at the school cafeteria and vending machines. But the thing about the babysitting gig was, the money was not consistent. I'd be rich one month and poor the next. So in 11th grade, I decided I needed a real job. One with real pay checks so with some help, I got hired as a hostess at a restaurant and I.WAS.ECSTATIC! I could be a real adult!! My faaaaaaaavorite part about having a job was when I got to say to people ' oh ___________ is happening today between 5pm and 8pm? Sorry I can't make it, I HAVE TO WORK!' And I made sure to emphasize my having to work. Yes, I'm very aware of the irony of it all these days. Anyway, the biggest disappointment of my working career was waiting patiently the first 2 weeks of working for my check to arrive in the mail only to find out that I had to wait an additional week to receive the check. I was SO sad when my mom explained it to me. I had plans for that money! Anyway, the second biggest disappointment came when I finally received my check in the mail after what felt like a month of waiting to realize that the amount on my check didn't add up to my meticulous calculation of how much I thought I was going to receive because of this tiny little insignificant thing called TAXES !!!

After another week of waiting, my check finally arrived in the mail. So on a nice sunny Florida Saturday, Mama drove me to the bank to open up my very first account with my first paycheck. With my check, ID and social in tow, I stepped into the bank feeling like an adult. I cheesed the whoooooole entire time I was there. Mama told them why we were there and a really nice guy helped me open my first personal account. He congratulated me on my first job and first paycheck. I answered all his questions as I was being set up with my first account. He opened up a student advantage account for me, gave me two check books, CHECK BOOKS Y'ALL! *Squeal*, (which lasted me like 6 years by the way...I signed a check every 3 months lol) and encouraged me to get a picture ID debit card because it was the smart thing to do. I looked a little rough that day but nothing was going to stop me from getting my picture debit card so I smiled for the camera and boy did I smile! Finally, I was asked to sign some forms and after that, I was given a temporary debit card to access my money. He also encouraged me to sign up for online banking and gave me all the relevant information to get me started and after that it was official, I had my own bank account. That had to be one of the happiest days of my life! I left the bank feeling pretty darn accomplished!!!