I lived in a nice middle-income house growing up. My dad's a scientist and my mom was a stay-at-home mom (who did work for the church or the school on the side sometimes [I should add that she got her master's degree when I was in college and is now a counselor, and I'm really proud of her]). My parents both grew up in inner-city Denver where their high school graduation rate was less than 50%.
My parents are very resourceful people. My mom knows how to save money like nobody's business and my dad is really good at getting deals (he won't settle for anything less than the best price on anything he buys). They had to be, really. My dad was in grad school when my brother was born and in post-doc when I was born. They probably weren't what you'd call middle class at that time. For my brother's first birthday, he got a box full of balloons (and apparently loved it). You do what you have to do, as they say.
When I was about fifteen, I remember coming downstairs and seeing newspapers all over the kitchen table, my dad standing over them with a pen. He was circling real estate ads. When I asked him what he was doing, he told me that he was looking at investing in some real estate properties. At the time, I was an intense christian, and I was of the thought that God would always be the ultimate provider. I asked him, "As a christian man, how can you be looking into investing in the real estate market? How can you not trust that you'll be provided for?" He was very calm with me, as he always is, and he told me that was a good question. Then he said that, in this society, you can't ever assume that you're provided for. That not only made an impact on my faith, it also made an impact on the way I see the world.
Look, I'm the 99%. I'm not ever going to be rich beyond my wildest imagination. I'm never going to be the 1%. And you know what? I'm comfortable with that idea. You know what else? That doesn't mean I'm going to be poor. I plan to provide for myself and for my family. I plan to go to school to earn an education that will give me the lifestyle I'm after--a fulfilling one with time for family and money for good food to put on the table. I'm not going to let the rest of the 99% tell me that I can't have that simply because some rich guy has more.
If you want to study something other than accounting, engineering, auto repair or education (in other words, something that will be a crap shoot in the employment realm after graduation), I say do it! Do it and be proud of your accomplishments. But do it with the idea in mind that after graduation, you might have to get creative with your career choices. You may have to volunteer, intern, and work a lot during your undergraduate program in order to gain valuable experience that employers want you to show to prove that you are hireable.
Life isn't impossible. Securing a successful financial future isn't as difficult as some would make you think. Times are hard, that's the truth. And I come from a privileged background--I realize that. But the message stays the same: Work hard, be practical, and don't let others tell you that you can't get what you want. If we all do this, we might become the 100%.
Nicole
My parents are very resourceful people. My mom knows how to save money like nobody's business and my dad is really good at getting deals (he won't settle for anything less than the best price on anything he buys). They had to be, really. My dad was in grad school when my brother was born and in post-doc when I was born. They probably weren't what you'd call middle class at that time. For my brother's first birthday, he got a box full of balloons (and apparently loved it). You do what you have to do, as they say.
When I was about fifteen, I remember coming downstairs and seeing newspapers all over the kitchen table, my dad standing over them with a pen. He was circling real estate ads. When I asked him what he was doing, he told me that he was looking at investing in some real estate properties. At the time, I was an intense christian, and I was of the thought that God would always be the ultimate provider. I asked him, "As a christian man, how can you be looking into investing in the real estate market? How can you not trust that you'll be provided for?" He was very calm with me, as he always is, and he told me that was a good question. Then he said that, in this society, you can't ever assume that you're provided for. That not only made an impact on my faith, it also made an impact on the way I see the world.
Look, I'm the 99%. I'm not ever going to be rich beyond my wildest imagination. I'm never going to be the 1%. And you know what? I'm comfortable with that idea. You know what else? That doesn't mean I'm going to be poor. I plan to provide for myself and for my family. I plan to go to school to earn an education that will give me the lifestyle I'm after--a fulfilling one with time for family and money for good food to put on the table. I'm not going to let the rest of the 99% tell me that I can't have that simply because some rich guy has more.
If you want to study something other than accounting, engineering, auto repair or education (in other words, something that will be a crap shoot in the employment realm after graduation), I say do it! Do it and be proud of your accomplishments. But do it with the idea in mind that after graduation, you might have to get creative with your career choices. You may have to volunteer, intern, and work a lot during your undergraduate program in order to gain valuable experience that employers want you to show to prove that you are hireable.
Life isn't impossible. Securing a successful financial future isn't as difficult as some would make you think. Times are hard, that's the truth. And I come from a privileged background--I realize that. But the message stays the same: Work hard, be practical, and don't let others tell you that you can't get what you want. If we all do this, we might become the 100%.
Nicole
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