Lesson #2: Don't be Afraid to Ask for Help.

 My parents host a lot of get-togethers with our friends, relatives, and family-friends. We host these events on the weekends, usually on Friday and Saturdays. For the larger get-togethers, guests would start arriving at 2 PM and would leave at midnight or even after. Overall, it's just a fun time.

The only problem with these parties that we have is that I don't have many cousins and family-friends my age that live in Champaign. They all live up in Chicago and Michigan and India. However, I have a few younger family-friends that are fun to mess with. They're names are Harsh Patel and Dev Patel, in 7th grade and 4th grade respectively. It may surprise you that I have a cousin named Harsh Patel, but he does exist. Harsh and Dev are all about fun, but to a certain extent they rely on me to manage the fun because of their younger age. They're parents are also more strict and stern because of their age.

Harsh and Dev have never been on top of the roof of a house. Matter of fact, they're both scared of heights. As we somehow ended up with the idea of going on the roof of the house, I felt like it was my ultimate responsibility, my duty, my destiny to get my cousins and myself onto the roof of my house. I wanted to provide the experience to my cousins, the feeling of being unstoppable and fearless. 

We spent a whole hour trying to disassemble my sister's window (which was the only access to the roof). We spend many long minutes scrolling on YT on how to remove the window screen. We picked out every possible tool from my parents' toolbox, only for them not to work. We were desperate, and my cousins felt like giving up.

However, I was determined. I did not want to to back out of this challenge. I wanted to show them the importance of hard-work. I wanted them to overcome their fears through resiliency and determination. I needed to ask for help from the only person that I knew that knows how to open the window. My Father.

At first, I was a bit skeptical on asking my father about it. I thought that he would immediately shut down the operation and would tell us to go downstairs to spend time with family. However, there was no other way. 

I called my father over, and he luckily was all in for it. He helped us out and additionally made sure that he would make sure that no relative would go in my sister's room. Harsh and Dev had a great time. We looked at the stars as we lied on the highest point of our roof. Not only did I feel accomplished, but I felt satisfied that I provided the opportunity to my cousins. 

So what's the lesson? Don't be afraid to ask your parents, or any higher authority, for help or permission. Just because someone has a higher authority over you doesn't mean that all hope is lost. If there is something you've always wanted to do but are too scared about the possible outcomes of asking, go for it. Don't be afraid to go out and to bring out the real you. If you want to mess around and need your parents' permission, ask them.