TheSkaFish said:
Yea, I mean I do admit that I have been afforded some good opportunities like you said. I've got my bachelor's, am not in debt, have a car (however I haven't been able to drive in a while, no money) and live at home. I'm still definitely not rich though, nor do I come from a rich background either. I probably could have done a better job in college were I not convinced at the time that civilization was going to end (no joke), therefore hard work would not pay off.
It's not that I think that I am "better" than people who work those jobs. I don't think a person is inherently "better" or "worse" for no reason. What I do think is something more like this: when I think of minimum wage jobs, I usually think of high school kids. It's their first job, their first lesson in what it means to work, to have responsibilities, to do basic tasks, to learn the value of money, etc. It's really not all that bad for them at that stage in life because most high school kids live at home rent-free. They have very little expenses, in most cases. So maybe it gives them a little extra money for gas, food, movies, hobbies, whatever the case may be. And most of their peers aren't earning that much more so it's not really something to feel bad about. Now me on the other hand, I don't feel like I am "better" than a high school kid. But I do know I am older. I've lived longer so I'm more mature because I've had more experience being alive. I just feel that I've been there and done that and now it's time for me to do something else. When I was lifting boxes all day at UPS, I just knew that there was something more I could/should be able to do with my life. Also, it's a lot more expensive for a person like me to exist than it is for a high school kid. I'm talking bare necessities here.
Your thinking (and what people have told you - likely your parents) needs to catch up with what's actually been going on in the US for the past few years, Ska. This is not an insult - I'm just pointing out what it seems you're just now noticing.
TheSkaFish said:
Sometimes I get so frustrated because all my life I've been told that I was smart, yet I can't seem to think of any good way to make money. It really bothers me. It's made me into an angry person.
Yes...many have drummed this into their children's heads and in years past, it was pretty accurate information.
The whole, go to school, get a good education, be smart, etc was (in the past) the typical way that people obtained good paying jobs and the means to afford what they needed and/or wanted in life.
I imagine it really does SUCK to have been instilled with that mentality all your life and then once you get out of school, reality kicks you in the ass and you discover that, while you were hard at work writing papers, studying, etc, that the world had changed around you. What was possible to obtain from a good education had changed.
Now..Im going to touch on something briefly here, and don't want to say anything more on it, and hope you won't either (especially now that the other thread has calmed down). In response to the baby boomer thoughts..
Im almost the same age as WWC so we grew up around the same time (though he's not in the US).
Let me impart a little info that might help you to reevaluate your opinions on a few things.
When I was a child - this would be birth to age 16 - I barely had clothes to wear and often didn't have much food to eat. I had NOTHING. As life went on, I still had NOTHING. I didn't go to movies, I didn't go out to eat, I didn't buy things for pleasure. My parents grew or bought what food they could and what used clothes they could afford - food always came first, so as you might imagine, I didn't dress very well.
When I was 13, I got a part time job waiting tables at a fish camp. Yes, it was illegal, but it was free labor so the owners didn't mind working a 13 year old. I gave the money to my mother (because my dad had ditched by then) to help provide food and shelter for myself and my sisters. I wasn't able to spend a DIME of my own money until I was nearly 17 years old. By that time, I was working 2 part time (minimum wage) jobs so I was able to have a few dollars of my own, that didn't go to food and shelter. Even then, I didn't buy simple things that most people take for granted. I bought clothes and shoes - and not expensive ones either.
I didn't have the opportunity to go from high school directly to college. Though I have completed a number of college courses, I worked at least two jobs until I was almost in my 30s. I worked hard and managed to obtain positions that improved my compensation, job status and skill set.
Fast forward to today...with a marriage that tanked over 3 years ago and a shitty economy, I have to be very careful with the money I make (I also have a child). I don't make nearly the money I need/want to and I WISH I could make more.
My entire point of tossing out my miserable childhood here (and it's NOT something I like to share) is in hopes that you will see that your idea of what people used to live like (people near my age) is often incorrect.
Im not saying you don't have the right to feel upset that all those years you spent working on your education seem to not be worth much these days...Im simply asking that you don't assign BLAME to anyone, much less those of us who literally suffered in our younger years.
I hope this gives you a bit of food for thought.
Now that I've added my two cents, I'd ask that no one make anything less than a civil reply to me, or anyone else involved in the discussion. Thank you in advance.
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