Kimi Kobal

Paper #4

Financial Stability

        In the early 1900’s both of my great-grandfathers made their way to America by boat from Italy.  At the time one of them was barely two years old while the other was fourteen.  America was called the land of opportunity and it was, but that did not mean things would easy. The elder of my grandfathers worked as a pattern maker in a factory.  The younger of the two had several jobs throughout his life.  At one point he worked for Carnegie Steel and sold newspapers.  Having to support a family during the depression was not an easy thing to do.  Although he has passed away now the echoes of his stories still replay over and over again, “…uphill both ways in the snow…”.  During my childhood a weekly Italian dinner was always held at my great-grandparent’s house for the whole family.  There was a small corner store at the end of the street and my grandfather would pass out a dollar to all the great-grandchildren to walk to the store with.  Being as young as I was it didn’t mean much to me at the time, but now that I’m older and understand the value of a hard earned dollar especially one he worked so hard for the sacrifices he made for our family are more and more apparent.

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        Today the legacy left behind by my grandfathers of taking pride in our work is evident in all members of my family.  I was always taught that I could be anything I wanted to be.  There was never a question of whether or not it was a “woman’s” job.  Having a hard work ethic is something that learned often as a child and strived towards forever.  The process of learning the true value of work starts when children begin school.  Working hard for the reward of a good grade is one of the first experiences of what work is really ...

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