From Tosy, I purloined this meme, which is meant to indicate how many advantages one has in starting adult life. It is, I understand, based on an exercise developed by Will Barratt, Meagan Cahill, Angie Carlen, Minnette Huck, Drew Lurker, Stacy Ploskonka at Illinois State University.
ITALICIZE WHICH APPLY TO YOU:
Father went to college
Father finished college
Mother went to college
Mother finished college
Have any relative who is an attorney, physician, or professor
Were the same or higher socio-economic class than your high school teachers
Had more than 50 books in your childhood home
Had more than 500 books in your childhood home probably
Were read children’s books by a parent – don’t recall that they did. I know I read a lot to myself in my room.
Had more than two kinds of lessons before you turned 18 – I remember only a year of piano
The people in the media who dress and talk like me are portrayed positively
Had a credit card with your name on it before you turned 18
Your parents (or a trust) paid for the majority of your college costs
Your parents (or a trust) paid for all of your college costs
Went to a private high school
Went to summer camp
Family vacations involved staying at hotels (Family vacations involved camping, which I hated, or visiting someone)
Your clothing was all bought new before you turned 18 – At least the vast majority. I WAS the first grandchild on both sides of the family.
There was original art in your house when you were a child Yes, several. Painted by my father, sometimes in frames, but more often, painted right on the walls.
You and your family lived in a single family house
Your parent(s) owned their own house(s) or apartment before you left home – They bought a house my first year in college
You had your own room as a child – Well, for the first couple years, maybe. After my second sister was born, my sisters shared a room, and my father built a couple walls into a room which became my “room”
You had a phone in your room before you turned 18
Participated in an SAT/ACT prep course
Had your own TV in your room in High School – not on your life.
Owned a mutual fund or IRA in High School or College
Flew anywhere on a commercial airline before you turned 16 – Actually, though, did fly from Binghamton to Albany on a 20-passenger plane when I was 16.
Went on a cruise with your family
Went on more than one cruise with your family
Your parents took you to museums and art galleries as you grew up – No, but I went on my own.
You were unaware of how much heating bills were for your family – Maybe not the exact dollar amounts, but I had a sense of them
There’s no rubric here, so make of it what you will.
***
Someone sent me this picture; I have no idea about the original source, but I find it most peculiar:
I think it must be dadaist. (As he anxiously awaits the fallout…)
ROG