Growing up, we didn’t have much.
Our parents did their best to ensure we were comfortable.
But, despite their hard work, we knew we had to chip in somehow to make our future bright. So, when I graduated from high school, I chose to go to trade school. This meant passing on the college, which I could only afford by sinking into serious debt. I went to study plumbing and become a certified female plumber in our city. My sister followed in my footsteps. One night, I recall her announcing at the dinner table that she wanted to attend HVAC school. We had an uncle who was an independent HVAC technician and was willing to be her mentor. But, she had to go to school and get the necessary certification to do HVAC servicing. My uncle and sister began working together immediately when she enrolled in school. She would go with him to different HVAC installation, repair, and servicing jobs while she had no classes. This was an exceptional opportunity because she was getting the best of both worlds. She’d learn all the theories about air conditioning in school and have hands-on experience with my uncle. This made it so much easier for her to grasp the role, and I knew she would be an exceptional HVAC technician. Frankly, I was a little jealous because, at my time, I didn’t have such a mentor at hand. The beauty of this was we were both earning well, helping out our parents without two other siblings, and not getting into debt to get an education.