As Steve boarded the ship, he thought of how much better his life would be in the New World. He was so poor that he had no idea where he would get the money for his next meal. He had scruffy hair and an unshaved and untidy beard. Now that he was going to the New World, he would be rich after finding lots of gold and he would live happily in England. Without hesitation, he sprinted up the ramp and set off on his journey to a better life.

The ship ride was quite uneventful. Since Steve couldn’t even afford to have a place to stay on the humongous ship, he had to sleep in the aisles and walkways. He settled in a comfy corner and head up to the deck to see what was going on.

“At this rate, how long do ‘ya think it’ll take to reach land?” the lanky co-captain questioned, stroking his beard.

“Well, I reckon it’ll take ‘bout six months, approximately,” the captain answered with a hint of uncertainty in his low voice.

Apparently, six months turned out to be forever. After an endless and excruciating six months, the ship finally docked in the foreign land. It seemed so excellent and wonderful on the outside. There were lush, green trees wherever you set your eyes and a comfortable, warm weather surrounded the land. Steve soaked up everything and could swear he could almost taste success. He grabbed his coat, which was the only belonging he had, and took his first steps in Massachusetts, America. The sand was warm on his feet and the cool water was extremely refreshing. Oh, what a great land this was!

First, he decided he would stroll around and see what the land had to offer. Also, he would check if there was any gold lying around for him to pick up. As he leisurely walked around the barren land, he noticed that it was so different from the way everyone back home in England pictures it. There were so many trees and in the distance, there were magnificent mountains. Before he knew it, Steve had already reached the shore where everyone has started to unpack their luggage. Just then, a newspaper boy had been walking around trying to sell the newspapers.

“Sir would you like one?” the boy asked kindly.

“How much are they, child?” Steve responded.

“Well,” the kid started, “it is fifty cents for one of ‘em.”

“Alright, I’ll take on, I guess,” Steve said as he dug deep into his coat pockets and found a few spare coins. EXPLORERS FIND NO GOLD was written in huge, bulky letters across the top of the day’s headlines.

“Hey kid, what does this mean? Is there really no gold?”Steve stormed, not noticing his aggressive tone.

“Nope, sir, not a single ounce of gold was found here in this place,” the boy replied sadly and went about his own business. Steve dropped to the floor and thought of how he wasted his trip all the way across the world.

Once Steve came back to his senses, he thought everything through thoroughly. He couldn’t go back to England because he didn’t have enough cash for the ship ride back. Also, there was nothing for him in England. “What do I do? Where do I go? Is there anything for me here?” Thought sped through Steve’s head like racecars as his whole world came crashing down. He had nothing other than the hope of finding this gold.

“Okay, well I might as well stay here since there’s nothing for me in either place,” he thought!

The night was freezing and Steve needed a place to sleep. He decided to build himself a small bed and gathered a few leaves and a couple of logs and began. As he finished, he realized that it wasn’t hard if you put your mind to it and while he was at it, he built himself a small home! It only took a couple of hours and Steve realized that taking responsibility for himself wasn’t that difficult. As he lay in bed, he thought about the day’s happenings and his future plans. Pondering the possibilities, Steve dozed off.

The following morning, Steve awoke to the newspaper boy. He took his coins and bought another one, hoping not to see anymore horrid news. He skimmed through the aged papers and eyed an ad that was looking for a blacksmith to work in the colony. He thought for a while and decided to discuss it with the employer.

“Hi, um, I’m here for the job you posted in the newspaper,” Steve started.

“Oh, yes, do you have any experience?” the tall, dark man questioned.

“Well, no exactly, but I think I’s do quite well. I’m very good with my hands,” he replied.

“Alright, you can try it out for a day and we’ll see how you do,” the employer said.

“Oh, thank you so much sir. You don’t even know how much this means to me,” Steve burst out cheerfully.

The job went excellent and ended up working out for Steve. He had his own small but sufficient house and his jog gave him a stable lifestyle. Taking responsibility was the number one priority. You can’t just wait for someone to pity you and come help you, because that will never happen. You just have to believe that you can and all of your dreams will come true.