Emily Cranney
Sep 7, 2018 · 5 min read

One trait that my family shares is our stubbornness. If you want to debate an issue with one of us, you are likely going to become frustrated. When we know something is right, we stick to it. We approach our daily assignments the same way. When we have a task before us, we get it done. Another way of putting it is that we are hard workers, stubborn-hard-workers. One of my greatest strengths is my determination and ability to work hard. My faith in myself and my will to perform my personal best is a great asset to me in my everyday life. Because of my determination, I have come to love and exercise my ability to work. Being a hard worker has allowed me to develop talents and skills that I would not have sought out otherwise. To me working means being able to shape my destiny through my own efforts. That is why I try to work my very hardest in all aspects of my life. Working gives me stability, peace, freedom and power for which I am constantly striving.

One of my first working experiences happened during the summer when I was ten years old. I was working alongside my older brother and my mom. We decided to form our very own community theatre for kids. Theatre was a shared love among our family. So, with that decision made, my brother and I converted our shop into a theater. We made a stage and picked the plays, under the supervision of my mother. We charged a small sum per student, introducing our “Summer Shakespeare Camp”. All funds earned went to my brother’s mission fund. Our camp grew each year, as did my responsibilities. My summers began to be full with organizing and preparing our camps that were becoming more and more popular. As I became older, I began directing and teaching the camps. Being able to work, earn money and have fun was and continues to be a blessing in my life. This summer, my family and I are putting on our 7th year of Shakespeare camp. My experiences with our family theatre led me to be employed at a local elementary school as their drama club director.

During my freshman year of high school, I was questioned by a friend of mine as to the hard-working nature of Mormons. He asked, “Why are Mormons so good at everything?”. Initially I was surprised, but eventually I spit out an answer. I said, “Well, I guess it’s because we know that we are on this earth to become like God, so we try our very hardest in everything we do.”. As imperfect as I felt, I realized that people notice when you work hard. He had noticed the effort that both me and other people of my faith had put forth. That same year, my seminary class was studying the Doctrine and Covenants. I was able to memorize the scripture mastery given to us that year. One particular scripture that stuck out to me was Doctrine and Covenants 58:27, “Verily I say men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness”. God wants us to do good and make conscious decisions leading to him. We need to be constantly seeking him out. My personal way of following this counsel has been through my various jobs. I began my first real job, babysitting. Although I was only hired by a few at first, in the end I became constantly employed. When I was fourteen, my piano teacher challenged me take on students. I had been developing my own piano skills for eight years and had passed the level 7 Royal Conservatory Exam. I began teaching one student weekly. I grew to have four. Currently I am employed at Great Harvest Bakery and I could not be more thrilled. While I have had exhausting days of work, I am always blessed knowing that I am closer to my savings goal for college. I have money to spare, because of my hard work and thorough budgeting.

Handling my money is as important as earning that money. That is why I also love budgeting. It gives me a purpose and a sense of empowerment. When I was a little girl, my mom would give my siblings and I “bedroom bucks”. Each day a dollar was left on our bed, if we made our beds and cleaned our rooms. At the end of the month we could go to the store and spend some of our money on whatever we wanted. I happened to want a pink Barbie Jeep. It was kid size, able to go two different speeds, go in reverse, had a working radio, a trunk and it was furnished with flower Barbie stickers. It was perfect to my six-year-old mind. I asked my parents if I could purchase the Jeep. My parents just said, “No, you can’t afford the Jeep Emily. You don’t need it anyway.”. That’s when my Cranney stubbornness began to kick in. Immediately, I started to save my money. I saved my birthday money, Christmas money, most of my bedroom bucks and did any extra jobs I could find. I even wrote stories to my aunts for money. The next year, my family went to the same store and lo and behold, the Jeep was still there! Again, I asked my parents if I could buy the Jeep. They just laughed and told me I could not afford it. But this time was different, this time I had brought my bank. Proudly, I presented the two hundred dollars I had saved up. My parents were shocked, but they let me purchase the Jeep, with my own money. My seven-year-old self left the store that day with more than just a new set of wheels, she left learning one of life’s great lessons, working hard is good. As a six-year-old girl, I had been able to scrap together my meager source of income and dedicate my money to something not immediately attainable. I discovered that patience and focus are two key factors to financial freedom. By developing my focus early on, I have been able to come to know the benefits of work. This patience has enabled me to receive many blessings throughout my life. I learned that good money management gives me the choice to purchase what I want. Later on, I discovered that while money is not the sole purpose of my happiness, money gives me freedom in all aspects of my life; I can buy, explore, travel and most importantly, give.

Happiness lies in working. Working allows me to both magnify and multiply my talents. Using my divine gifts, gives me purpose and importance. Working a variety of jobs has also allowed me to develop new talents that have helped me in all aspects of my life. I have been able to progress both intellectually and spiritually, because of my strong work ethic. Taking a principal and doing it gives me power. I am grateful for all my working opportunities. I want to continue to be a “stubborn-hard-worker” at BYU. I want to be with other hard-working students and with professors who expect the best of us.