I was the first person in my family to go to college and tend to be a person who likes to help others so I met lots of people from all different backgrounds and cultures.
One summer, I was invited to work for a friend's father in San Francisco after I had helped their daughter pass a course in which she hadn't been doing well. When I arri…
I was the first person in my family to go to college and tend to be a person who likes to help others so I met lots of people from all different backgrounds and cultures.
One summer, I was invited to work for a friend's father in San Francisco after I had helped their daughter pass a course in which she hadn't been doing well. When I arrived at the airport, there was a man in a suit holding a sign with my last name. He drove me to their house, which was in a very wealthy part of town. The "guest quarters" had a view of the Golden Gate Bridge, a jacuzzi, etc. I was blown away. They were definitely "old money" in that their house was very tasteful and not gaudy at all, and they expected their kids to work vs. just being "trust fund babies."
They took me to their Country Club one Sunday and it was probably the single most boring thing I've ever experienced. They had a maid but were somewhat upset that she lived in a warehouse and didn't understand why she didn't want a house or at least a nice apartment. I started talking to the maid and she was an artist who hung out with other artists, comics, writers, etc. She showed me the whole San Francisco "underground" scene back when it was still authentic.
That summer, I learned so much from BOTH the family and their maid, which directed me into a creative, but lucrative, field as an adult. Thinking back on the whole experience, it wasn't really the professors in college, or the people I later met in San Francisco, who "indoctrinated" me into anything--it was being exposed to lots of people who were different from myself but still, at their core "good people." The rich family helped me and several others, gave extensively to charity, etc. The artists took care of each other and accepted each others' eccentricities. People from other countries exposed me to their food, culture, language and ways of thought.
Throughout my 20s I lived in various places and would argue that travel can be just as good for social mobility as hanging around wealth. Now, as a middle-aged man, I have friends all over the globe--some more casual than others (I'd say five TRULY very close friends)--and always have a place to stay and good company wherever I go and that doesn't really cost much money at all.
I was the first person in my family to go to college and tend to be a person who likes to help others so I met lots of people from all different backgrounds and cultures.
One summer, I was invited to work for a friend's father in San Francisco after I had helped their daughter pass a course in which she hadn't been doing well. When I arrived at the airport, there was a man in a suit holding a sign with my last name. He drove me to their house, which was in a very wealthy part of town. The "guest quarters" had a view of the Golden Gate Bridge, a jacuzzi, etc. I was blown away. They were definitely "old money" in that their house was very tasteful and not gaudy at all, and they expected their kids to work vs. just being "trust fund babies."
They took me to their Country Club one Sunday and it was probably the single most boring thing I've ever experienced. They had a maid but were somewhat upset that she lived in a warehouse and didn't understand why she didn't want a house or at least a nice apartment. I started talking to the maid and she was an artist who hung out with other artists, comics, writers, etc. She showed me the whole San Francisco "underground" scene back when it was still authentic.
That summer, I learned so much from BOTH the family and their maid, which directed me into a creative, but lucrative, field as an adult. Thinking back on the whole experience, it wasn't really the professors in college, or the people I later met in San Francisco, who "indoctrinated" me into anything--it was being exposed to lots of people who were different from myself but still, at their core "good people." The rich family helped me and several others, gave extensively to charity, etc. The artists took care of each other and accepted each others' eccentricities. People from other countries exposed me to their food, culture, language and ways of thought.
Throughout my 20s I lived in various places and would argue that travel can be just as good for social mobility as hanging around wealth. Now, as a middle-aged man, I have friends all over the globe--some more casual than others (I'd say five TRULY very close friends)--and always have a place to stay and good company wherever I go and that doesn't really cost much money at all.