Did you ever have one of those moments

[Mr. Daltrey]

where you pass by the rich neighborhood and worry that you'll probably never make it there? and someday you'll just be living a mediocre life, living in a mediocre house with your mediocre car?

I did and guess what stupid thing I did now, that's right I'm heading for Law school.

[Lost~Criminal]

no i never have though about that.

[labs5]

no i never have though about that.
yeah same here...

[Hamana]

no, not realy.... but that they probably aren´t much happier then i.

[schism-]

Somtimes. Then I think that I have less to lose if I feel like flipping out and going on a killing spree at the most expensive restaurant in town.

[Grunt]

I fucking hate the so called upper class people. they think they have it all. but there was a family that lived across from my parents when i lived at home who had their 4x4 and other car in the driveway. their kids had a brand new scooter. the husband worked offshore so was hardly ever home.
The mother would work part time as something even tho she didn't have to.
the kids would come home from school and make their own lunch and probably even their own dinner in the evening.
But the thing is, those kids were always in trouble at school. the police were round at the house at least twice a month.
there were arguments constantly.
basically no love.

my mum and dad would make dinner for us and we'd cook some times for them.
my mum (worked part time also) would make me lunch on the days i came home for it.
we never had problems with the police.
we didn't have a brand new car every half a year. we only had two mountain bikes and there were 3 of us brothers.
I'm much happier living a mediocre life that has in the long run helped me out for the real world. Now i live away from home with my girlfriend, we pay our bills and have very little problems with money. we struggle now and again..but its to be expected.

But at least I'm happy and know I'm loved and my life doesn't all come down to money.

[sazzle]

that's right I'm heading for Law school.
Do you like law?

[tynie]

most rich people i know are so misrable as their poorer eqiulivants. They can just disguise it with their money.


I hate classes and wealth.

[Mr. Daltrey]

Do you like law?

I love law, and I love arguing, I like playing by the rules and calling people out who dont, this is my dream job really.

[Mr. Daltrey]

most rich people i know are so misrable as their poorer eqiulivants. They can just disguise it with their money.


I hate classes and wealth.


most rich people I know couldnt be happier, actually all the rich people I know are happy, since most of my friends are rich

[Guttermouth]

Mediocre is not neccessarily a bad thing. I drive by rich neighborhoods all the time & they look classy, but my small house is home. Everytime I pull in front of my walkway, I can't help but smile to see how inviting it is. We're very lower middle class & couldn't be closer and happier. I know tons of wealthy families who bond by spending money together instead of having family nights and stuff. I don't know, I hope to be mediocre one day...it's great.

[psychoDiablo]

no i dont think of it that way. i say i'll never be rich because i dont care about money.

though i do admire those houses. but you know, it's all in the thought. because my house is going to be the best house ever, not theirs, because i fucking live there. haha.

but that's good man. go to law school. get your money. maybe it'll bring you happiness. if not, at least youre going to school.

[Mr. Daltrey]

you guys seem to be under the impression that rich people are unhappy, which is entirely biased way to look at things

[Kali]

it isn't so much the idea that rich people are happy, as the fact that in order to become so it is possible to overlook more important things.

as for the decision you're making, i see no problem in it if law is really what you want to do [not that's it my place to judge anyway, but i'll give my opinion for the tuppence that it's worth]. it's when those who are more interested in money than happiness give up whatever it is they may enjoy doing in order to pursue a career that churns out more dollars than it does smiles where you have to wonder just how content they really are with their lot.

money can make you happy in as far as it allows you access to material things - you can buy yourself a nice car, a comfortable house, luxury items etc, and sure, they'll bring a temporary amount of happiness.

and i say temporary because, at some point or another, all material items begin to deteriorate. they become old, don't function as well, lose their value, and so on. so yes, you will be happy for as long as your ferrari's running smoothly, and perhaps even be able to afford touch ups, or to buy a new one completely when the first one's making noises.

but in doing so, you'll find that less and less sentimentality is attached to such things. it becomes a second thought to just chuck away the old and buy what's new. when that starts to happen, you begin to lose the value of happiness that money has the ability to hold - because it is no longer making you appreciative of what you can buy, simply able to buy them.

an example: kuwait is a relatively rich country. the government can afford to employ pretty much all native citizens, and the payroll isn't half bad. add to that the lack of taxes and relatively low cost of living, and you've got yourself a pretty sweet deal. as a result, at the point of turning 18, you often see kids driving around in brand new cars. i'm talking ferraris, mercs, hummer vs, the lot - you name it, they've bought the latest one. then they go out racing about the streets without any care for the worth of what they're sitting in, and crash it - all the while knowing that daddy will buy them a new one.

on the other hand you have my grandfather in the uk, who saved up for years to buy himself a little peugeot in order to be mobile [as he got older, riding a bike became increasingly difficult, and constant bus fares add up when you're not a student or an oap]. he understands the value of what his money was able to buy him, and appreciates the fact that working for his money got him what he wanted/needed.

it's when the value of money becomes second thought that you have problems. when making money in order to buy what you want without a care for all that you give up in the meantime is equally dangerous.

in the first case, nothing you ever buy with money will ever mean anything more to you than the price tag.

in the second - the price tags have taken the place of what's really important in life.

....

i will be the first to admit that having money would make my life a heck of a lot easier, and i'm sure there are many who feel the same. but even given that fact, i wouldn't want all the money in the world - currently, i want just enough to get myself to university. in doing so, i would then be able to work for what it is i want, and understand and appreciate the amount of effort that goes into achieving my desires.

and all because i'm going to have to work damn hard for my money - as will you. this is a good thing. a further issue is created in the case of those who grow up with money: while us who work for our money may run the risk of one day growing apart from what is important in the face of material goods, many of the kids who grow up with money never know any differently. their ability to estimate worth is even more impaired than those who eventually become millionaires.

of course the extent to which this is true is also largely dependent on the parents, and just how much they indulge their childrens' requests for material items without making them put any work in themselves [not necessarily income earning work, but making an effort, such as keeping up good grades, doing chores, and whatnot].

....

which is all a very long way of saying it all depends on circumstance.

with care and determination, there's nothing to say that somebody can't make money and fully appreciate what they earn without losing sight of what it is they actually love and enjoy.

but when money starts to come first, decisions begin being made according to numbers and not actual values.

....

from where you're beginning, it's all your own choice. deciding to study what you love is an excellent start; it's those who say 'i'm going to do law/become a dentist because i'll make lots of money' who you have to worry about.

i wouldn't want to be in the care of anybody like that.

and neither would my wallet.

[Funk*Sonic*7]

where you pass by the rich neighborhood and worry that you'll probably never make it there? and someday you'll just be living a mediocre life, living in a mediocre house with your mediocre car?

I did and guess what stupid thing I did now, that's right I'm heading for Law school.

And you may ask yourself where did I get this mediocre life with this mediocre house & this mediocre car.

Hey isn't that a Talking Heads song?

[tynie]

And you may ask yourself where did I get this mediocre life with this mediocre house & this mediocre car.

Hey isn't that a Talking Heads song?
same as it ever was.

[Mr. Daltrey]

And you may ask yourself where did I get this mediocre life with this mediocre house & this mediocre car.

Hey isn't that a Talking Heads song?

no, IVe never heard of the talking heads.

[Mr. Daltrey]

That's great advice Kali, but still. it's not all black and white, just because people work hard for their career doesnt mean they all automatically stop paying attention to their families/become unhappy, what's wrong with you people?

are you all so brainwashed by TV/music that you only see things in black and white?

[Kali]

i didn't say it was all black and white.

if you read what i actually wrote, you'll find i said the extent to which any of it is trues varies from person to person, and they way somebody is brought up is a significant factor in shaping the ways in which they will approach money later on in life.

it's all context.

[Guttermouth]

you guys seem to be under the impression that rich people are unhappy, which is entirely biased way to look at things
Personally, I don't mean to say that money brings unhappiness (or happiness either for that matter), only to make the point that I've known wealthy families who suffer because of it. I also know plenty of wealthy families who are just as close as I am with my own family. I honestly think that having less things handed to you builds character, and since that generally comes with possessing less money, I say it's better to be middle class.

[quirk]

you guys seem to be under the impression that rich people are unhappy, which is entirely biased way to look at things

I don't think that money makes people unhappy, but when you've always had it and its never going to be a problem you start to take it for granted and don't appreciate what you have.

Struggling through tough times is one of the things that improves us as people and gives us important experiences to draw on in later life. As an example, I knew a guy who was very bright, got good GCSEs and pretty good A-Levels without really trying, went to uni and dropped out after a year because he didn't work hard enough. Having never really had to work hard in school meant he didn't have the experience to see that he was falling behind and wouldn't be able to complete his course unless he did more work.

you still dont understand what I'm trying to say here, this is the point of your life where you have to make something out of yourself, that's why IVe decided to go to law school,

I want to be rich damnit.
Yeah, but at some point you have to choose between being rich and being happy, being rich and spending more time with your family, being rich or spending your life with someone you truly love. If all you really want to do is be rich, you probably won't be happy.

[psychoDiablo]

yep. you take things for granted. that's when greed kicks in. you know. plus some of those rich bastards are nothing but snobby pricks.

and yeah, if i had a lot of money right now, i'd be happy. im not saying that it makes you unhappy. or that it will never come close to making you happy.

sure it's great to have a lot of shit...but that's all it is. shit. cant take it with you in the end, can you?

course the pharophs thought you could...who knows huh?

but with too much money, i think there'd be too many problems to deal with. i think the government would be all over your ass too.


and like i said, i may not have the biggest house on the block with all kinds of shit in it, or 20 cars outside, but i can tell you; I'm as happy as the guy who owns all that shit...and then some. Because I have what I have and i'm happy with that.

[Mr. Daltrey]

Yeah, but at some point you have to choose between being rich and being happy, being rich and spending more time with your family, being rich or spending your life with someone you truly love. If all you really want to do is be rich, you probably won't be happy.


dont kid yourself, money does buy happiness, love is just a bonus

[RedWizard]

it isn't so much the idea that ........

REALLY GOOD REPLY!!!

....


and neither would my wallet.Wow, thats pretty good insight from someone your age, which I mean no disrespect by that... it is just that you do not normally hear that kind of thinking from someone at the age where everyone is omnipotent in their own minds.

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But, Yeah, I have though of having a Mediocre life before... but not in the monitary sense. I really do not care if I become a multi-millionare with a castle, I just do not want to waste my life thinking I could have done more as a person.

I can be the first one to tell you money DOES NOT BUY HAPPINESS!!! Despite what you think, or think you know it simply does not. Thinking you are better than someone because you have a giant yacht docked on some pier does not bring real happiness. The twisted satisfaction that it brings is short lived and will only lead to becoming an asshole by purchasing more and more stuff to feed the insecurities that you have if you are this kind of person.

I do enjoy driving my car around though, but only because autox/road racing is one of my hobbies.:biggrin:

Also, where do you live that you can bypass your undergrad degree and go straight to Law School? My wife is about to go into law school right now at SU, and I am paying for it fully.... however, she is going because she honestly wants to help out those who need it by representing the less fortunate in the future. I have no problem with that and will support her all the way.

[Jenn and tonic]

I don't do the whole drive by rich neighborhoods and wish I were them thing. Well, there are some pretty houses that I drive by on occasion and think 'it could be mine!' but it's only in passing.

My biggest fear is being homeless. I don't want to get older and then through circumstances end up without a home to go to. So I save money and keep a job, and make sure I have kept back more than I need so it will never happen

I don't necessarily think about life in 'mediocre' and 'extraordinary' terms. I don't have to break any records, run for public office, or save a million lives. I just want to be happy and healthy, and I want a shelter over my head.