I earned my first money when I was around ten years old by helping my father untangle weeds from fishing nets. Nets are devices used to catch fish in lakes and rivers. Yes, it was technically a bit of poaching. It’s easy for all of us to be smart and enlightened about such things now, in 2024.
But back in the late 1990s and early 2000s, my parents — both of whom are teachers — sometimes had their salaries delayed for several months or even half a year. Fishing wasn’t a way to get rich and buy a Porsche. It was a way to earn at least a little money and afford basic household necessities such as laundry detergent, soap, and other essentials. It may seem strange now, but those were different times.
Let’s get back to fishing 🙂 My father taught me the value of hard work from an early age and paid me for every net I cleaned of weeds and algae. At first, he paid me 25 kopecks, then 50 kopecks, one hryvnia, and eventually two hryvnias. That allowed me to earn enough for ice cream, lemonade, and other things that felt incredibly important and valuable to a child at the time.
Because we lived in a village, our garden and small farm helped us tremendously. We had all kinds of animals: a cow, a horse, ducks, geese, chickens, turkeys, rabbits, and many others. They all had to be fed and cared for, which required a great deal of time and physical effort. I was involved in that work as well 🙂
We also had a lot of land to cultivate, including 4,000–5,000 square metres of potatoes and beets. Most of the harvest was used to feed the animals. Of course, we also grew our own fruit and vegetables, from tomatoes and cucumbers to blackcurrants and cherries.
When I got older and moved on to high school, I started fishing by myself. At first, I used my father’s boat. I would go to the lake before him, set the nets, and return home. Later, my father made a separate boat for me — that felt amazing 🙂 I no longer had to go to the lake so early, when the water was still rough, and I was delighted.
After finishing school, I enrolled at university in 2010 to study physics. I had wanted to attend the Customs Academy, but my grades weren’t high enough, so I entered the local pedagogical university instead. My main focus there was maintaining my scholarship, which was worth around $100 per month. Believe it or not, that was enough for me, especially since my parents paid for my accommodation in the student dormitory.
I used that money to buy clothes, saved a decent amount, and obtained my driving licence at the age of 17. I spent four years living in the dormitory. During my final year, while studying for my master’s degree, we rented an apartment because master’s students weren’t given places in the dormitory. There weren’t enough rooms, and we weren’t considered a priority. It feels strange to remember that now, considering the dormitory was eventually closed because there were no longer enough students 🙂
I was the only student who maintained an average grade of four throughout all ten examination periods over five years and received a scholarship every time. The scholarship was my goal. I understood that the money gave me freedom and opportunities, so I was highly motivated to study and pass every exam. I had no other motivation because I already knew that I wouldn’t pursue a career in my field.
For 20 years, I had watched my parents work hard from morning until evening, only to come home and prepare lesson plans for the following day. My mother would often stay up almost until morning to finish everything.
Working with children is incredibly difficult. If you don’t believe me, try working as a camp counsellor for just one month or doing something similar. It requires enormous responsibility and nerves of steel. I experienced it myself when I worked as a camp counsellor during a mandatory university placement. During my later years at university, I also taught at a school and the university as part of my practical training. Digging a well or carrying heavy sacks seemed easier to me, provided you were in reasonably good health 🙂
To be continued…
________________
Need backlinks? Send me a direct message on Telegram: https://t.me/andrey_soroka
CIS and international markets (gambling, casinos, dating, crypto, and white-hat projects)
My channel about SEO, link building, and iGaming: https://t.me/info_site
