aja8888
Moderator Emeritus
My parents' message was "anger, ignorance, and alcohol." Reinforced with Norman Rockwell inspired aphorisms such as: "Leave me the hell alone" "So? What da hell ya want from me?" "Oh just do what ya do, I don't care." "Whatta ya wanna do that for?" (No matter what your ideas or plans were.) And the ever-popular: "Not now, I'm drinkin'" There were others. Often involving the droppings of various animals.
I was an honors graduate from high school too. Don't know how or why I did that. Not one of those "molders of young minds" and "Shapers of Americas Young Adults" (friggin' useless teachers/counselors) ever pulled me aside to say a single word about college, the financing thereof, the difference between college and any alternatives, or what my plans might be.My plans were to just keep runningand take what I could get because there were no alternatives. Just because alternatives might have existed in someone else's opinion, doesn't mean that therefore I had unfettered access to all of them thus by definition guaranteeing a better life. You have to know they're there and see them as obtainable. See yourself in them.
Lecturing people about choices and opportunity as if they were bananas at the supermarket just put a bunch in the cart and enjoy, is de facto pure B.S. for those who actually know more than "having mine".
I come from immigrants myself, btw so I don't respond to lectures from that crowd either.
I know. Too much information
Sound like your parents were related to mine. I was lucky to get through high school and my parents didn't even come to my graduation. College? What was that?