So While I'm At It

image from: http://miss-fong.blogspot.com/2011/09/canadian-vs-hong-kong-beggars.html

I really will return to more humorous, light posts, but something else has been on my mind, I wonder if it has bothered any of you?  What is with asking everyone else to pay for your medical bills, your adoption fees, your start up company, etc?

I was talking with some of my aunts the other day and we were talking about how the current young generations don't know what it means to struggle, they haven't lived for example in true times of war (and though yes, there's Bosnia, Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia, etc - my own generation and younger haven't experienced a draft, we haven't see the casualties our nation experienced during previous wars fought.) Life hasn't been that rough for us.

I don't think we all have a full appreciation of so many things in life. Of hard work. Of really struggling financially (as in not depending on credit cards or bank loan, but really just living off what you make.) Even I took out loans to pay for college. Yes, I worked full-time too while going to school full-time. But I had a car. I took trips with my friends. I had nice clothes. My hair was cut and colored regularly.  And I knew, if I ran into trouble, my parents would bail me out. That is not struggling through college.

And now, everywhere I see - help my friends pay to adopt, pay for this friends medical bills, I want to start a company, help me pay for it.  It isn't sent to close friends and family who don't mind helping out with such things. It is posted and reposted all over social media.  Many of times, it is a hoax. It is someone taking advantage of others and using a sad photo they found on the web. And I fully recognize that there are times when a couple has tapped everything they have trying to pay for infertility, has taken out loans to pay for treatments, and they didn't work, so now there is that $25K for adoption.  It is just tough. But I have friends and family who have been through all that, and found a way to make it work and adopted. And they paid it off over many years, but how they appreciate the experience they had.How they appreciated the struggle to get what they wanted so badly. How worth it, it all was. And they'd do it again.

When did we lose the confidence in ourselves and our abilities to accomplish things on our own? Why aren't we willing to sacrifice? Why aren't we willing to work hard to get things we want?  When did we lose that need for accomplishment, for purpose, for self-worth? I wish I could remember the money drive that put me over the limit.

I don't want to see anymore posts on FB though complaining about being so poor, about not being able to afford this or that and asking for donations, when the next week you post photos of your family's multi-day trip to Disneyland or you post that you bought a brand new car or a new house or some other costly item. Because you are not poor, you are not struggling. You don't know what poor or struggling really is. Nor do I.

Also, I don't want to see anyone else posting about how poor they were growing up.  Because your new clothes came from Kmart growing up does not mean you were poor. New clothes does not equal poor. Not getting everything you asked for growing up, doesn't mean you were poor. I have a couple books I can recommend to you if you want to know what growing up poor is like. My mother always said growing up that it doesn't matter what you do or don't have, if you have love in your life,  you are a wealthy person.  Your parents worked two jobs to keep a roof over your head? Not poor, the love your parents have for you to work so hard for you, that's wealth untold.

It used to be that people had too much pride to ask for any help.  While that may not be the best attitude to have, it seems that nobody has any pride at all anymore.  Let's earn our pride back. Not all pride is bad after all.