A time when in wanting to make someone happy, I was forced to make a sacrifice.

Write about a time when in wanting to make someone happy, you were forced to make a sacrifice.

It was in primary five. The end-of-year examinations were around the corner and I was busy preparing for my subjects. My parents had set a goal for me, which was to get the first position in my class for that exam. My father promised to reward me with one of his montblanc pen if I achieved the target. The pen was a cool piston fountain pen with 14k gold nib and a barrel and cap made of rare precious resin, with a gold plated clip and rings. From young, I had seen my father writing with that pen and when I touched it, the smooth surface of the reflective black surface with gold inlaid stuck me and I often dreamed of one day having it in my possession.

Although I had never scored first in class before, it was not an impossible goal, given my nice academic records of consistently getting top five. However, in order to jump four positions to achieve first in class, a lot of effort is required. With my target in mind, I was very focused in studying for my weaker subjects, namely Chinese and English. As for mathematics and science, I had no problem scoring above ninety five marks, and as a result, I only focused on my two weaker subjects to maximise the amount of time I had.

Everything went according to planned, until my best friend, Bob, came up to me. After some waiting, he finally spoke. He requested for me to give him tuition for maths and science! Apparently, his parents had given him a target, which was that if he could get within the top ten positions of the class, they would reward him with a branded phone that he had long wanted. The problem was that although his language was unbeatable, his mathematics and science pulled him down greatly. He pulled my hand and kept on asking me to help him. I was in a dilemma. I told him to give me some time to consider before getting back to him.

Bob was my best friend and he had been my classmate since primary one. From his expression, I could tell that he really wanted that phone. However, teaching him maths and science would be of no benefit to me, as I could already score close to full marks for those two subjects. Furthermore, I still need to revise for my Chinese and English in order to reach my target. However, I was still unable to reject Bob's request as he was my best friend for many years, and I really wanted him to be happy. Also, I did not want to let my selfishness harm our friendship. I agreed to his request.

When the results came out, I scored a half version of first, as there was another guy that achieved the same marks as me. In response, my parents gave me another fountain pen, but this time it was a parker pen. Although I did not get the montblanc pen that I really liked, Bob was able to get the tenth position, and he was rewarded with the phone. Although it was a sacrifice, I felt that it was worth it to make my best friend happy.