I found this meme by reading a fellow-babbler’s blog (jesdraggon — hi!), then I followed up with a bit of research… you will see some links at the bottom of this. Here is the meme. The bold items are the ones that I know to have been true for me.
To participate in this blog game, copy and paste the list into your blog, and bold the items that are true for you.
* Father went to college He was one of the first to attend college in his family (except for one grandfather; his mother and his elder sister attended just before he did — almost concurrent).
* Father finished college He has always been proud of this, and of the Master’s degree he obtained when I was about 12.
* Mother went to college Except for her mother, who attended and graduated from a two-year junior college, she was the first we know of in her family to receive higher education.
* Mother finished college And also has a Master’s and considerable credits toward an abandoned PhD as well, she studied mostly because she loved her field (education) and believes in life-long learning!
* Have any relative who is an attorney, physician, or professor.
* Were the same or higher class than your high school teachers. Middle class, all!
* Had more than 50 books in your childhood home.
* Had more than 500 books in your childhood home. I am including the magazines like National Geographic as well as my own collection of books that was easily close to 200 before I was a teenager…
* 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. Horseback riding when I was about ten, piano lessons as a teen, ballet lessons sporadically between the ages of 4 and 12, swimming lessons here and there… some “summer school” elective courses. But see the comment above about my mother’s profession and interest in education!
* 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. Actually, my parents had set some money aside when I was young, and so my first year of college was paid for, partly by that and partly by them. The remaining years I was on my own… and I highly recommend letting young people figure out how to finance their education. It meant so much more to me because I was responsible for getting myself there.
* Your parents (or a trust) paid for all of your college costs.
* Went to a private high school.
* Went to summer camp. Only once, a girlscout camp for two weeks, and I HATED it.
* Had a private tutor before you turned 18.
* Family vacations involved staying at hotels. At least often enough that I have always felt comfortable in hotels, but we also did a lot of camping. TENT camping.
* Your clothing was all bought new before you turned 18. or my mother made the clothes; we didn’t have much money at times, but she always made sure we had something nice to wear when we started school each autumn.
* 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. Some was original, some were rubbings of ancient asian stone carvings. Nothing big, nothing highly valuable, but enough to make art seem as necessary as air. We did have a piano…
* Had a phone in your room before you turned 18.
* 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. Almost had to, my only sibling was a boy!
* Participated in an SAT/ACT prep course. Didn’t do this, but did successfully take two AP tests for college credit as a senior…
* 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. This was part of being a military brat though, relocations often entailed going very long distances.
* 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. I have a caveat on this. I know that after I turned 13 things were really tight for the family and the cost of everything was unspoken but understood… We heated in part with a large woodstove.