How about a random poll?

[stoney321]

1. I am super hungry for lunch, and my friend just happened to drop off some curry, tika masala, and garlic naan. I think I won't be hungry much longer.
2. I am waaaaay behind on NaNo, and only have 17,000 words. In two days, I need to be on track at 25K. Um...
3. I love my derg. She's lying on her side trying to sneak a lick to our cat, Hope, lying on her side, juuuuust out of reach. Nerds.
4. I promised you a poll! I want to know facts about YOU. (This is inspired by a report on 60 Minutes about the vast differences between "Millenials" and "Baby Boomers." (And to some extent, Gen X-ers.)


(Yes, I used a Bryan Adams song for my cut text. AT LEAST IT WASN'T AIR SUPPLY.)

[Poll #1087976]

[ETA for clarity] If your parents have GEDs, that qualifies as a high school diploma. Sorry for not including an option for parents who (for whatever purpose) did not complete their high school equivalence.

Also: if you were born in 1984 and are a younger sibling, then you are a Gen X-er. If you were born in 1984 and are an only child, or the oldest child, you are a Millenial.

And: "spankings, taking away things" should read "spankings and/or taking away things."

Finally: why have I not been owled with scones?

Comments

[soundingsea.livejournal.com]

Of the 5 kids in my family, I have a BS, #2 has an MBA, #3 has a BA, #4 is in law school, and #5 is in grad school. I feel like I'm not living up to expectations. Not that I would go back to school; bleargh.

[elucidate-this.livejournal.com]

Word. I have been putting of grad school and am starting get phone calls about "have you thought more about grad school" SHUT UP I AM TAKING MY TIME.

[sdwolfpup.livejournal.com]

I honestly didn't get in much trouble growing up. I can only remember a couple of times, and mostly they resulted in my mom with her Arm Grip of DOOM working her mojo on me. She was pretty lax when I was a teenager, but I was totally one of those boring nerd kids who did all their homework and everything. I only had to clean my room, but I helped out with other stuff. It was kind of a different experience for me since I essentially grew up with a single mom, and with it just being me and her, we had a different relationship than a lot of families, I think.

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

Clearly you were a dream child. :D It sounds like you knew what was expected of you, though. (Which tells me there was some discipline in your house, right?)

Oooh, that mom-grip. I know that well.

[elucidate-this.livejournal.com]

stoney i am HUNGRY and your poll made me hungrier especially the doughnut part and i am now seriously considering driving for 20 minutes to get a kripsy kreme.

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

OMG IF THE RED LIGHT IS ON GET FOURTEEN-FIFTY FOR ME, OKAY?!?!

(I'm drinking a Sarsaparilla soda, and it's curbing my sweet tooth...)

[stephanierb.livejournal.com]

I wouldn't say that a college degree was expected of me, though it was something my parents placed a great deal of value upon since neither of them got the opportunity. My brother dropped out of college to work in the trades and my folks were okay with it.

Great poll, I'm going to have to look more closely at the answers. I'm curious to see how upbringing was affected by the generation of the poll taker, if it was at all.

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

Yeah - I'm interested in the expectations, too.

And it wasn't necessarily expected of me, although it was hoped for by my father (who is multi-degreed.) My mother didn't give a shit about college. We were to get by on our looks. O_O

[lwbush.livejournal.com]

I was spoiled to the extreme of rotten-ness. I was the only child of older parents (Dad was forty when I came into their lives, Mom only three years younger) and adopted. I didn't have to work, but if I wanted to get a car...

I got spanked, but rarely - I had to really show my butt to get it walloped. I never had to clean anything, because not only was I the only with a full-time stay-at-home mom, but my grandmother lived with us as well, and everything Mom didn't cook/clean/do right away, Nana handled. I was the first member of the family to go to college, and the only one in the extended family as well. It's pretty amazing I ended up capable of anything at all, really.

I thought I knew it all, and had the worst superiority complex ever. But now that they're gone, I miss the hell out of them.

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

See, I would qualify the "if I wanted a car..." bit with working = extra money for things you want, not the needs your parents provided for you. (I probably should have spent more than 5 minutes compiling this poll...)

And I was like you - it had to be BAD for my dad to spank us. It was an ordeal. My mom shouted and smacked and rashly grounded us, but my dad disciplined us with taking away things, etc.

*hugs you to take the sting of memory away*

[that_mireille]

I answered contradictory things for the question about the teen job--I was not allowed to hold a job during the school year, but I worked in the summers and I was allowed to do stuff like babysit/tutor for money.

And I live with my father now, because I'm in pretty damn dire straits, mental- and physical-healthwise. I'd rather not though.

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

Considering I had the same situation: no work during school, but if I wanted any spending money/extras, I had to work, I should have included that. That's pretty much the line of work I took on, too.

As for the living with family, this show talked about how it's what these "Millenials" EXPECT to do. And it's mostly so someone takes care of them, secondly to save money. Man, when I was able to move out, I did. (But I've been in your situation, too. Let's hope to a positive future for you so you can live as you want!)

[sweptawaybayou.livejournal.com]

you need another option in the punishment catagory ... i rarely got spanked, physical punishment was reserved for the few (like one!) times i did something totally bad. mostly they just grounded/took the car keys and such.

and out of my three kids, i have only spanked my son *once* in their lives. my little ones were way too easy. just a harsh word and time out in the corner and they were all in tears.

;)

i'm glad you're feeling better, chicka.

*smoooch*

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

I meant to put and/or on the spanking/taking away things, but forgot, because I am lame today. :D

And I've only had to spank my son - and that doesn't work, so I don't any more. Taking away things (and hard, physical labor, usually involving scooping animal poop) usually changes bad behavior in my house. :D

(Thank you!)

[darkhavens.livejournal.com]

I say 'scones with clotted cream' and jam because right there you have a Devon Cream Tea™ and I am living in Devon and must support our local goodies. (Plus, much yumminess to be had!)

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

Ooooooh, if you could immediately send some scones, clotted cream and jam to me RIGHT NOW, I would be ever so grateful! :D

[diachrony.livejournal.com]

Your poll questions don't fit me. No poll ever fits me!

1) Baby Boom / Gen-X. Born 1964 (tail end of Boom).

2) Both "spare the rod" in theory (until I was, I dunno, somewhere before 11 years old and it stopped altogether) AND "you were perfect." That is, I got spanked some, but was mostly such a good child that it rarely happened, particularly after my misbehaving younger siblings arrived on the scene.

3) I didn't work as a teen, because I was in school. But my parents didn't make a big "study study study" deal of it ... the whole idea of working while in high school just never came up.

4) I didn't have any assigned chores, but I took it upon myself to vacuum, dust, wash dishes, rake the yard, etc. I really was a good kid. Huh. Not like my lazy-ass siblings. Okay ... the twins were slobs, but my little sister took over my unofficial-housekeeper phase when I decided I'd had enough.

5) My parents both had 4-year college degrees ... from an unaccredited religious-cult college. Srsly. (Much good those degrees did them ... not.)

6) No expectations to either go to college or not go to college - that was up to me.

7) My parents, one sister, and I all live together by choice in our nice big house in peaceful domestic bliss.

8) Scones with clotted cream sounds deeelish.

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

SO you were raised by hippies! :D

I shall make a note in my final Venn Diagram of People's Upbringing that you shall be a lovely shiny star revolving around the graph. Hahahaha!!

(And srsly: how good would a fresh, hot scone be right now? MMMMM.)

[gillo]

I clicked that my parents had high school diplomas, but actually Mum left school at not-quite-14, straight into a job, and Dad went into teh army at nearly-18 without quite graduating (taking "Higher School Certificate" in Britain in the 40s.) I'm the first generation of my family to go to university or even get A levels.

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

See, this is the fault of the poll maker for hurrying and posting so I could have lunch. *g*

I will make notice in my final analysis! (And good for you!)

[southernbangel.livejournal.com]

WHAT THE FUCK? ARE YOU DISSING AIR SUPPLY?

Also, I feel the need to clarify some of my answers because I just really, really like talking about myself.

2. My parents never spanked me, nor would they take things from me. They mostly just sat me down and told me what I did wrong and then my dad would get his "disappointed" voice going and I'd be all *sadface* But I was also pretty perfect, too. *beams*

4. Hahaha, this answer makes me sound like a gd douche. I did do things around the house but they weren't necessarily "chores" in that I was required to do them. My mom did everything--I would help her clean, cook, etc. but only because I was the Perfect Child. HAHAHA. Trufax: I did not do a load of my own laundry until I was in law school. Total spoiled douche, right? I know. *shameface*

5. My dad has a graduate degree (in Jesus, no less!) but my mom never finished college. She quit when she got married at 20 and started working.

7. I needs a doughnut RIGHT NOW ZOMG.

[southernbangel.livejournal.com]

I forgot to add (again, really, really like talking about myself) that I wasn't allowed to work during the school year because of studies/athletics, but during the summers I did. I worked at Chick-Fil-A for a little bit and it was awesome because you could eat as much Chick-Fil-A as you wanted on your shift! \0/

[mpoetess.livejournal.com]

My answers are sort of all over the map because from birth to 9, I lived with my grandparents, who were yell, ground, and take stuff away types for the most part. (And by ground I mean 'grounded from September 1981 to July 1982' - and my grandmother wonders why I don't write to her. Uh-huh.) And then at 9 I moved in with my uncle and it pretty much switches to 'you were perfect.'

(Except I wasn't; I was a passive-aggressive little bitch, but that's me as an adult looking back at myself. I was well behaved and never got in trouble for anything, but wow did I make people feel guilty for shit to get my way.)

And I didn't work in high school because I couldn't; we lived 3+ miles outside of town in an unincorporated area, couldn't afford a car for me until far into my senior year, and my uncle worked shift-work at the steel mill so I couldn't count on a ride to work at any given time, since his shift rotated every week.

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

Man, your grandparents sound like my Papa - hard as shit. And yeah - it's no wonder we distanced ourselves. O_O

(I love that you are looking back on your behavior. But let's be honest: you were Little Miss Perfect. Hee!)

[redbrickrose.livejournal.com]

Hmm. 1984 - is that millenial or gen-x? I put millenial.

I only had a job my senior year in high school, and it was my choice, not theirs. The money as nice, though. Also, I'm probably moving in with them in May but (hopefully, dear God please) only for about three months before I go to grad school - where I am TOTALLY EXPECTED TO BE even though they are really laid back and would never say that, they are totally thinking it. I can tell.

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

I think I would say that a person born in 1984 was a Gen Xer if they had older siblings (influence) and a Millenial if an only child, or the oldest born to that family.

And to be fair, I lived with my folks on occasions: before leaving for college (summers home from college) and after my divorce for... three weeks. :D

Hahahaha - the subliminal parental pressure. It's a force all of its own.

[moosesal.livejournal.com]

I clicked high school diploma for both parents, but more accurately my mom had to drop out and work at 16 while her sister finished her senior year. She got her GED when I was in kindergarten. My stepfather was also a dropout (although for less noble reasons) -- he got his GED when I was In middle school after I taught him the math he needed.

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

*loves you all the more*

And since they got GEDs, I'd say they officially become high school graduates. Just... with creativity. :)

(That's really awesome about you teaching him math. And I love how smart you are, too.)

[petzipellepingo.livejournal.com]

I couldn't answer any of the My Parents answers. Because I am a baby boomer my parents grew up in the Depression and my Dad had to quit High School to support his ill parents and two brothers. And he just never had time to get a GED because he was working all the time.

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

I just added an ETA apologizing for not having the option for those who's parents were unable (due to whatever circumstances) to finish their high school equivalence.

I may change the final option to high school diplomas and/or a lot of determination, which would fit your description. :)

[bastardsnow.livejournal.com]

FYI, you're the first person I've ever seen putting Gen-X past 1980. I've seen it stop as early as 1977 (I was born in late 1981). So, just so you know, though I checked the Gen-X box, I definitely would place myself more in the 'millenials' category, even though I think that's a stupid name. Although, when I was graduating high school, people were calling us Gen-Y, which was even stupider, because freaking *nobody* wants to be defined by their parents.

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

I think it's being redefined by this new generation. I've seen it originally called the "Internet Generation" but now (as of 60 Minutes) am hearing the term "Millenials" as they start graduating college and move into the work force. My husband has heard this new term in his line of work (consulting) as well.

I'd call you a Gen X-er, for sure. But call yourself what you want. *G*

[ljgould.livejournal.com]

Being a baby boomer born in time to be a (marginal) hippie, my parents were just hoping I didn't get thrown in jail for more than over night for protesting anything and everything I found to be objectionable.

Truthfully, they expected me to go to college (which I did) and get a graduate degree (got 3 *hee*).

Glazed donuts...Krsipy Kream...yum.

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

Hahahahahaha! And I like "marginal hippie." That's a great description.

And good for you on the three graduate degrees!! *is impressed*

[tabaqui]

I'm afraid i'm an idiot and don't know what a 'graduate' degree is. My father and mother both went to college. My mother was a nurse - RN - and my father was a Nurse Anesthetist. But he didn't do any actual 'nursing', just anesthesiology.

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

Right - in the US (and I believe, Canada) education is like this:

elementary-middle school (up through early teens)
high school (15ish - 18)
college (4 years - Bachelors Degree, aka Undergraduate degree.)
Graduate school = Masters degree, then a Ph.D (Doctorate)

Anything beyond the basic four years of college for a Bachelor's degree is a graduate degree.

In the US, I'm fairly certain that to be an anesthesiologist, you have an MD, which would be a doctorate. So he would qualify in this poll as having a graduate degree. *G*

[tabaqui]

Oh, and - first time i've ever seen my birth-year paired with a 'generational' name - i always thought the Gen-X'ers came *after* me.
*I was born in '67*

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

I always thought Gen Xers were 70s on, too, but have found multiple sources that have it at the end of the official post WW2 baby boom, '64. *shrug*

[julia-here.livejournal.com]

Note, re the question about chores and employment, I was working on the farm from the point where I was big enough to weed/feed calves/haul firewood/rip the roof off the barn, all of which started before I could read.

Parent's education: Mom graduated from high school and turned down a free ride to college to work and support her widowed mother and three younger brothers; Dad left school after 8th grade to help support his family (1931, not a good year).

But I'm thinking I should have marked "not from the Western World," because I think I grew up in some sort of temporal anomaly (and I want curry!)

Julia, must do more plumbing today, ick

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

I would say you definitely qualify for having "physical labor" as a part of your expected chores. :D My dad grew up on a large (200+ acre dairy/crop) farm and was dragging bales of hay (or trying to) at 7.

Hahahaha - you do not qualify for not a part of Western World heritage, missy! Mmmmm, please come eat this curry as I've just discovered one serving has 22 grams of fat. GAH!!

[dovil.livejournal.com]

My parents are dirty, dirty high school drop outs - but I think that was more because it was perfectly acceptable to drop out of school and pick up work because there were so many jobs going it wasn't funny.

As for uni - never had any pressure from my parents, I don't even think it came up. I pretty much knew right from the beginning that after high school came university. Chance to put off full-time work? Hell yeah! :)

I was never hit as a kid, but by god my mum had a scary voice of the telling offs of doom, so it was never actually needed. So told off AND didn't get my way. Of course even though she never hit me she did run me over in the car a few times - that learned me!

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

Your parents were dirty hippies, weren't they? That's why they named you PonyCake Starfeather. (You can't lie to me.)

I like how you've lied to yourself saying that being hit with a car driven by your mom isn't the same as her hitting you. Whatever helps you sleep at night... (ha! That's how my dad was, too - I worried about his tone far more than anything else.)

[tabaqui]

Oh!
I wanted to add. I got spanked as a kid, a little bit. We all did. Not very often, though. But when we were older - before out teen years - that stopped and basically we'd get 'talked to'. Oh, man. Screw around, upset our mom? My dad was there to tell us that our mom was the most wonderful person, who bent over backwards for us and did everything she could to make us *all* happy and this is how we treated her and we'd better go say we were sorry and act right.

Ooh, the horrible guilt. :)
My mom did the same in reverse. And i never needed a job, no, but my brother had one because he wanted money to spend on...whatever. Drugs, i'm sure, but hey - what's a little pot? We never got an allowance, but if we were out and i really wanted a book, or a pack of gum, my mom wasn't going to say 'no', either. As a rule.

We did *not* have tv's in our rooms, or our own phones, i didn't get a car when i turned sixteen, and parties for b-days were small affairs with a couple of friends and home-made cake. We weren't spoiled, but we had things that we wanted, to a degree.

[thelittlebudgie.livejournal.com]

"I am super hungry for lunch, and my friend just happened to drop off some curry, tika masala, and garlic naan. I think I won't be hungry much longer."

*eeeeeenvy* I don't even have all the parts for a peanut butter and jam sandwich.

2. My parents main form of discipline was sharp words and taking things away. I don't think they spanked any of us after four. (Hell, I'm not even sure if they spanked my sister and me before them.)

3. Had some chores, but my parents really did most of it.

4. College=uni undergrad, right? (You darn Yanks and your making distinct terms into synonyms.)

5. I always planned to do post-secondary, and I guess my parents more or less expected it. Conversation upon receiving all five acceptance letters: "I got in everywhere!" "Well, yeah." I'm the second in my generation to do any kind of post-secondary. Only girl. It looks likely to remain that way until my sister graduates highschool. My dad always said that he just expected me to pass whatever course I was currently in.

[viciouswishes.livejournal.com]

I'm right on the cusp of Gen-X/Millennial at the tail end of 1983. (My younger brothers are both Millennials; though one barely.) This usually means that I tend to like a lot of the media aimed at Gen-Xers, but I grew up with the tech of the Millennials.

I always feel a little off-balance when it comes to the groupings. Besides the cusp thing, I think it might have to do with being raised a lot as a small child by my grandparents who are very much part of the Greatest Generation and then later pre-teens/teens by my Baby Boomer parents. My mom and I were talking about which parent me and my brothers most resembled. My mom came to the conclusion that one brother acted like one parent and the other, the other one, and that I was most like my grandparents.

Interestingly enough, my grandparents expected me to go to college, but my parents did not. In fact, my father actively discouraged it. My 22-year-old brother still has not gone.

[viciouswishes.livejournal.com]

Also as far as chores, I grew up on a ranch and I remember when my brother and I each had to pick up an piece of irrigation pipe together to move because we were too little to each grab one.

I also had between 20-80 rabbits to feed and water from the time I was 8 or 9 until I left for college.

[brutti-ma-buoni.livejournal.com]

I'm skewing your stats because:

a) I was ill when teenage, hence the no work to concentrate on studying. Otherwise, it would have been encouraged, if not mandatory. Also, chores would have been more significant, I'm pretty sure. Hard to be completely certain as I'm an only.

b) My Mum got her degree part-time when I was a teenager - final exams the summer between my GCSEs and A-levels [English exams at 16 and 18]. Those were such fun, consecutive stress free summers in my home...Hah. So the value of higher education was emphasised, but not in some nostalgic 'When I was your age' way or a career expectation, more in terms of personal fulfillment. Which maybe explains why I now have 4 degrees. Meep.

[brutti-ma-buoni.livejournal.com]

And, suddenly feeling better about my spoiled teenage self, I didn't include that I did most of the cooking for the 4 years Mum was studying, from when I was 13. Admittedly otherwise I wouldn't have been able to eat, but still: honest to goodness chore.