Tonight I was driving down Lake Cook Road because it's under a lot of construction and I've been fiending for some sort of road sign. Unfortunately, every time I see a sign I always wonder what horrific things would happen if I took it. IT'S IMPORTANT FOR PEOPLE TO KNOW THAT THERE IS NO SIDEWALK AFTER THIS POINT!
Fortunately, a few days ago I noticed a speed limit 40 sign laying on the ground, visibly waiting to be discarded. It was just waiting for me to pick it up and place it in my new apartment (decoration theme? Potbelly's.) But, tonight I couldn't find it. The only nice thing about driving down Lake Cook Road at night (because it leads to Wheeling... boondocks... gross), are all the superfluous blinking orange signs. It looked magical.
Dejected, driving back to my home, I noticed two industrial waste dumpsters. I thought, what the hell? The first one, the smaller one, only contained a ton of concrete slabs. I was thinking I might be able to paint them in an interesting way, but I decided I didn't feel like picking up giant concrete slabs.
The second dumpster was a lot more exciting. There was crazy silver ventilation tubes which I feel would be great for my Halloween 1950s robot costume. There was also a lot of pink insulation fluff. But on top of everything was a discarded bookshelf. GOLDEN. Standing on the side of my convertible, I dragged the object back into my car, and as I drove home at 45 miles per hour, I had to clutch it with my free right hand to keep it from flying away and killing people driving behind me.
So now I have a cedar chest, an orange rocking chair, and a bookshelf. All at highly reduced costs because I got them at garage sales, yard sales, and a dumpster.
My mom said that most medical student's first bookshelf is an amalgamation of milk crates. That never even occurred to me. I assume(d) that most people who are going to medical school most have come from fairly affluent backgrounds. But I guess my mom was pretty poor. And so was my dad. But now they're much better off and able to send me to medical school without me freaking the fuck out about loans and stuff. Though I am still freaking out about my credit. Eh.
But I think one of the many reasons why I want to become a doctor is because I can afford it. Because I've always grown up with money, I can't necessarily see the benefits of making any more money. I know I'm well off. I shy away from saying rich, if only because I've seen old money and I recognize that that's a lot of money. But of all the things I worry about, money is not one of them. Credit is. But fuck credit. Isn't that why America's in debt? (I know little to nothing about economics).
The interesting thing is, I don't want to be as rich as my parents. I think a 3D television is excessive. Having a pool is nice. But re-doing your pool? Excessive. Going to Hawaii more than seven times in your life? Excessive. Going to Tahiti for your 30th wedding anniversary? Acceptable. At a certain point, all these things are just additional worries. I want to live in a nice house, but I would never want to live in a house as large as the one I grew up in. I want to own nice things. But sometimes the nicest things are the things you make yourself.
My little sister and I were talking about why all our younger male cousins seem to be driven more by money than by academic pursuit. I thought it was because they were men. My little sister seemed to think it was because they grew up not as rich as us. I questioned that, because both families we were talking about are not poor. They are firmly middle class if not higher than that. Still, that got me thinking. Why? Why would you want more things? It's not terribly fun to own a lot of things. It's a lot of hassle. Having fun is a lot more fun than owning nice things. I'd gladly spend a day playing board games with my friends than spend $5,000 buying really nice, designer clothes.
But that's my minority perspective, I guess. And if we think about what this means for America on the whole, no wonder Americans are on average, depressed. If everyone equates financial success with happiness, or, at an even more basic level, if everyone assumes that having a better job will lead to a better life, than no wonder we're more depressed than Denmark. We have high aspirations. I like that. But when it comes to money, having high aspirations is both dangerous and illogical. Sure. Everyone wants to own a nice television. But owning 5 big screens? Excessive.
The nice thing about Danes is that they have low standards. I assume that this means, if I make an average salary and can afford average things, I'm happy. In America, few are content to simply be average, even if being happy with that would make a lot more people happy. I just don't know how to clearly communicate to people: "Middle Class is Great." And I don't think I'm qualified to do such, as I've been in Upper Middle Class/Upper Class all my life.
Well, I'll probably fall into Middle Class when I work as a family practitioner. Than I can easily compare. What was better? Owning a 3D television? Or having a family that loved playing board games after dinner?
This sounds like a fun, long term experiment.
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