4 ms·

Did you have to pay for your own education?

by M8 11y ago

javert 11y ago
No, but I went to a state university in my home state (so very cheap tuition)---so I'd say in this regard I was in the same boat as many just plain middle class people.
mikeash 11y ago
Am I correct in assuming that this is a rhetorical question intended to make a point along the lines of, "If you didn't have to work hard to pay for your schooling, you don't know what true stress is"? If so, I strenuously disagree. Stress is all relative, and the difficulty of adjusting to adulthood comes from the change, not the absolute situation you're in. I won't deny that working to put yourself through school is going to be extremely difficult. But if you've been holding down jobs since the age of 14 to help your family eat, it's just more of the same. It's difficult, but there's not much adjustment to be made. On the other hand, if you lived a nice stress-free life with your wealthy parents helping you out at every turn, and then suddenly you're 18 and on your own and you're starting to realize that your professors don't care who your parents are and you have to buy food yourself and you might actually need to look for a job at some point because mom and dad won't support you forever, that's a big adjustment. The poor guy might kill to be in your shoes, but that doesn't mean it can't be just as stressful, or more, for the rich guy. You can certainly argue that it shouldn't be stressful, that the rich guy should take a moment to reflect on how fortunate he is, and be happy. But that's not what happens.
- javert 11y ago
  I was not born into a rich family. But extrapolating from my own experiences, I can tell you, your description is unlikely to be an accurate description of what makes life hard for the rich person. (Still, I appreciate your coming to my defense---although maybe that guy was just trying to judge where I came from in the overall social hierarchy.) The rich person's problem is more likely to be having no self esteem and feeling like a total failure because he (she) didn't live up to his parents' unreasonably high standards. It's better to be hungry than to hate yourself. It really is. Hunger does not drive people to suicide. Hating yourself does. (Although even that is a huge oversimplification.) It's also better to work hard than to hate yourself. Hard work, even when you hate the job, is still has an element of being fulfilling. There is a reason there are a lot of suicides at MIT, Stanford, and so on, and practically none at Local Town Community College or even Mediocre State State University.

Did you have to pay for your own education?

by M8 11y ago

Did you have to pay for your own education?

No, but I went to a state university in my home state (so very cheap tuition)---so I'd say in this regard I was in the same boat as many just plain middle class people.

mikeash 11y ago

Am I correct in assuming that this is a rhetorical question intended to make a point along the lines of, "If you didn't have to work hard to pay for your schooling, you don't know what true stress is"? If so, I strenuously disagree. Stress is all relative, and the difficulty of adjusting to adulthood comes from the change, not the absolute situation you're in. I won't deny that working to put yourself through school is going to be extremely difficult. But if you've been holding down jobs since the age of 14 to help your family eat, it's just more of the same. It's difficult, but there's not much adjustment to be made. On the other hand, if you lived a nice stress-free life with your wealthy parents helping you out at every turn, and then suddenly you're 18 and on your own and you're starting to realize that your professors don't care who your parents are and you have to buy food yourself and you might actually need to look for a job at some point because mom and dad won't support you forever, that's a big adjustment. The poor guy might kill to be in your shoes, but that doesn't mean it can't be just as stressful, or more, for the rich guy. You can certainly argue that it shouldn't be stressful, that the rich guy should take a moment to reflect on how fortunate he is, and be happy. But that's not what happens.

javert 11y ago
I was not born into a rich family. But extrapolating from my own experiences, I can tell you, your description is unlikely to be an accurate description of what makes life hard for the rich person. (Still, I appreciate your coming to my defense---although maybe that guy was just trying to judge where I came from in the overall social hierarchy.) The rich person's problem is more likely to be having no self esteem and feeling like a total failure because he (she) didn't live up to his parents' unreasonably high standards. It's better to be hungry than to hate yourself. It really is. Hunger does not drive people to suicide. Hating yourself does. (Although even that is a huge oversimplification.) It's also better to work hard than to hate yourself. Hard work, even when you hate the job, is still has an element of being fulfilling. There is a reason there are a lot of suicides at MIT, Stanford, and so on, and practically none at Local Town Community College or even Mediocre State State University.