The Lesson

The Hokum reading was fully enjoyable!  I actually enjoyed all three stories that were assigned for today’s reading.  All three were entertaining reads, but I particularly liked the second story, “The Lesson.”  Many things hit home with me and caused me to think.  The part at the end when the students learned the lesson made me rethink how I view things and made me realize how incredibly blessed I am. 

When Sugar stated, “You know, Miss More, I don’t think all of us here put together eat in a year what that sailboat costs” really struck me.  The other line that really got me was, “Imagine for a minute what kind of society it is in which some people can spend on a toy what it would cost to feed a family of six or seven people.”  Wow.  How powerful, yet true, that statement is.  Earlier in the story it was stated that there was a toy that cost thirty-five dollars; that thirty-five dollars could “pay for the rent and the piano bill too.”

 

The world I grew up in and was raised in, the type of living I am accustomed to is utterly different than that which is depicted in “The Lesson.”  It really was an awakening and a reminder at just how fortunate and blessed I truly am in my life, especially with the opportunity to be at a phenomenal school receiving a higher education, something that many people dream of but never have the opportunity to achieve.  Also, in regards to money, our tuition is a ridiculous amount, especially in comparison to someone only paying $35 in rent.  And yet, we horned frogs find the $43,000 a year to attend this university.  Just how crazy is that?  I was talking with a friend who grew up in a family where the annual income was only $35,000.  That’s as much as tuition at TCU, and with the addition of room and board, is even less. 

Another conversation I had in the past week was with a cleaning lady in Samuelson.  She told me how she has been applying for the job at TCU for over a year and finally got it.  Why was she applying for it?  Because she wants to give her kids an equal opportunity to attend school and get an education that is so stressed in today’s society, something that she never had the opportunity to achieve.  How humbling.  I, a lot of the times, forget about how lucky I am to receive this opportunity.  To me, it just seems normal; since a young age it has been put in my head that I can do anything; that I will go to college; and that I will receive a higher education.  Other people are not as fortunate. 

The lesson learned by Sugar, is that “this not much of a democracy if you ask me.  Equal chance to pursue happiness means an equal crack at the dough, don’t it?”  And I agree.  Unfortunately, our world, our country, our society is not set up this way.  And it definitely was not in the 1970s when blacks were heavily discriminated against and were not given nearly the same rights or opportunities as the white race who viewed themselves as superior.

But just remember, being at TCU is a huge blessing, and this story was an incredible reminder at just how lucky we are to be here.