how the other half lives

recently on mtv they had a show about two girls who had a compulsive shopping habit. One, a 19 year old, was feeling guilty about not paying her bills on time and the rental fee for her furniture so she decided to go to therapy. they didn't get too into this girl's history besides early shopping habits with her family. there was nothing about her educational background. her family didn't seem to care what she did for a living or that she was not in school. maybe they couldn't afford to send her. she was working at the door of a strip club, getting paid tips every night for letting the patrons in. she had cash in hand every night, which allowed her to easily go shopping often and spend everything. They gave an example of one night when she made $80 in tips.

she lived in a condo with her boyfriend, who seemed to let her dominate the relationship. he just smiled a lot and didn't talk much, admitting that he doesn't mind when she runs out of their dinner together to go shopping at a nearby mall before the stores closed. i found this to be hilarious in relation to my current situation. i live so frugally that it's a little nuts. i paid off my student loan, have no credit card debt, am supporting myself and living alone and have been since I was 24, and i can afford to really shop, but i don't. when i do shop, i like to do it at sites like thehungersite.com, where what you buy allows you to supply food to the hungry, or tomsshoes.com, where the shoes you buy automatically purchases a pair of shoes for a needy child. The girl on this show cared about little else than herself and her appearance. and the kicker is, her behavior was rewarded!

maybe she's with her boyfriend because he can give her an easier life, she didn't seem to care for or love him all that much. and at the end of the episode, there is a text update on her situation across the screen. it says that her boyfriend's parents recently bought a house for him, and she's planning to move in with him soon. some people have all the luck, don't they? i mean she's probably all of 20 and living in a house already, without having had to work for it, without having had to get a college education to ensure that she's not dependant on any man. i have to wonder what this guy really sees in her. i just don't get it, and it makes me mad! why do slackers get rewarded while hard workers and responsible people like me are only met with more hard work? i'm so work oriented that i couldn't slack at a job even if i tried. and this girl never had to try for anything! boyfriend, check, job, check, house, check, money, check. family, check. i mean, huh? makes me feel silly for trying and killing myself to try to establish some sort of career/work history/experience.

personally, i need to feel that my work is somehow meaningful to me. that's why i'm job searching at the moment, and always thinking about the things that really excite me and that i'm passionate about. this girls life is basically going to be about owning a lot of pretty clothes and accessories, i guess that's enough for some people. but if i were to live with someone, i'd want to make sure they really love me. not that they are a doormat that lets me walk all over them. whoa i sure wrote a lot on this, i guess it really bothered me!