One thing I once saved up for was my first mechanical watch, and to me, it was much more than just something nice to wear.
I decided to buy it shortly after I was admitted to National Taiwan University. At that point, getting into NTU felt like a major milestone, so I wanted to give myself something meaningful as a reward. I didn’t want to buy something flashy just for the sake of showing off, though. A mechanical watch felt different. To me, it represented adulthood, maturity, and, in a way, stepping into a completely different stage of life. It was almost like a small token marking the transition from being a student who depended heavily on others to someone who was beginning to stand on his own two feet.
What made the watch even more special was the way I paid for it. Instead of asking my parents for the money, I saved up what I earned from teaching students who were themselves competing for admission to NTU. Since I had the know-how and physical experiences, so many students found my experiences and teaching convincing, and very willingly and very handsomely paid for my classes, helping me to earn the funding to buy my ideal mechanical watch.
When I eventually bought it, I felt an enormous sense of pride. Obviously, I was happy to own something I had wanted for quite a while, but the real value of the watch had very little to do with its price. Every time I looked at it, it reminded me of the work I had put in before entering university and of the fact that I could actually earn something through my own ability. It reminds me not to rest on past achievements and to keep pushing myself forward. More importantly, it symbolizes the point when I felt I was truly embarking on an independent life, not only financially, but also personally and socially. In that sense, buying it felt like I wasn’t simply purchasing an object; I was marking the beginning of a new version of myself.