Lifestyles of the Rich and the Famous

In this economy, the number of financially stable, successful families is dwindling. The middle class is seeping into the lower class and, in rare cases, riding the wave up to the neighborhoods of the rich and the famous. We may think that these hardships cause distress to the adults responsible alone; however, the children involved are often more vulnerable, and suffer more. As a teenager, I know how vital it is to have money in your pocket: we eat on Park Street for lunch, which can cost upwards of five dollars a day. We are always looking for new, fun things to do on a weekend night, and usually that involves delving into those pockets and relinquishing our hard-earned chores money. The pressure to live up to the rich is not a figment of today’s screenwriters’ imagination; those with money are usually more well-known, more admired, since they are not stuck home on a Friday night because they couldn’t afford the newest Pixar movie.

I have had a job since the beginning of the school year, and I live off of 200 dollars every two weeks. I pay for my own food, clothes, activities - you name it, it came out of my pay check. In some ways, I’m thankful for the money: I don’t have to ask for anything, I have financial freedom and independence. On the other hand, having to pay a monthly phone bill and juggle the responsibilities of school and a social life is seriously stressful. I know there are a lot of children in my situation, so sick of splitting the family’s money between siblings and unavoidable household necessities that they decide to make their own living. But what about those who can’t handle school, work and play? How realistic is it to assume that children are going to give up a Saturday to finish that essay they couldn’t do before work?

As much as we teens hear that it is what’s on the inside that matters, we tend to be more impressed with peers who are driving the newest car, wearing the latest jacket, going out every weekend with a fistful of money they didn’t have to earn. Maybe those of us who are victims of this economy should embrace thrift stores and undesirable work hours, if only to allow us to let the outside match the inside.