A Christmas message to those who judge too quickly.

A Christmas Message for people who judge TL:DR Get out of your comfort zone and stop judging

This is my jeep. I bought it brand new in November of 2013. It's my first new car. Many people assume "That's expensive, you must have money to own it." Once upon a time, I was one of those people and it made me miserable.

Before I bought this vehicle I didn't realize the price tag that comes with them. I then started looking around and noticing how many people had beautiful laid out jeeps and other cars. I couldn't imagine how they covered their payments. I couldn't even afford a base model wrangler...so I waited impatiently. About a month or two after my frustration I re-evaluated my finances and made a decision. I was going to own one of these in orange and that's it. So I picked up more work with my second job and stored all that money. I didn't go out to dinner very often and I cut back on the impulse buys. I rented movies instead of going to the theatre and cut back where I felt the least resistance. A year later I saved up enough for a downpayment on a base model 2dr wrangler. I hunted down every tip and trick to bring down the dealer price and Craigslisted all the extras I wanted instead of spending crazy overpriced amounts on upgrades. Needless to say, I did my homework. Then when I finally went to buy it, I couldn't get it in the color I wanted, so I waited another 3 months until the production colors for 2014 were announced and available for order. They happened to release an even cooler color (changes from dark copper red to sunburst orange based on amount of sunslight) for that year. Two months later a jeep came into the dealership with a sticker that said "especially made for {my name}". I'm by no means rich. I was in my first year of being a teacher, but I found a way and made it happen and best of all I earned it.

The moral of the story is not to judge every person by what they have at face value. Some people have nice things, but many of us earned it and worked our rears off to do so. I gave up many weekend nights to have this to walk out to every morning. I appreciate it everyday. If you want something out there, don't down yourself or others because you're not there yet or judge others for being ahead. That will just make you a miserable grinch. Just hit the ground running today and get there at the pace you choose. It may be uncomfortable, but the end will be worth it, you'll appreciate it, and you won't be so mad at the world anymore.