Hard work is an essential value in society that seems to be going “down the drain.” Many young people seem to be taking the easier roads and settling for a decent life instead of the one they’ve always dreamed of. With wealthy parents, most teens find it unnecessary to get a job because their parents financially support them and all of their hobbies until the young adult exits his/her parents household.

Upon interviewing sixty-five year old Robert “Bob” Beaudion of southern Louisiana, he seemed to stress the point of diligently working to achieve a goal. When asked of his childhood, Bob first stated “I began working at the very young age of fifteen.” His first job was on the family farm raising crops and chickens that were bartered for his family’s necessities. Though never being quoted as a hard childhood, Bob’s childhood can be assumed that way. He was forced to work, not for extra spending money, car insurance, or gas, but to support help support his family since his father died of diabetes when Bob was only three months old.

By the time Robert was eighteen, he was on his own. Robert had moved to Chicago, Illinois and was married to the woman who is still his wife. “Eighteen year old men and women are usually still in their parents’ house these days,” Robert said. He later clarified that it was not meant as an insult just meant to stress how young eighteen is to be on your own with a developing family. Once in Chicago, Robert held a steady job making textbooks for a manufacturer. This is where Robert, began being known as Bob. He said, “Some kind of way, the name just stuck,” and even until this day, Bob is what I know him as.

Bob, being a great worker was never fired from the factory, but decided it was time to return to his own state. Upon his arrival home, Robert chose to pursue his original career path, which was to be an engineer. He quickly, because of his great resume and recommendations got a job in a pipe plant known as New Orleans Cement. Bob didn’t have any “hook-ups,” or friends that worked there to start him off at the top off the “food chain,” so he went to work as a yard worker. For about two years he worked in the yard and for every evening in that two years, he would arrive home sweat drenched and extremely tired. Eventually one day he went to work and the owner of the company asked to speak to him in the office. Bob remembers, “My fist were clenched tightly with sweat and with calloused hands, I walked into his office nervously.” Robert was caught quite off-guard but was promoted to manager of the plant.

Bob would stay plant manager for many years that “he could not put a number on.” Robert would go on to have two children, one by the name of Kelly that was named after and uncle and the other, a boy named Robert, named after his father. Robert remembers the support the plant gave him during the tough times of his life. He said, “There is nothing I would change about that part of my life, no use in complaining. The plant manager position supported my family for many years, and got me completely on my feet.”

Robert is now a retired sixty-five year old who strongly opposes those who do not work hard. He says, “Nothing in life is given to anyone,” and shares that quote with every person that he comes in contact with. Bob says “I worked hard all of those years to get my family through the rough times, and now I am just enjoying life and sucking everyday in one hour at a time.”

Robert says, “If you work hard, you simply cannot fail. I’ve never seen that happen. It just seems impossible,” and if you think about it, it is quite true. Working hard will get you places in life, and being lazy simply will not. When Robert was asked to reflect back on his life so far, and note anything that he could change he said, “ Well, I was just like every other kid, I wanted to know my father, but I didn’t, so I would allow myself to know him, but beside that I’ve loved my life.” We should all give failure a ride out of our lives and make that change that will turn us into who we truly want to be.