Growing up, whenever I borrowed absolutely anything from my mother - whether it was money, an item of clothing, whatever - I would have to pay it back, often with interest. Although the details of these interactions varied, I was never given anything for free. Everything came with a physical/mental/emotional burden that could only be nullified through some kind of satisfactory repayment. Quid. Pro. Quo. Nothing is free.
When I finished high school, I heard about a girl in my class whose parents had bought her an apartment, just for finishing high school. Other friends' parents' had bought them cars, holidays, etc. Obviously I am biased to my own experiences - I've always paid my own way through life, that's how I was brought up. Admittedly I do have a prejudice against this kind of superfluous giving because of my own experiences, but I'm trying to pinpoint why. I want to know what you guys think, to see whether it's just my own experience striking jealousy in me that some people are just handed things - and I'm not talking trivial things. I'm talking about things that cost upwards of thousands of dollars.
What do you guys think? Do you believe it's right for people to accept gifts on that scale, or should they be earned?