“He Pulls His Own Thorn Out” (Palestinian–Jordanian dialect proverb) There was a young man named Adam who lived alone in another city while attending university. None of his family lived with him. If something broke in his apartment, he fixed it himself. If he needed money, he worked after classes to pay for his food, drinks, and daily expenses. And whenever he faced a problem at university, he looked for a solution on his own instead of asking someone else to solve it for him. One night, while driving home, his car suddenly broke down. His friend called and asked, “Do you want me to send you a mechanic?” Adam replied, “No, let me see if I can figure out what’s wrong and maybe fix it myself.” He watched several tutorial videos and spent nearly two hours trying. Eventually, he found the problem, repaired the car with his own hands, and continued on his way. A few days later, he was sitting with his friends. One of them asked, “Man, why do you make everything harder on yourself? Just ask someone to help you.” Adam smiled and said, “If I can do it myself… why should I bother someone else?” His friend’s father was sitting nearby and overheard the conversation. He laughed and said, “Now that’s a real man… he pulls his own thorn out.” Then he added, “Depending on other people is easy. But the person who knows how to rely on himself will always stay on his feet, no matter what life throws at him.” Meaning of the proverb “He pulls his own thorn out” is said about someone who is self-reliant, works hard, solves his own problems, and doesn’t wait for others to do things for him or help him with every little issue. In other words, he takes responsibility for himself and can be counted on.