My Mom Is SO Cheap (English)
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00:00Hi, I'm Camilia from Brazil. Before I tell you my story, please like and subscribe.
00:04My parents were super, super rich.
00:07Just kidding. We were living in the poorest neighborhood in town.
00:11Mom stayed at home, and dad mowed lawns, and we had little to no money.
00:15Hmm, maybe I should have subscribed to this channel and tried to win $10,000.
00:19Hey, you should try that. Subscribe to MSA today, and you could be the lucky winner of $10,000 in just seven days.
00:26Fingers crossed!
00:27But anyways, being poor didn't stop my parents from spoiling my younger brother Pedro rotten.
00:33You see, Pedro was a genius. By the time he was eight months old, he could say his alphabet and count to 100.
00:39By the time he was two, he was doing mathematical equations and solving puzzles.
00:44Our baby is a genius!
00:45He's going to make us so proud.
00:47And what am I, chop lover?
00:49On my fifth birthday, instead of the princess house with the car and pool I wanted, mom stitched me a doll from old clothes.
00:55We just don't have the money, sweetie.
00:57But Pedro received a brand new remote-control car.
01:01Sweetie, we had to get Pedro something as well.
01:04That wasn't even the worst of it.
01:05Pedro was allowed to go to school, and I wasn't.
01:08My parents said it was because Pedro had a special gift, so they used all the money they had to send him to a private school for gifted children.
01:16And they couldn't even afford books for me to go to a public school.
01:19Life was so unfair.
01:21I felt so invisible.
01:22The only time my parents saw me was when they wanted me to do some chore around the house.
01:27Over time, I just got used to it.
01:29And since I couldn't read books to myself, or I didn't have a phone to watch videos, I started to sew to pass my time.
01:35Camellia, what did you do to my curtains?
01:37I fell in love with creating new things from old stuff.
01:41And I wanted to become a fashion designer.
01:43Because of how differently my parents treated Pedro and me, we never grew up close.
01:47And he always saw me as his slave, even though I was older than he was.
01:51Clip my toenails. Clean my shoes.
01:53When I was 11, I begged my parents to send me to a sewing school.
01:57Mom, Dad, I deserve to be able to follow my dreams, too.
02:00They don't have the money to send you to some stupid sewing school when they're going to send me to the most prestigious college in the country.
02:07I'm sorry, Camilla, but we have to support the child who has greater potential and will make the family proud.
02:12With that, Mom and Dad just walked away as Pedro stood there with a stupid smirk on his face.
02:18Oh, I wanted to smack him hard.
02:20It was then that I decided I'd do whatever it took to get myself into a sewing school.
02:25I tried to get a job, but nobody wanted to hire an 11-year-old, not even as a clown for a birthday party.
02:30When I was 13, things looked as though they were turning around, and I finally landed a babysitting job.
02:35But when my parents found out that I'd been neglecting household chores because of it, they were furious.
02:41I was grounded for two months, and Dad tore up all my designs that I had stuck on my bedroom walls over the years.
02:47I was devastated, but a tiny part of me refused to give up.
02:51I had to be smart.
02:52This time, when I drew, I hid my drawings under the floorboards of my bed, and when Mom sent me to the supermarket, I'd pass by the wishing fountain and take all the coins.
03:00Don't give me that judgmental look, but after three years of saving those coins, it still wasn't enough.
03:06Luckily for me, my life took an amazing turn when I turned 16, and that set things in motion for me.
03:12One day, while drawing in my room, I was so focused that I didn't see this girl peeking in at me through the window.
03:18Wow, that looks amazing!
03:20Ah!
03:21I toppled out of my chair and fell to the ground.
03:23The girl then did a backflip through my bedroom window and came in.
03:27Did the circus come to town?
03:29What do you want? Did my parents send you to spy on me?
03:31No, silly! I'm the new neighbor, and...
03:33I didn't even let her finish. I just picked her up, threw her out of the window, and closed the curtains.
03:38As much as I wanted a friend, I didn't want anyone to know that I couldn't read or write.
03:42What would she think of me?
03:43But that didn't stop the crazy backflip girl.
03:45Over the next few days, she did everything she could to get my attention,
03:49even juggling three cats while she balanced a mug of water on her head.
03:53What a weirdo.
03:54One day, I decided to take a shortcut home because I had seen a lady with the most amazing outfit,
03:59and I wanted to get home and sketch it.
04:01Just then, I heard a man yell behind me.
04:03Watch out!
04:05As I turned, I saw a huge crane ball coming my way.
04:08I froze in place, but luckily for me, someone pushed me to the ground just in time.
04:12Girl, are you crazy? This is a danger zone, can't you read?
04:16I, uh...
04:17Oh God, I was sweating like a bald man in spring.
04:20Can you read?
04:21I sighed heavily and shook my head.
04:24That's okay. I can't draw amazing fashion designs like you can.
04:27Let's go and grab some ice cream. My treat.
04:29While eating the ice cream, crazy backflip girl...
04:32I mean, Sophia, told me that she had moved next door with her parents and older brother Harrison.
04:37Also, that Harrison was a rotten egg and always got himself into trouble.
04:41She also told me that her father lost his job after his boss accused him of stealing money from his office,
04:47and then blacklisted him so no one else would hire him,
04:50while her mother worked as a maid for some rich lady.
04:53I told her that my parents hated me and wouldn't even let me go to school,
04:57while they treated Pedro like he was a prince.
04:59What do they think this is? The 16th century?
05:02No girl left behind! Woman power!
05:04Over the next few months, Sophia taught me how to read and write.
05:08She was a great teacher, and I was a quick learner.
05:10Sophia's mother even supplied me with her old drapes to practice my designs on.
05:14As much as I loved my bestie, there was a downside of being neighbors with Sophia.
05:19Harrison and Pedro became best friends,
05:21and they'd go out of their way to make mine and Sophia's life a living nightmare.
05:26So we stayed out of their way as much as possible.
05:28But then one evening, when I was coming home after getting groceries,
05:31I saw two guys push some guy to the ground and grab his keys.
05:35Hey! Stop it!
05:36The guys looked around, and I was shook.
05:38Pedro? Harrison?
05:40Let's get out of here!
05:41They hopped into the car and sped off.
05:43Was Pedro crazy?
05:45That night, I cornered Pedro in his room.
05:47What the heck was that stunt you pulled today?
05:50What I do is none of your business!
05:52You're my younger brother! Of course it's my business!
05:55If you tell Mom and Dad anything, I'll tell them that Sophia has been tutoring you.
05:58I couldn't afford to lose Sophia's friendship.
06:01So I kept my mouth shut and kept a close eye on Pedro.
06:04I found out that he'd been failing his subjects in school,
06:07and he was missing classes to hang out with Harrison and his goons.
06:11I was so frustrated that I thought my head was going to explode!
06:15Maybe you should start a podcast to ease some of your frustration.
06:19Talk to strangers about my story? That'll be weird.
06:22Sometimes strangers make the best listeners.
06:25That night, Sophia helped me set up an anonymous podcast using her phone.
06:28I went by the name Raven, and it felt so good to get so many things off my chest.
06:33But what felt even better was reading the comments encouraging me to follow my dreams
06:37despite my parents' unfair treatment.
06:40They even encouraged me to open an online store and set up a GoFundMe to get started.
06:44And soon, my clothes were being sold faster than I could make them.
06:48Yeah, I set up a secret workshop in Sophia's basement where I worked at night.
06:51Over the next two years, it was a rollercoaster.
06:54First, Harrison was arrested for pickpocketing,
06:57and his father shipped him off to the Navy.
06:59When he left, Pedro got a hundred times worse, and he was even kicked out of school.
07:04And he continued to hang out with the wrong crowd, and my parents always made excuses for him.
07:09But my life was super awesome.
07:11I saved up enough money to get into the most prestigious fashion school in the country.
07:16The only thing left to do was to send in my application,
07:19which required me to create any design of my choice.
07:22You've got this, bestie! I'm rooting for you!
07:25Over the next two months, I worked endlessly to create the most beautiful ballgown known to man.
07:30I needed to get into this school. I had something to prove to myself.
07:34A few nights before the submission of my dress, while at Sophia's, I saw Pedro enter her parents' bedroom.
07:40I snuck up to the door and peeked through the crack.
07:42I watched in shock as Pedro was stuffing his pockets with jewelry.
07:47Pedro, what on earth are you doing?
07:49Pedro gave me one look and jumped through the window like a frog.
07:53Sophia and her parents had been too good to me to let Pedro get away with this.
07:56I ran home, but when I opened the door, the confrontation didn't uno reverse on me.
08:01Dad glared at me as he was holding a necklace in his hand.
08:04Camelia, why was this in your dresser?
08:06As if on cue, Pedro walked into the room to examine the necklace.
08:10Wait, isn't that Sophia's mother's?
08:13You should know, since you stole it!
08:15Pedro told us that he saw you take this.
08:17I didn't steal anything! It was Pedro!
08:20I just don't understand where we went wrong with you.
08:22Me? Pedro's the one who got kicked out of school! Genius, my butt!
08:27We also found cash hidden under the floorboards. Where did you steal that from?
08:30I froze. How did they—
08:32My eyes met Pedro's, and an evil glint flashed over his eyes.
08:36That's my money! I earned it!
08:38Stop lying, Camelia!
08:40I think it's time to teach little Miss Fashionista a lesson that she will never forget.
08:45Pedro, bring the dress.
08:46Dress? What dress?
08:48The word stuck in my throat when I saw Pedro return with my submission dress.
08:52I watched in horror as Mom lit the fireplace and took the dress from Pedro.
08:57Mom, please, don't!
08:59You will learn your place in this family, Camelia.
09:02My mother threw my dress in the fireplace, and it lit up quicker than a barbecue on Independence Day.
09:08I tried to get it out, but Dad and Pedro held me back as I kicked and screamed.
09:12After a while, my dress was nothing but ashes as an avalanche of tears ran down my face.
09:18I knew that my time in this family was up.
09:21I wanted to attack my parents and Pedro, but I decided to pack my bags and I went to Sofia's.
09:26That night, after bawling my eyes out, I did a live podcast and revealed to my listeners what I had just endured under the hands of my parents.
09:34This time, I used their real names.
09:36Yep, I was done being the nice guy.
09:39By the next morning, my parents were chased out of the neighborhood,
09:42and the rich lady Sofia's mom worked for pulled some strings and she got me another submission date.
09:47Bestie, this dress is even better than the last one.
09:50I have to admit, I really did outdo myself.
09:53About two weeks later, I received a letter in the mail.
09:56Beads of sweat ran down my forehead.
09:58With trembling fingers, I opened the letter and my jaw dropped.
10:02What does it say? I got accepted into the fashion school! Yes!
10:07I felt as though I were on cloud nine.
10:09Over the next four years, while I was away at school, Sofia went to a community college.
10:13I worked hard and came out at the top of my class.
10:16I earned a junior position in a fashion company.
10:19I even convinced Sofia's dad to apply as a manager there, and he got the job.
10:23It wasn't long after they were able to move into a nice place.
10:26I was finally living my dream.
10:29One night, after one of the company's shows, I spotted my parents in the hallway waiting for me.
10:33What are you guys doing here?
10:35I see you're a fashion designer. I'm so proud of you.
10:38I'm so proud of you. Words I always wanted to hear my parents say, but I knew they weren't sincere.
10:44Why are you here? Dad shifted uncomfortably.
10:47Pedro's in trouble. He and some of his friends got caught breaking into a bank, and we need money to bail him out.
10:53And after everything you and mom did to me, you think that I would help you?
10:57Sweetheart, we're family, and that's what families do. They help each other out.
11:02But where was my family growing up? Where were you when I needed you?
11:07Are you going to help or not?
11:09Not. Had you done your job as parents and parented Pedro instead of letting him wrap you around his finger,
11:15he wouldn't be in a jail cell now.
11:17As I looked across the room, I saw Sofia and her parents waiting for me.
11:21Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to join my real family.
11:24I pushed past my parents and walked toward the people who helped me and never turned their backs on me.
11:30Family is not just about blood, but those who stood by you through thick and thin.
11:34Have I told you guys how amazing you are?
11:36Not recently, no.
11:38You guys are amazing.
11:40So are you, bestie. I love you, and I'm so proud of you.
11:44I love you, too.