The day you became financially independent

ColinSpeakman (UK)

I have to thank my parents for buying me some things that are nice to have in the transition from teenager to adult. That included a motorbike at 16. I then got enough practice to pass the motorbike driving test and they upgraded the bike. At 17, I had a car, a secondhand Mini Cooper, and took it from North West England to University in London. That was it. During summer vacations when I was growing up I worked on the entertainment piers in Blackpool as a. bingo caller. In London, I did loads of odd jobs alongside my studies, and I also worked full time there during summer vacations – with no parental help. So the transition was great, and I have been on my own ever since. That's quite normal I think.

Two French students studying at Tongji University in Shanghai selling crepes at the university gate fled when city inspectors arrived.

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The original piece: http://bbs.chinadaily.com.cn/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=1018491