The School of Hard Knocks

The brochure said it already: "This school is not for the fainthearted". And for those who believe in reincarnation it's even worse: You choose this lousy life before you were born. (well, from I understand that is.)

How many people enroll at this school? You would say nobody. But strangely enough nearly everybody does. It's very costly so why does anybody in his right mind want to go there? And why?

If there are 10 people in any country alive who can tell me that they had a wonderful child hood, perfect summers, lots of money at all times, are strikingly beautiful from early morning till late at night, please call me. Who are also incredibly intelligent, have a partner who comes home bringing long-stemmed roses and never discusses sport. Who have such a robust health that they have never had any illness; not even know what it is to have pain, either emotionally or physically.

You can fill in the rest with your own ideas. I don't know these people; I didn't go to their school. At the School of Hard Knocks nothing comes easy. You have to work yourself almost to death to learn every single thing. And this costs a lot. Money-wise it can almost ruin you if you don't take the lessons seriously. But even worse: if you don't toughen up a bit it can ruin you emotionally as well.

I admit, having money makes life easier. But if you don't have backbone, it's not going to save you in the end. Feeling hurt is okay. Having emotions is only human. But after a while of feeling miserable the brains should kick in. How big a problem is it? Is it life-threatening or was it just a matter of a cake collapsing because you opened the oven-door too soon?

If you have a problem, try and solve it as quickly as you can. Looking at a stack of bills is not going to make it disappear. Instead you'll have sleepless nights. But if you ring up the companies involved and tell them that you want to pay of $xx a month, most of them will see your good intention and will be happy to cooperate. And yes, you'll have to eat canned baked beans on toast for 3 months, but in the end you'll have everything paid off. And slept well in the meantime, because you're actively doing something about your problems.