Well, I just loved this so much and related so hard. One way I get yearly bitterness out is looking at the family photos people post at Christmas and seeing their giant homes in the background. Another time I saw a friend's public Venmo account (why?) and saw that their mom sends them rent money---this was a week after they asked to borrow money from me and use my car for a week (I was adjunction and doing SW at the time lolll, the fucking audacity). Okay, I will stop before I get crankier but this was cathartic and beautiful and I cried watching the Common People clip! <3 thank you for your writing!
(ps: Imagine being a professor of the students at that same liberal arts college (hi, that's me) and realizing they nearly all have more money than you *laughing emoji, crying emoji*)
I get those same feelings, especially with food writers and their affluent lives of other homes outside of the city and vacations and restaurant dinners. I am also a shitty venmo detective sometimes, I’d probably lose my mind if I saw that someone’s mom paid their rent.
I can only imagine what it is to be a professor at a liberal arts school. I remember having my mind melted when people just didn’t go to class. I was like “don’t you know how much this costs?” while they did bong hits. I used to ask professors if I could be in their class while I waited on them at the coffeeshop in the bookstore since I always missed registration because of money.
There something remarkable about the ease we feel when we find others in similar situations. Something we didn’t know we were missing. A break. A reprieve. A place our brains to be calm.
It is really like a big sigh of relief when you find the other precarious person in a sea of rich people. I have a couple in my friend group (amidst mostly solidly middle to upper middle class folks) and to have people who can relate is such balm sometimes.
I dropped out of university because I was so mad at the difference. It's an obscenely rigged game. I have so much respect for people who put up with it anyway and worked long hours at shitty jobs while also managing to get degrees and not break down from the obvious unfairness of it all. Thanks for the post. (Despite dropping out I ended up in London, and would hum Common People to myself whenever I was in the area of St Martin's College...)
I was there on Friday!!! (my seat was nosebleed, so I did not get as an amazing video as you did) I also went to the concert wondering if I still liked Pulp, came out with a satisfied definitive answer of "yes." (And I also want to be as spritely and weird as Jarvis Cocker when I'm 60)
It’s so important to watch weird spritely people older than we are. We need mentors. Or cautionary tales, whichever way you land on that. It was so good, they were so good.
Could I love this any harder? My British friend Mike introduced me to Pulp because of course back in the day I was a myopic idiot who disdained anything outside the college radio canon. “Common People” is a fucking banger. Also I remember that intern 😘
Well, I just loved this so much and related so hard. One way I get yearly bitterness out is looking at the family photos people post at Christmas and seeing their giant homes in the background. Another time I saw a friend's public Venmo account (why?) and saw that their mom sends them rent money---this was a week after they asked to borrow money from me and use my car for a week (I was adjunction and doing SW at the time lolll, the fucking audacity). Okay, I will stop before I get crankier but this was cathartic and beautiful and I cried watching the Common People clip! <3 thank you for your writing!
(ps: Imagine being a professor of the students at that same liberal arts college (hi, that's me) and realizing they nearly all have more money than you *laughing emoji, crying emoji*)
I get those same feelings, especially with food writers and their affluent lives of other homes outside of the city and vacations and restaurant dinners. I am also a shitty venmo detective sometimes, I’d probably lose my mind if I saw that someone’s mom paid their rent.
I can only imagine what it is to be a professor at a liberal arts school. I remember having my mind melted when people just didn’t go to class. I was like “don’t you know how much this costs?” while they did bong hits. I used to ask professors if I could be in their class while I waited on them at the coffeeshop in the bookstore since I always missed registration because of money.
There something remarkable about the ease we feel when we find others in similar situations. Something we didn’t know we were missing. A break. A reprieve. A place our brains to be calm.
It is really like a big sigh of relief when you find the other precarious person in a sea of rich people. I have a couple in my friend group (amidst mostly solidly middle to upper middle class folks) and to have people who can relate is such balm sometimes.
Millicent! This is Lela, I don't have anything constructive to say except that I have recently found and really been enjoying your writing.
Lela! Thank you for reading it.
I dropped out of university because I was so mad at the difference. It's an obscenely rigged game. I have so much respect for people who put up with it anyway and worked long hours at shitty jobs while also managing to get degrees and not break down from the obvious unfairness of it all. Thanks for the post. (Despite dropping out I ended up in London, and would hum Common People to myself whenever I was in the area of St Martin's College...)
This was so great to read. Yes to all of it!!
Excellent as always. I had forgotten about that NPR person but now I remember her and her story quite well.
I was there on Friday!!! (my seat was nosebleed, so I did not get as an amazing video as you did) I also went to the concert wondering if I still liked Pulp, came out with a satisfied definitive answer of "yes." (And I also want to be as spritely and weird as Jarvis Cocker when I'm 60)
It’s so important to watch weird spritely people older than we are. We need mentors. Or cautionary tales, whichever way you land on that. It was so good, they were so good.
Could I love this any harder? My British friend Mike introduced me to Pulp because of course back in the day I was a myopic idiot who disdained anything outside the college radio canon. “Common People” is a fucking banger. Also I remember that intern 😘
I know you do.