Pride Comes Before a Fall.
In this world filled with lovers of money, it is very easy for a rich person to get whatever they want and get away with anything. I was born with a silver spoon in my mouth. I never had to lift a single finger to do anything because my father handled everything. My family was perfect: my mother was the CEO of the largest bank in the United States, while my father was the founder of the best oil and gas company. You can imagine the kind of money they made compared to regular people.
I grew up having everything I could ever imagine. Most of my classmates at school loved me, while the rest were jealous and hated me. It is quite a stereotype that rich kids are rude and proud, but at that time, I didn’t prove it wrong. I was the most self-centered person you could ever imagine. I made fun of people’s cars, houses, shoes, clothes, and even their parents’ occupations. They all knew I was above them all, so they never said anything to me. I only made friends with the kids who were slightly lower than my status, just to maintain my pride of being the only daughter of billionaires.
Nevertheless, with my bad character, I was still very good at school. I always came first in all my tests and exams, and it made my jealous classmates accuse me of cheating in my exams or getting help from my parents to bribe the teachers, but I didn’t care. They knew deep down that I aced those tests/exams by myself because I was a genius. Not to brag, but God really took his time with me, making me perfect in every way. It made me happy to see the anger and frustration on people’s faces when I won all those prizes. I always acted like my family was perfect, but in reality, it was slowly falling apart. My parents no longer spoke to each other, and when they did, they would argue to the point that they slept in separate rooms. Something was going on, but they didn’t want to tell me. My parents were not much different from me. They were rude, disrespectful, and wicked to those beneath them. They acted all kind and considerate in front of people above them, but they never failed to remind middle- and low-class people that they were useless compared to them. In life, you need connections to survive. My father got sued for the illegal transport of oil and gasoline. Normally, he should have been punished by the law, but instead, he was set free, and the person who intended to sue him paid compensation for defamation of his reputation. The poor man couldn’t pay for it, so he was locked up in jail instead. My wicked father visited him to laugh in his face and remind him that he had no power, even in his next life.
Soon later, the poor man was released. He promised himself that he would make my father regret what he had done. He worked hard to ensure that my father would spend the rest of his life in jail. Months went by, and his plan was completed. Before he submitted the evidence, he went to my father’s office and demanded an apology for what he had done to him, but my father laughed in his face and asked him, “How could I, a billionaire, apologize to a low life like you? Don’t you know how much that would hurt my pride?” Without waiting for a response, he kicked the man out. The man angrily went to the police station and dropped all evidence against my father. It was all true, so my father’s connections couldn’t even do anything to cover his evil deeds up. My father was arrested instantly. His case was all over the news, and it led to my mom losing her position due to speculations of her stealing money from the bank.
My life was completely ruined. My parents were criminals and had acted so mighty all these years. “How could I go back to school after all this?” I thought to myself. Little did I know, the worst was about to happen. The police broke into my parent’s house after I refused to let them in. They took all our properties and even the house itself. I was completely homeless up until child protection services offered to send me to my grandparents’ house. They lived in a village back in Nigeria. I refused to go there and ran away. I couldn’t go back to school because how would I face the people I made fun of all my life. Everything I bragged about was all gone, and I was even worse than them. I resented my parents for making me end up living that way. All my pride was gone, and I felt useless. I eventually went back to Nigeria and lived with my grandparents until my parents were released twenty years later
My parents had to make money all over again, and this time, it was harder. They had to be humble, get treated as they treated others, and let go of that pride that they would never have again, in order to live a peaceful life. No act of remorse could make all the people they treated badly forgive them and help them get back on their feet. I, on the other hand, learned a lesson from their experience and changed my ways from then onward.
By
Praise Adebowale
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