Spoiled rotten | slackermama . com

I got this intriguing meme from Kathie. And being that a) it’s very difficult for me to resist a good meme and b) the subject matter interests me, I felt I must share. Because first and foremost: this is my blog. And I get to do whatever I want. That’s how it works. Aren’t you happy to be at my whim now? Sure you are. Anyhow, here’s the “fine print” about the meme according to Kathie:

This meme is from “What Privileges Do You Have?”, based on an exercise about class and privilege developed by Will Barratt, Meagan Cahill, Angie Carlen, Minnette Huck, Drew Lurker, Stacy Ploskonka at Illinois State University. If you participate in this blog game, they ask that you PLEASE acknowledge their copyright.

So there you have it. You know the drill. You are supposed to bold all the statements that apply to your, your upbringing, your family, etc. Got it? Good!

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 class than your high school teachers.
Had more than 50 books in your childhood home.
Had more than 500 books in your childhood home. (to our credit, we got a lot of our books from the library and only owned our favorites)
Were read children’s books by a parent.
Had lessons of any kind before you turned 18.
Had more than two kinds of lessons before you turned 18
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
Had a private tutor before you turned 18
Family vacations involved staying at hotels. (though it must be noted that “hotel” is a very generous description of the places we stayed. I generally don’t consider Motel 6 or Best Western a real “hotel”, but the definition itself is true enough)
Your clothing was all bought new before you turned 18 (which isn’t to say it was all purchased at Macy’s… I have many memories of shopping at Ross and Marshall’s. My mom didn’t believe in cheap clothing, just good clothing cheap.)
Your parents bought you a car that was not a hand-me-down from them.
There was original art in your house when you were a child
You and your family lived in a single-family house.
Your parent(s) owned their own house or apartment before you left home.
You had your own room as a child.
You had a phone in your room before you turned 18
Participated in a SAT/ACT prep course.
Had your own TV in your room in high school
Owned a mutual fund or IRA in high school or college
Flew anywhere on a commercial airline before you turned 16 (we have a lot of family back east and when we didn’t want to or couldn’t drive back, we flew)
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.
You were unaware of how much heating bills were for your family.

And there you have it, folks. It should be noted, however, that Kile’s answers to this little questionnaire would be vastly different from mine. We often marvel at the differences in our childhoods, though we ended up in a similar place (and no, not just physically) and our parents have very similar philosophies about life. My parents didn’t believe in me having things like a car or a credit card or whatever. I had checks before I went to college, but that was to pay for things like books and whatnot. No TV either, as TV wasn’t allowed on school nights. No cruise, sadly enough (my parents went on one and left me at home. SNIFF). I’ve always wanted to go on one though. There was art in our house, and some of it was original but it wasn’t by any famous artist or anything and I think that’s what the question meant so I didn’t bold it. As for clothing, my mom wanted us dressed nice and was a mean bargain hunter. A lot of what I had came off the clearance rack and sometimes it wasn’t always the latest style, but it looked nice and lasted well. She also sewed, so a lot of things I had like special dresses and whatnot were made by hand. I don’t think my upbringing is all that unusual, but who knows, maybe I’m wrong. I never felt particularly privileged, though I knew I had it pretty good. Still, I had friends who had cooler clothes, more toys, etc and so forth. Didn’t everyone?

Anyhow, let me know in the comments if you chose to do this little social experiment. I’d love to stop by and see your answers.

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