Ways back to school!

It was my first day back at school. Actually, it was my second year at the college. I studied at CVM, I had a couple of friends in my classes. I was not that much excited to start a new semester, but I was happy to see my friends again. When I entered the class, I went to the back of the classroom because I like to see everyone, it allows me to put a name on their faces. Then, I saw that beautiful girl.

Choice 1 : Talk with the beautiful girl.

Choice 2 : Sit next to her without saying anything.

First contact.

I said, "hi" to the girl next to me. she was looking very sweet. She had little smiling eyes and short straight black hair. She was smiling like she was happy all the time. She said a gentle "hi" back, but she made a sign with her hands telling me to listen to the teacher. As I did.

Choice 1 : Few minutes later...

A gentle approach.

I decided to sit right next to the girl, but I thought it was better not to talk to her yet. However, I was looking at her. She was looking very sweet. She had little smiling eyes and short straight black hair. She was smiling like she was happy all the time.

Choice 1 : Few minutes later...

First date.

Fortunately, the teacher planned a teamwork in class. I got in team with the girl, and it was the opportunity to talk with her and get to know her better. Time has passed so quickly, we were already done with the teamwork, and it was the end of the class. Her name was Melissa. We talked a lot, but it was all about the class work. So, once we got out of the class, I asked her if she wanted to go out with me the next Friday. To my surprise, she said that we could go right now.

Choice 1 : go to Eaton center with her (the nearest mall)

Choice 2 : take a walk outside with her

A date at Eaton Center.

I brought her to Eaton Center, which was the nearest mall around there. As we were walking inside the mall, we were talking about everything, and I tried my best to be funny and cool as possible. She was so nice, it was really great to be around her, and we connected so well. There was a real chemistry between us. We had so much in common, but we were so different at the same time. We sat on a bench in the middle of an empty hall. There was absolutely no one but us. I putted my arm around her, and she came closer to me. At the exact same time, my phone started ringing.

Choice 1 : Answer the phone

Choice 2 : Decline the phone call

A date at her house.

I asked her if she wanted to take a walk, which was not the best idea since it was snowing and cold outside. She said she didn't like cold temperature, so she suggests going to her house. Her parents were on a trip in another country, so her house was free to go. When we arrived in her house, she was suddenly all shy but smiling. I know her heart was probably racing at that moment. It makes her cute even more. We went down to her room. She asked me if I was hungry, so she shipped food of my choice. After my meal, we went in the living room watching movies. She putted her feet on my lap as we were entering deep conversations. All of sudden, my phone started ringing.

Choice 1 : Answer the phone

Choice 2 : Decline the phone call

Bad news.

I answered the phone. I heard my mom saying some inaudible mutters. She was trying to say something, but it was so low I couldn't even understand a thing. It was complete silent for seconds. When I was about to ask her what was going on, I heard her voice again. She was crying. I didn't understand what was happening. I wondered what kind of situation could happen to get her unable to speak like that. Then, she began to tell her first words. - "Our house is on fire". That was her words. That's what kept her from speaking at the beginning. That's what made her cry. She was in shock. I didn't even know what to say, what to think. Melissa was sitting there, just next to me, in silence. Did she notice the change of expression on my face? Did she know I needed to leave right now? Did I need to tell her what was going on or should I just run to join my family as soon as possible? My little sister and my brother. At that exact moment, my head became paralyzed, my brain was empty. I couldn't even believe it. My house... On fire? Everything... Gone? My room... My stuff... My kitchen... My place... My home.

Choice 1 : Go reach my family

Mom is annoying.

I denied the call. I didn't want to interrupt my time with Melissa. However, only few seconds later, the phone started ringing again.

Choice 1 : Answer the phone

No more home.

As I arrived on the scene, firefighters were all over the place. The red sirens of the fire trucks were the unique source of light in the darkness of the night. The fire was extinguished. However, we could see black traces on the edge of the windows. The window panes had been shattered by the heat of the flames, leaving only empty window frames. The fire had ravaged the entire upper floor of the apartment. Fortunately, the part we lived in was undamaged. Still, I had to find my mom and siblings. There were few neighbors around, standing on the streets, but I couldn't see my family. So, I headed toward the Red Cross Bus, where I heard some noises.

Choice 1 : Enter the bus

Bus of chaos.

As I entered the bus, I saw devastated faces, I could see the flames that destroyed our house through their eyes. Some of my neighbors were crying of sadness and despair and others were simply emotionless. I was probably one of them, because I couldn't realize the reality of the situation. There're some things you can't fully understand until you live it. Adults were talking to each other, trying to calm themselves and their kids, Babies and children were crying, people were moving a place to another in this little narrow bus. Red Cross workers were delivering medical kits and essential bags. Then, I saw my mom.

Choice 1 : Join my family

Stuck.

We took some of the most important stuff that we needed. We had to run in the house to take as much as possible because the firefighters told us that we couldn't stay for more than 5 minutes, or it could have been dangerous for our health. We had no more home. It was around 10h p.m. and we were now all waiting in the car. Where would we go now? A lot of the choices I was going to make from that time on were now severely decisive.

Choice 1 : Call a friend

Choice 2 : Rent a hotel

A call for help.

I called one of my friends. I told him about the situation. He didn't know what to say. After all, what can you say at your high school friend when you're only 17 years old. He was so young, so innocent, as I was. He asked his parents, but hearing his tone of voice, it was not good news. He told me that I could stay at his house, but only me. The rest of my family would have to sleep at the hotel. In this case we would be separate and my mom would be alone with my two siblings to do everything by herself.

Choice 1 : Rent a Hotel

Choice 2 : Go stay at my friend's place

A temporary home.

Going to a hotel was probably the best idea for now on. At the same time, it was not the best conditions. The hotel was clean and all, but in a hotel room, there's no fridge to store food, no oven to cook it, no different rooms for some privacy. There was a lot of complicated situations that we couldn't find out before actually facing it.

Choice 1 : 2 weeks later...

We belong to our family.

I thought that staying at my friend's house would be a good solution, but it was not that simple. At first, I thought my mom was good with it, until I had a talk with her on the phone. I knew she had a grudge against me. She had to take my brother and sister to school every single day all by herself. I started to feel some guilty about it. Besides, I was in a family that wasn't mine. A few weeks later, I had my mom on the phone again. She was crying. She had enough on her shoulders. There was only one thing to do...

Choice 1 : Go to the hotel with the family

Like a house of cards.

It's been now two weeks since I was in the hotel with my family. I was in a room with my little brother and my mom was in another room with my little sister. It was April's beginning and still cold outside. We were eating restaurants every day, and it started to be really expensive. My mom revenue was not enough to maintain that kind of spending. She had insurance though, that's what kept us alive. It was very difficult to live in these conditions. In fact, I had to stop working cause my mom needed my presence and my help. Fortunately, I still had some money in my savings. Despite this, I still had a problem. Doing my homework was very complicated, I had to do every online work on my phone. The smoke of the fire broke some of our electronics, including my computer. While I was walking back from college, I was not going home, but I was going to the hotel. When I talked to people, I couldn't say "Bye, I'm going home", because I didn't have one anymore. I really felt like I was homeless, but with enough money to pay a hotel room. I felt some type of shame about it. My sanity was starting to deteriorate. Despite my efforts, my grades slowly started to drop down.

Choice 1 : Keep going to school

Choice 2 : Stop going to school and cancel my classes

Running in the wrong direction.

I kept going to school. I did my best to do my assignments at the hotel, but it wasn't easy at all. My brother was always in the same room with me, and I couldn't do anything about it. it was difficult to concentrate. There was no one to blame, it was just life. Weeks passed by, and I wasn't able to sleep enough. I was very tired and slept during my classes. Some teachers started to be mad at me and everything started to feel heavy on my shoulders. Because of a lack of sleep, I was late for my classes to often, and sometimes I even missed classes. At the end of the session, I had horrible grades and was failing half of my classes.

Choice 1 : Apply for the next school session

Took a break.

A lot was going on lately. I clearly needed a pause. However, it was disappointing to stop everything. I took an appointment with my individual educational aid and told her everything about the situation. She was very emphatic and canceled all of my classes. I was free of charges and felt relieved. All that pressure I got on my shoulders was gone. I had a nice summer doing several activities with my friends and enjoyed the light of the sun. My mom found a new house, better than the one we got, and a lot bigger. It was now time to go back to school.

Choice 1 : Go to school!

Enough is enough!

I applied for the fall semester but my last grades were not great enough. They declined my request. I was destroyed inside. I knew my success at school was everything to my mom. She was completely disappointed at me. My condition was even worse now, and I started depression for years. At this point, I couldn't get myself back enough to accomplish my dreams and become a successful entrepreneur. It was the end of it.

Choice 1 : [ START AGAIN ]

Back on track.

I started my semester all over again. Everything was almost back to normal. Time was the only cure now. I saw my friends again and made some new ones to. It all has been really rough lately, but I started to feel alive again. Once, I woke up in the middle of the night, in my bed. Music was still playing in my headphones. It was the latest album of PNL. Listening to the lyrics, I started to cry. It was like a fanfare of emotions, splashing me smoothly with all kinds of feelings. I felt particularly grateful about life, about one of my friends that I felt lucky to have in my life. It seems like losing a big thing made me realize all the good things I had. A few weeks later, I found a new job, and I started making money again. The college semester was coming to an end. One night, Melissa texted me. It's been a while. She wanted to see me. It made me smile.

Choice 1 : Go to a Hotel room with Melissa

Choice 2 : Focus and study for my final exams

Go to a Hotel room with Melissa.

Before going to the hotel, Melissa came on my workplace as I told her. I finished my shift at 9 p.m. When I was done, I walked with her outside. It was snowy but the temperature was soft. I could tell she was really excited. We were looking for a good hotel to spend the night. After 20 minutes of walk, we found a really fine and modern hotel. She brought a bottle of vodka with some cranberry juice. We drank the half of it. it was a good vibe. We slowly started cuddling while having a conversation. It was a beautiful night.

Choice 1 : A week later...

Focus and study for my final exams.

It was the end of the semester, and I had a lot of studies. Those three last weeks of college are really hard. There's always a ton of work to do at the same time. I did a lot of efforts, but I started to realize that Social Science program was not for me. Back in the days, I wanted to become a psychologist, but it wasn't what I truly wanted. I was too young to decide about my future. At least I noticed that it wasn't for me. However, I was making money, I had a good job where everyone liked me and my coworkers were very friendly. Even the boss liked me and treated me well. It was such a nice job, a lot better than the last one. One time, while I was working, I received a text from my group of friends. They were going to Cuba during holiday, and they invited me. It would be the first trip I would go without my family. It would be an absolutely amazing experience, that's for sure. Yet, my job would not let me leave since I was new there. If I did go to Cuba with my friends, I would have to quit my job.

Choice 1 : Go to Cuba

Choice 2 : Keep my job

A new adventure!

The fall semester is done! My grades were not that bad. Everything was going very well. It was about to be my first trip without any parents, it would be just me and my best friends. We were all so excited. It was a really good part of my life. When we arrived in the airport, some girls we knew were waiting for us. They were screaming of joy when they saw us coming. Everyone was deeply happy, it was like being a child again. I had so much energy in my body at that moment, it was like my blood was a fluid of electricity running through my body. We waited for few hours, then we got on the plane, ready to go. It was one-week stay, and it wasn't enough, but we did plenty of things. Everything happened amazingly right. It was sunny the whole trip. We ate like kings and queens. Food was free and we drank all day long. The resort was majestic. We went to the beach every single day, the water was turquoise and crystal clear. We rented four scooters, and we drove all along the coast, it was magnificent.

Choice 1 : Go back to Montreal

Keep my job.

Going to Cuba would probably have been an amazing experience, but I had to keep my job. Moreover, a trip costs a lot of money. Keeping my job allowed me to buy all the things I wanted. I bought a bunch of new clothes, a gaming chair and a brand-new computer.

Choice 1 : Weeks later...

Back from Cuba.

It took me almost two weeks to get right. I was a little bit depressed since I went back from Cuba. I wished this trip lasted forever, for real. Well, I was back to real life. This trip really opened my mind about several aspects of life. I learned from that experience that I wanted to travel the world. I wanted to be free. Having a job until my 60s wasn't stimulating at all. Why would I have to live like that, because everyone else does? So, I started looking for a way to make money.

Choice 1 : Few weeks later...

Pandemic.

The winter semester had begun. I was really not enjoying my studies. I started to feel like it was insignificant. I didn't know what to do, but I felt like I was in the wrong place. I liked learning about psychology, but I didn't want to do this all my life. The subject was interesting, but nothing more. Then, my motivation dropped really quick. I was constantly deeply thinking about life and my own future. I didn't know what I needed exactly, but it had to change. The weeks passed, and something bigger than we thought was happening. At television, they were talking about a new virus from China. At the beginning, it was not a big deal. Then, the virus spread all over the world under few weeks. Government prevented us from going out. Shops and restaurants were closed. We thought it would end after two weeks, but the measures started again and again. There was no end to it. My mom was so scared, I had to quit my job. I dropped out of school too because my motivation was already down and now the classes were online only. One day, my friends were playing basketball outside. I wanted to join them, but my mom wouldn't let me go out.

Choice 1 : Ask permission to my mom

Choice 2 : Find something else to do

Ask mom to go out.

I asked my mom if I could play with my friends outside, but she didn't want to. It has been almost 2 weeks since I was locked in my house. The only times I went out were when I took out the trash. I was so mad, I started screaming at my mom, saying she was scared for no reason. We argued for an hour, but no success.

Choice 1 : Find something else to do

Choice 2 : Sneak outside with my friends

Something to occupy myself in the house.

It was really boring. I had to find something doing. I was already playing video games all day long, and I was tired of it. One more game, and I was about to throw my Xbox out of the window. Then, I remembered a book my grandpa left me. It was called "Rich dad, poor dad". I've never been a big reader in my life, but maybe it was the time to start. I opened the book and started to read it. In short, it was about a young guy who had two dads. One of his dads was his friend's father and, he was an entrepreneur. His real dad was a school teacher. In the book, he talked about how the mentality of his two dads were different and how it changed his mind. Well, this book changed my mind for life. As I was looking for change, I thought I probably found it. It was the start of it.

Choice 1 : start thinking

Sneak outside with my friends.

During that day, I called my friend and told them I would join them later in the night. I sneaked out while everyone one was sleeping at my house. I spend few hours with my friends, then I came back home. Nobody saw me. The next day, I started to feel weird. Was I sick? I wanted to cough so bad, but I tried to hide it, otherwise my mom would find it suspicious. I acted like there was nothing. Only, few days later, my sister started to feel sick as well. She was coughing like a monster and started to feel really bad. What a shame. It was all my fault. My mom brought my sister to the hospital as her health was going very bad. She called me to tell me that my sister caught the virus. My sister died few days after from it. I couldn't take it anymore. I ended my life.

Choice 1 : [ START AGAIN ]

Invest!

I had a whole new mindset now. A lot of things were clearer now in my head. The way that I thought about money was completely different from the past. One of the rules I learned from the book was to buy assets and to avoid liabilities. In fact, it was one the most important rules. The only thing, I didn't know what to invest in. Letting my money in a saving account was like sleeping money. I had to put it into work, but how? At least, now I knew that I had to do something with it, other than spend it on meaningless things. Now, my head, my brain and my energy was focused on one thing: Get rich!

Choice 1 : Start a business

Choice 2 : Wait

Start a business.

I had to start a business. I got plenty of ideas, but I had to choose one from them. I could start an electrician company. My cousin and my uncle were electricians and they were making a lot of money. Also, there was demand. In the other hand, I was a good drawer since my young age. I could use my iPad to draw digital portraits of people. I didn't really know if it were that important for people to have a portrait of them, but maybe I could find some clients. I didn't expect much from this one though. The electrician company probably had more potential, but it involved a lot more investment in time and money. It was probably more risky.

Choice 1 : Electrician company

Choice 2 : Portraits drawing business

Wait.

I had to wait a little more. I needed time to work on myself. I was watching a movie on Netflix, it was about cryptocurrency. I didn't know that much about that subject back then, but it was pretty interesting. It was the first time I truly learned about Bitcoin. It was created to counter the flaws of the monetary economic system after the 2008s crash. I was trapped in my house for a while, so I spent my days studying about Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. I asked two of my friends if they wanted to start investing in it. They were skeptical about it, then I talked with them trough text messages, and I explained to them how cryptocurrencies were about to be all around the world. I finally convinced them to invest with me.

Choice 1 : Invest all my money ($12K)

Choice 2 : invest safely ($1k)

Electrician company.

I started to run the company. I asked my uncle a lot of questions about the job. I invest a lot of money just for the legal procedures. I wanted to make sure everything was right. However, it was a lot more complicated than I thought. I hadn't any experience in business management, and I couldn't find clients at first. I had to hire electricians because even if I found some clients, I couldn't do the job myself. My cousin and my uncle were already working all day. This business was a failure. I actually needed more experience and knowledge. Moreover, electricity was not in my field of interest. I had to drop that project and find something else.

Choice 1 : Try something else

Portraits drawing business.

I already had some drawings in my iPad. I used to draw some celebrity portraits. At first, I had no clients at all. It was hard to find clients. So, I asked my close friends and people I knew from the college and workplaces. Some of them wanted a portrait, and they were very happy when they saw the results. The point of this business was to make money, and all I did was for free. Fortunately, some of my friends shared my work on social media, and I got few more clients from that, but it was not enough to make me rich, obviously. Every month, I had some portraits to do, but it was nothing serious. I made a couple bucks from it, and now I needed to improve myself. I had to get more experience and more knowledge on business.

Choice 1 : Try something else

A good end.

I invested all my money with my friends. I putted everything I had in my bank account. That was very risky, but I preferred to take risk better than lose the chance. We had $14k in total in the cryptocurrency account. Every day, our money was moving. We gained and lost about $1k per day. Despite our emotions, we promised to not touch the money until we made a great profit. The virus was still around the world but the government withdrew health measures for summer. Because of the pandemic, the stock market was crashing as much as the cryptocurrency market. We bought Bitcoin at a really low price. Only after few months, we made an incredible profit. The price of bitcoin had multiplied by ten. We now had $140 000 in our wallet. We took our fair share, and it changed our live forever. We became financially free at the age of 27, and we lived our lives according to our own will.

Write a choice here.

Some wishes for the future.

I decided to go safe. I putted around 10% of my capital. We had about $2.5k in the cryptocurrency account. Every day, our money was moving. We gained and lost about $50 per day. Despite our emotions, we promised to not touch the money until we made a great profit. The virus was still around the world but the government withdrew health measures for summer. Because of the pandemic, the stock market was crashing as much as the cryptocurrency market. We bought Bitcoin at a really low price. Only after a few months, we made a nice profit. The price of bitcoin had multiplied by ten. We now had around $25 000 in our wallet. We took our fair share. I wished I putted more money, but I couldn't predict what was about to happen. Well, I will use my profit in the future to make even more money. Maybe, it was the beginning of a life change.

Write a choice here.