Posted by Eddie Sylvano on May 13, 2003, at 9:50:47
In reply to Nickel and Dimed » noa, posted by WorryGirl on May 12, 2003, at 19:10:43
>I was impressed with her being willing to actually live that kind of lifestyle for fairly long periods in different places. Especially considering her upper middle class background. I don't know too many people at that income level who would be willing to do what she did.
-----------------There's a good argument in there for not spoiling your kids. I live nearby a high school, and every day after lunch, on my way home to work, I'm passed by dozens of teenage girls in new SUVs, cigarette in hand, hand flopping out the window, slight sneer on face. These kids go on to leak through college, and then have this sense of entitlement about them, as if they deserve $60K per year fresh from college for no real reason. And then their parents probably pull some strings and lend some money to meet their expectations for them. It also contributes to the massive debt that many people are in. When it's a *necessity* to live an upper-middle class lifestyle, all the people below that feel like it's imperative that it still be attained.
By gum, when I was younger, things were different. I got my first job at 12, moved out at 18 with $25 in hand, worked my way through community college with a produce job at a grocery store, lived in an ancient $200 a month apartment (utilities included!), rode the bus, rode my bike, ate Ramen noodles and macaroni, and generally struggled to get by for 6 years until I graduated state college and got a relatively decent job (which I found entirely on my own). No one gave me a dime for college, housing, or anything. It was hard, but it really didn't bother me that much at the time, and I feel like I more truly appreciate what I have now because I remember how thin things were until recently.
I'm thinking of all this because I'm considering buying a run down house in my neighborhood (it's crazy cheap), and fixing it up. I just know that anyone who sees it will think I'm a fool, wanting to move into such a dump, like it's totally insane. Why don't I buy a new house, in a prestigious neighborhood? (answer: they cost way too much).
I'm rambling, but this gets back to the point of my original post. No one else would even consider buying a crappy house on a dirt road. It's beneath them. It represents failure. From my perspective, though, it could be a tent for all I care. I just need somewhere to evade vagrancy, and this is the cheapest option. What else really matters? Am I being extreme? It's in this sense that I feel I don't take my life seriously. I don't care about my place in society. I don't sweat the details, but I don't sweat the centerpiece either. I used to feel this way because I didn't care if I lived or died, so what else mattered? Now, my depression is pretty well suppressed, but I still have this outlook. Nothing ultimately matters to me beyond survival and decency. I'm not really trying to accomplish anything, and that probably concerns the people around me more than the worst depression ever could.
poster:Eddie Sylvano
thread:226042
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20030506/msgs/226307.html