Saturday, April 17, 2010

high roller [TRUE STORY]

i was never rich. i was never poor, either. well, at least not that i ever knew. when i was a kid, i never wanted for anything. we had a decent, not-too-special place to live, cars for both parents (and later for me), dinners in restaurants, and many, many, MANY expensive extracurricular activities. i didn't know how much my dad gave up in his life to make damn sure i never had to go without something important to me. (yet another reason why i admire the hell out of my dad.)

so i came to my professional life with a sense of gratitude to the level of pay i received for my services. i always appreciated my jobs, even when they sucked. i came to law school to get a grounding in my profession of choice, not necessarily to be rich. that'd be nice, don't get me wrong; i love me some nice living, fancy hotels, etc., etc., etc. but i've spent the last three academic years studying law not solely for the money. i come to it because i love the law.

but! i am looking at, someday, a significant upgrade in my lifestyle once i get situated in my gig. i went to a dinner last night as part of the law center's fundraising campaign. and i'm not going to lie - the legal profession is some rarefied air for a teacher's kid. i don't know how many of my classmates are used to this life, but there's still kind of a shine to my future to me. maybe that's naive. maybe i have a slightly more retro look at work and wealth. i don't know. but what i do know is that, especially with my dream grad program ahead of me, things are gonna change.

change is good. positive change is better. it will be SO. FREAKING. NICE. to be comfortable economically. but with this upgrade will come some adjustments in my life. it'll be interesting to see where that takes me. the future. hmm. time for me to keep my head, stay true to my roots, and remember where i've been. that'll keep me nice and grounded, wherever i go.

3 comments:

  1. Like you never rich, never poor, with vacations in the summer and ski trips in the winter and sports and band and all the other things that make you middle class. After I graduated from college and got my first job ($385/wk Woohoo!) I came to a realization: That there may have been many things I wanted while I was growing up, there was never, ever anything I needed. It's amazing the things kids take for granted...

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  2. For someone who has been both poor enough to not have food and wealthy enough to do whatever I damn well please, I can also appreciate how hard I work to make the money I do, and how hard I worked to get to the point where I could make as much as I do. But I never take it all for granted...It's very difficult to get me to spend money on things, even things I need...I'm putting off buying pants even though all mine are totally worn out because I like having higher numbers in my bank account...ha. Either way, something that helps keep me grounded is donating to charities. I like animal charities. SAVE THE PUPPIES!

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  3. haha - puppies are awesome. my goofy little rescued boston terrier is one of my favorite living things on the planet. :)

    sadly, i don't need coaxing to spend. i am addicted to restaurant meals and new clothes. bad, bad, BAD habits...

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