Zencuppa posted this meme and although it’s so US-based as to not necessarily apply to me, I’m trying it anyway. I have been struck by how much more affluent the people I’ve met here seem compared to most people I knew growing up in the UK. This might help me see if that idea holds up.
update: Oh, and I called it an Affluence Meme before I noticed that it was supposed to be called a “Class Meme”. I don’t think money has much to do with class, at least it didn’t where I came from.
(The list is based on an exercise developed by Will Barratt, Meagan Cahill, Angie Carlen, Minnette Huck, Drew Lurker, Stacy Ploskonka at Illinois State University. The exercise developers ask that if you participate in this blog game, you acknowledge their copyright.)
To participate in this blog meme, copy and paste the below list into your blog, and bold the items that are true for you.
Father went to college
Father finished college
Mother went to college
Mother finished college (she went to teacher training college when I went to school. My dad cooked and read bedtime stories and generally made space for her to do her homework.)
Have any relative who is an attorney, physician, or professor (Have a second cousin who was a headmaster…)
Were the same or higher class than your high school teachers (Does this mean social class? Isn’t that a bit sweeping? There were quite a lot of teachers…)
Had more than 50 books in your childhood home
Had more than 500 books in your childhood home (Hmm, it’s possible but I couldn’t swear to it)
Were read children’s books by a parent
Had lessons of any kind before you turned 18 (if this means outside school, yes. Piano, horse-riding, dancing briefly).
Had more than two kinds of lessons before you turned 18
The people in the media who dress and talk like you were portrayed positively (eh, everyone was obsessed with fashion in the UK, so everyone looked the same. No hilbillies.)
Had a credit card with your name on it before you turned 18 (banks did introduce ATM cards for 16 yr olds and I had one of them, but not enough money to make a withdrawal)
Your parents (or a trust) paid for the majority of your college costs (my parents paid my living costs, but the government paid for the tuition)
Your parents (or a trust) paid for all of your college costs
Went to a private high school (went to a private primary school for a few years)
Went to summer camp (Didn’t exist in the UK, as far as I know)
Had a private tutor before you turned 18 (unless you count my piano teacher…)
Family vacations involved staying at hotels (there was that one night in a hotel in Calais when I was 22…)
Your clothing was all bought new before you turned 18 (I’m the third child. Hand-me-downs worked both ways after I grew taller than my big sister)
Your parents bought you a car that was not a hand-me-down from them (they let me drive theirs, but no kid had a car where I was from. Except for that one guy at university who was on the board of his father’s business and whose sister played the second Fallon in Dynasty….)
There was original art in your house when you were a child (I’m taking a flier on this because my uncle and aunt were artists and I think they probably gave my parents something)
Had a phone in your room before you turned 18 (no way, man)
You and your family lived in a single family house (from age 11)
Your parent(s) owned their own house or apartment before you left home
You had your own room as a child (from age 11)
Participated in an SAT/ACT prep course (not in the UK)
Had your own TV in your room in High School (no way, man!)
Owned a mutual fund or IRA in High School or College (didn’t exist in UK. And I wouldn’t have had, anyway, I’m quite sure)
Flew anywhere on a commercial airline before you turned 16 (there was that one flight when I was 7 months old and we were moving house and my mother balanced me on the food tray and I slid off. My next flight was when I was 16.)
Went on a cruise with your family (oh, my mother wishes)
Went on more than one cruise with your family
Your parents took you to museums and art galleries as you grew up (thankfully, yes. And I loved it).
You were unaware of how much heating bills were for your family (Not heating, but I was aware of other money issues.)