I have to admit, I have never understood why a younger person with a nice bag is such a concern in some circles. It could have been anything other than a bag (like some have pointed out regarding laptops). It could have been a high tech gadget or phone, a big video game system, or the Barbie playset to end all Barbie playsets. So what if it's a receptacle-made-of-leather-that-hangs-on-your-shoulder instead? When some people react, I wonder if it's the money that's a problem, or the fact that it's (cue dramatic music) a "bag." I guess I just don't get it.
Our daughter received a pre-loved cherry blossoms pochette when she was awarded her black belt. She was eight at the time, and hubby and I have never made apologies for it.
Was she old enough to receive that as her congratulatory gift? Well, she took the exact same black belt test that her adult counterparts also had to take, she now has the exact same responsibilities that her adult counterparts have, and indeed, she fulfills them more diligently than most of the older kids and adults combined. Would anyone have been shocked if one of the adults that tested with her would have received a nice bag?
Has she earned it? Well in terms of effort, she's always taken more classes a week than most of the adults, and had to put in just as much practice to pass that test as they did. She really does get the value of practice and "keep trying til you get it right." Monetarily, she's legally too young to be paid. But she spends at least six hours every week, unpaid, teaching other kids (mostly older than her) and leading classes. The adults and teenagers who also got black belt at the same time as her, show up maybe one day a week to teach one class other than the ones they themselves actually take. She helps teach at least five classes. If she were legally old enough for employment, they could pay her and she could have a nice little egg saved up for whatever she wanted. (She puts all her holiday/gift money into her savings account.) But she's not old enough. So as far as we're concerned, yeah, she's earned it. How many other adults spend five hours teaching every week, just out of a sense of duty? Damn right she's earned it.
She got another nice coach a couple months ago when she won her division at a national tournament. She practiced her butt of for weeks, literally, in order to do that. (Heck, she's on the back porch right now spending her Sunday afternoon practicing for another tournament. Not playing, not sitting in front of the TV, not vegging with Justin Bieber music, but practicing with a tutor.) Anyway, if an adult woman did that, she might very well receive a congratulatory gift (like a bag) from a family member. Daughter takes excellent care of hers, loves them, and (God help us) wants to go to school for design when she's older. So if she practices her heart out, kicks some serious *ss and accomplishes what she set out to do, why is it wrong for it to be a "bag" that she chooses as her congratulatory gift? Honestly. I just don't get what it is about that magic word sometimes.
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