All my life I have grown up in a small town 30-minutes outside of Boston, a small town where everyone knew everyone and as well as everyone’s business. Nothing was private. News spread like wildfire in the town. The minute you did something, everyone knew about. Growing up here, I hated it. I always wanted to experience something different, and I always had the idea the rest of the world is not like this I’m living in a bubble. As I got older and reached middle school, my little bubble grew to include two other towns that I would go to school with until high school graduation. The dynamic of the bubble did not change, just included more faces. I had not learned to appreciate my bubble until I left college.

I grew up in a bubble that kept my hopes high and dreams even higher. I was told I could accomplish anything if I tried, given more opportunities than many of the people I would meet at college whose childhood did not take place in a bubble of protection.

The small town kept me a child for as long as it could. I was able to be a kid, make mistakes, and earn from my actions. Some may say being a kid for too long is irresponsible, but I have to disagree. As I grew, I did have responsibilities and have had a job since I turned sixteen, but I was not forced to make adult decisions until I got older. Even though when I had to start making adult decisions and it came as a shock. The decisions I had to make I am happy they were put off for as long as they could be. Adult decisions will take up the rest of my life. Having to worry about money as well as how much to save and really paying attention to what are the necessities. All of these things I did not have to face until recently. My money was my money growing up to spend how I pleased because the niceties were not of a concern to me at the time. Now, spending my summer home from school, working six days a week to make money to make a slight dent in the cost of my college tuition, I can say I am thankful for the summers I got working a couple days a week and enjoying the rest.

Once we reach the age of being adults, there is no stopping. With age comes more responsibility, whether we want it or not. So I got to be a care free kid for 17-years; 17-years of my life thanks to my parents and my little bubble. They made it so money was not a concern of mine, I just was worried about my spending money. I hope that I can provide my future children with the same experience. And when the adult decisions coming rushing at them like they did me, I will do what my parents did and guide them through the first few to then hopefully be able to make the correct decision on their own.