I had my first job at the age of thirteen,when a friend of my mother who owned a bookshop hired me for six hours a week to help her in the shop．I was very 1 to earn my own pocket money and my parents 2 interfered(干涉)with how I spent it,even when I was spending it 3 ．They believed that by earning money,spending it,and learning from the 4 , I would become more mature(成熟的)and 5 about how to handle work,relationships with others,and money．
Like many 6 parents,my parents also let me and my brothers do things over which they 7 a great deal．When I was sixteen,for example,after I finished high school and before I entered university,I wanted to spend the summer months traveling around 8 ．My mother was against the idea of my traveling alone at such a young age,but my father felt that it would be a great 9 for me．In the end,my father won the 10 on the condition that I limited my traveling to France,my mother's home,where l had many uncles,aunts and cousins who 11 through the country who could 12 shelter and help if I needed them．
Three years later,my younger brother decided to 13 a year off after his first year in university and travel through the United States and the Caribbean．Again my mother was very worried and not 14 to see my brother leave school,but my father encouraged him and my brother had a(n) 15 year working his way on trains and ships to 16 passage to different ports and cities,and discovering many fascinating places and people．
These kinds of experiences are probably 17 for children in many countries but in the US they are fairly common．Most parents start 18 their children at a young age to do small things by themselves．By the time they have finished high school,many American kids have already had 19 jobs,traveled around the US or other countries on their own,have selected the university they plan to attend and maybe even decided on their future 20 , and so on．