[sulamith]

Hey, strandie, since I was told earlier in this thread to "take my advanced degree and wave it in front of the faces of the $6.50 an hour workers and laugh" well, I feel I can respond to this, lol!

I went to college in the 80's. I had one grant that paid part of my tuition. The rest I paid for myself. I worked two jobs and never got to do anything fun. If I wasn't studying, in class, or working, I was sleeping. There were times I was down to $2.00 in my checking account. I didn't have money in my pocket to buy a Coke out of a machine. I had friends who had jobs and weren't in College, and they spent their money on clothes, partying, and crap for their apartments while slept on a mattress on the floor (just like Stevie and Linds!) and used cardboard boxes as tables. I went to the grocery store and bought a loaf of bread, a dozen eggs, and a jar of peanut butter (the cheap stuff, GAG!) and that is all I had to eat for the week. I was poor, poor, poor, honey! Somehow, I was able to keep my eyes on the prize. I knew it was only temporary.

I know it is true that alot of folks aren't able to do what I did, for whatever reason, but I guess I feel because I went through that to get my degree, then anybody can. It made me appreciate what I have now so much more.

I also teach in a local College now, and it really hard for me to sympathize with some students who constantly poormouth and complain about how expensive school is......... all the while sitting there with perfectly manicured nails, new clothes, and a coif that costs more than my rent when I was in school. Puh-leeze. If you have to suffer and sacrifice for something, it makes it all the more meaningful.

-Sharon