I questioned myself the other day on the exact reason I am here. I know why I am living, in my general opinion, of course, but the idea that was circulating throughout my brain for an hour of my life Tuesday morning was exactly why am I in Blacksburg?
I looked around throughout the day, and I feel that I do not necessarily belong around here. I do not mean belonging to a certain clique or the like -- I could care less about that -- but I am talking about the social status of the students around me.
With the exception of one friend here and two there, plus my immediate family, I am the only person from my life on the Eastern Shore who actually went to college. I have known blue-collar work from the age of 13 and have been involved in hardships no one my age should have experienced.
I lived without heat for a couple days, and the television was not exactly on all of the time. I am not ashamed to say that I have been to the food bank, and I have let pawnshops borrow items throughout my house to pay a bill for a month. But these were commonplace through my life.
Although financial hardships were a daily occurrence in my life, I never really had a hard home life like many people today have experienced. My parents loved me and they took me to museums and national monuments. They spoiled me when I was younger, but I do not ever remember being filled with greed or extreme jealousy when I would see something that I wanted.
I am not saying that I am a poor kid from the beach who has not experienced anything in his life, and I am not saying that someone should make a documentary about me for an A&E special.
I have had my share of the sweet life and I could not complain about my situation now or ever. What I have experienced in my life has made me who I am today because I know what money can do and what it cannot do.
I realize that planning a monthly budget does not include beer, and I expect certain things out of life that need money, however little I may have, to come every month.
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You're an English major? At Tech? Be glad you come from a blue-collar environment -- your major will be worthless in the job market.
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