Last Sunday was the graduation ceremony for the class of 2003 at the school I work for. Brought back a lot of memories from when I graduated from that school in '00.
Well, on the way home from graduation I saw a house with two cars parked next to it, with bowties on the windshields. Next to the cars was a sign saying, “CONGRATULATIONS GRADUATE” or something like that. I thought to myself, “wow, a couple of kids got cars for graduation.”
Story turns out, a boy that graduated got two, TWO cars for his graduation. A 2002 Pontiac Firebird and a 2002 (or 2003, not sure) Chevy Cavalier. His parents have one rule for their use, the firebird is to be his weekend car only and the cavalier his weekday car.
Sure beats what I got for graduation (I got a mouse for my computer, and the shits from being nervous).
I got a computer for college from my parents, a lot of money from my grandpa–seriously, he was 90, nearly blind and suffering dementia and he kept handing me $100 bills all weekend saying (through tears) that he was just so happy. I tried handing them back (because I didn’t want to take that much from my dear old grandpa) but he would have none of that. My grandpa also made me a flower lei from flowers in his backyard and a traditional leaf lei (which he kept in a little lunchbox cooler during his flight). My cousin and my aunt made me a bunch of money leis (a lei made out of origami folded dollar bills…about seventy of them!). Yeah, half my family flew out from Hawaii to see me, the first kid of the grandchildren to finish high school, graduate so they got all into the celebration. My other granparents sent me a card with money. My other aunt got me stuff for college (drom room stuff). It was a lot of fun. No car though…I felt spoiled enough already!
I got a necklace with a key on it from a family friend. I lost it in no time.
My mother didn’t get me anything. Her reasoning, I was expected to graduate. However she did let me stay out past curfew that night.
I’m so glad those times are over.
I was taken down to the local Chevrolet dealership and told I could pick out any car on the lot.
As long as it was a Vega. No, not that one, the silver one, no, the other silver one with the dark interior, no, no…ok, there ya go, yeah, that one.
I paid for half of it, though, as well as for gas, tires and insurance.
Since my first car (a hoopty I bought with my own money) caught on fire on the day of my graduation, my parents gave me their car (which lasted through my undergraduate years) while they bought a new one. A damn great gift, I thought.
I got cash from all my aunts & uncles, except for the set who gave me a dictionary. Funny thing is I was resentful of the non-cash gift at the time, but I use that dictionary pretty frequently; what did I spend the money on? WHO KNOWS?!?!
My parents bought me a Pentax, which I use seldom in this digital age, but mess around with every so often when I’m feeling “arty.”
(My mom told me she hated her graduation present: Luggage, because she felt her parents were telling her: “GO AWAY!”)
I got a really, really nice laptop from my dad. $500 from my paternal grandparents. And $24k from my mom for college (given in installments for a year and then the rest in a lump sum). Plus the other half of my college education paid for by my dad and his parents.
eh, I’m a spoiled brat. But it’s still no two cars.
A couple who were friends of my parents gave me a little round two level sheesh-I-don’t-know-what-they’re-called leather thing, ~3" high and of the diameter of a coffee can. It’s still on my dresser 32 years later. I think the bottom level still holds the ignition keys for some cars I heaven’t laid eyes on in over 30 years.
I got a computer for college from my parents, a lot of money from my grandpa–seriously, he was 90, nearly blind and suffering dementia and he kept handing me $100 bills all weekend saying (through tears) that he was just so happy. I tried handing them back (because I didn’t want to take that much from my dear old grandpa) but he would have none of that. My grandpa also made me a flower lei from flowers in his backyard and a traditional leaf lei (which he kept in a little lunchbox cooler during his flight). My cousin and my aunt made me a bunch of money leis (a lei made out of origami folded dollar bills…about seventy of them!). Yeah, half my family flew out from Hawaii to see me, the first kid of the grandchildren to finish high school, graduate so they got all into the celebration. My other granparents sent me a card with money. My other aunt got me stuff for college (drom room stuff). It was a lot of fun. No car though…I felt spoiled enough already!
For high school graduation I got airline tickets for me and a friend to Europe (I had saved up the rest of the money for the trip during high school, but it looked like I wasn’t going to be able to go because nobody would go with me and mom wouldn’t let me go alone). It was great. I also got some really cool stuff- a DVD player, a good backpack for my trip, some dishes for my new dorm. It was a lot of fun.
For college I am going to get a pro digital video camera and stuff to go with it! I’m a film major, so this is a really really big deal for me. This is going to be my ticket into making projects to show at film festivals and stuff. It’s the best gift I could have ever asked for. I can hardly believe that after four years of “I wish I had a camera” I’m finally getting one! Only a little cheaper than one car, but still really damn lavish. I love my family!