Gen X---The Thirty-Something Thread

[bac]

Sneaky devil. Yeah, I wasn't that clever either or really, that dishonest. I hope he gets in some serious trouble. I was always taught that getting caught in a lie is worse and will get you a worse punishment than if you just told the truth in the first place and take the punishment for whatever the thing was. I have unfortunately found that to be true in my own life. I have tried to pass that on to my kids too. Better to take the heat for bad grades, forgotten work, whatever it is than to lie about it and get double punishment.

[una]

I wasn't clever in school either when it came to devious plots. Yes, I admit, I was a goody-two-shoes aka teacher's pet. Course, when your dad is the top administrator for personal for your school district - it's REALLY difficult to get away with anything.

[skylarblue]

I would have never even thought of changing a grade out of fear of my parentals. My mom was an elementary school teacher so I had to abide by really strict rules when it came to school.

Like una I really wasn't that clever. I couldn't even cheat right on a test and then my conscious would always get to me anyways.

[revrag]

Ya, I was a goodie goodie, too. I wanted to make everyone happy all the time, no matter the cost to me. For instance, when I was a junior and senior I worked full time as a grocery clerk and cashier. It wasn't that I really wanted to do this, I had to. But, my boss didn't make it easy on me...even though to work full time the school required someone only get a 2.5gpa, my boss told me the only way he would give me the hours that I wanted was to maintain a 4.0gpa. Some boss. Because I had to work, I ran myself ragged constantly so I didn't disappoint anyone and so I could keep my perfect grades.

Don't get me wrong, I still had fun and made poor choices just like the next kid, it was just different for me.

Now it seems like fewer and fewer kids realize the consequences of their choices, no matter for good or bad. Parents are such enablers in this and it's insane. I bet, even though the parents of that kid finally were able to realize the reason for the earned low mark, that they still somewhat "understand" why their kid did it and have sympathy for them. Ugh. Give me a break.

Ok, off the soap box.

[revrag]

my bad...the previous post posted twice.

[Goodnight Elizabeth]

revrag: AMEN!

We discussed the relevancy of Sojourner Truth's speech "Ain't I a Woman" today in class. We all said it was still relevant since women still aren't treated as equals. I used my generation's tv and movie role models as examples of how women strove hard to be seen as equals. Women wore power suits with shoulder pads, were tough, strong, and made of steel. These were women we admired. We saw women as successful fierce leaders. Today's generation sees women pouncing around over half-naked. Now it isn't about equality and respect in the real world where it counts, but about sexual identity and finding oneself. Women have always used their feminine wiles to get power, but the wiles have flown out the window. Women use their entire bodies for attention and a different kind of power. A power that is cheap and fleeting.

Phew...soapbox rant. Stepping down now.

[skylarblue]

GEN - That was a good rant but I wouldn't call it a rant. I really enjoyed your post and I would have loved to be there during that discussion.

So that brings me to ask this question:

Why do you think the younger generation feels like the world owes them everything?

I remember growing up that if I wanted something I would have to work for the money to buy it myself and I knew that it wasn't going to be handed to me just because I wanted/asked for it. I remember that I wanted a pair of Jordache jeans (at the height of their popularity) and my mother refused to buy them for me. She said that she wasn't going to spend that amount of money on a pair of jeans and if I wanted them bad enough I would get the money together and buy them myself.

So I did additional things around the house to earn extra money and then I was finally able to get them. It was funny because by the time I earned enough money to buy them, I really didn't want them anymore but I got them anyway. Let me tell you, I wore the heck out of those jeans and when no one was wearing them, I was still rocking my Jordache jeans. I guess it was like a pride thing for me because I bought them and didn't rely on Mommy and Daddy to get them for me.

To this day, I don't like things given to me. I want to be able to say that I worked really hard to get what I have and it wasn't handed to me. I'm trying to instill that belief in my son also but it just seems like this younger generation (no matter what you try to teach them) feels that everything should be given to them on a silver platter.

[una]

Skylarblue I agree with you! (hey, it rhymes!). I was raised the same way, when I wanted spending money or to go do something, I had to earn it! My parents didn't pay me for grades and there were some chores around that house that I was "paid" for because as living the house and being part of the family it was required - for lack of better term. So to "work" for it I had to go beyond my "assigned" chores and do extra things or get a job (I started babysitting for my church in junior high) to I could do the things I wanted to do. I don't understand how kids have cell phones in elementary school...without any restrictions! There was no phone or television in my room because we were encouraged to interact with the family (and learned to share and take turns). I just don't understand some of the youngsters now-a-days. Now, I realize (thankfully) that not all of our youth are this way but unfortunately a good portion of them seem to be. I don't get it either.

ETA: By the way, Skylarblue, I love your ever changing banners and avis! He is SO cute!

[cullengirl]

Sky- I'm with you on this one. When I grew up, my family was having financial troubles. We, all 7 of us, lived in a three bedroom apartment building. We didn't have health insurance and lived in a shady neighborhood for several years until we could move up to the suburbs. My sisters had take out loans to pay for college. So, growing up I knew the value of money and that you had to work in order to get it. All of us, with the exception of my baby brother, had a job when we were teens. When I spend money, I think several times before buying it. Asking myself questions such as Do I really need it? Of course there are times when you feel like you can splurge. My cousins on the other hand spend money left and right. Mostly because they live mostly off of my uncle and never had to work. When I back to visit my relatives, I had an half hour "discussion" with my uncle as to why I choose to work. He thought my parents were not raising me up right because I had to support myself. I told him that I don't want to be dependent on them. They did their job in taking care of me when I was little and now I was a big girl with my own dreams and a job. Yeah...that went right over his head.

[dimber]

Why do you think the younger generation feels like the world owes them everything?

This is a very difficult question, first of all because I think it applies only to the so-called rich countries. I guess it's because the younger generations haven't lived any big loss, any big crisis. My parents were born just after the WWII in a period when people had to work hard to get what they wanted...my mom's family was the richest in the small neighbourhood they lived in but this didn't mean they were full of money: they owed a television and a car, that's all. Yet, they shared their small fortune with others: my mom still remembers when they put the television outside the main door to let others watch it. My father, on the contrary, had to struggle all his life to have something: he worked in the fields after school and studied hard to get a good job.
If I think of my childhood, I had to do nothing like this: I had clothes, toys, loads of books, three tv's and a stereo, though my family belongs to lower-middle class. Younger generations have a lot more: most people in western countries make childs only when they have enough money to raise them like little princes so the kids grow up without knowing how hard it is to get something. Most of them think everything is at their feet, easy to get and easy to get rid of...luckily enough, there are still some kids out there who are raised properly but I think it depends on their parents. Personally, I'm thinking to move in a small vilage and leave the city though I'm realising kids are almst the same wherever you go. Just a couple of weeks ago, one of my youngest students whose family is from Morocco told me he thinks children who have to work all over the world are luckier than those who have to go to school...I was so made at him!!!!! His parents had to leave their own country to give him a better future and this is the result...I guess the more we try to protect our children from the small sufferings of everyday life the more they grow up without knowing the meaning of life.

Just a quick diversion from the major topic: I've finally joined shelfari...I'm Dimberaidiel on there. It seems to be very interesting so far...