But that was YOUR money!

When I was nine, I took part in a writing workshop. Afterwards I went door to door through our village selling the newspaper I had made myself.

At some point two friends joined me and walked along. Once or twice they knocked and said something too. But I had done the work.

In the end I had made 61 schillings (I'm Austrian). And I wanted to split it fairly three ways. Keeping the money for myself would have felt wrong, after all, the two of them had come along. I even worked out how we could split the last schilling.

At home my mother threw up her hands: “Are you out of your mind? That was your newspaper and your money!”

I was a sweet child who needed harmony, and I stayed that way for a long time. I was bad at putting myself first, in past relationships too.

These days I come across differently and most of the time I even know what I do (and don't) want, but I still often find it hard to say no. At least I'm aware of it now and I'm working on it. After all, I'm allowed to keep learning.