Entitlement and Epiphany

Yesterday, my younger sister told me she was proud of me and how I'm handling all the shit life's been throwing at me. That meant more to me than I could even explain, especially since I've been feeling like the worst failure ever. She also said that she'd finally realized the value of how our parents raised us and I agreed with her completely. Growing up, we never got rewards for good grades or good behavior. It was a standard that was simply expected of us. As a result, she and I have never felt like we should be entitled to things. We've known that if you want something, you have to work for it. When I wanted to get special toys, I had to save my allowance for months to buy them. But I don't mind that because they meant more that way. My sister was complaining about someone she knows who doesn't have a job because she "doesn't want to work" and yet goes out and buys expensive cars and eats out every night because she feels like the world owes her that lifestyle. And she expects for other people (family and friends) to bail her out when she winds up in debt. It pissed my sister off to no end and I was in complete agreement with her. It's that sense of entitlement that brought about the economic depression we're in right now. And part of what is so annoying (to both of us) is that we're suffering from it, my sister will graduate in less than a year, possibly six months and have to compete with mid-level career job seekers for entry-level positions, and yet, we didn't participate in the problems that brought this about. My mom passed along an article from the SF Gate today that tied right into this. It explains so well why my employers have always been impressed with my work ethic. I didn't understand at the time, because I just did what was asked and expected of me: I showed up on time; I worked whatever hours necessary; and I did what I was told to do. Like I said, that's how I was raised. A couple of years ago, one of my co-workers ran across a survey of college students about to graduate. The majority of them said they expected to be earning over $100K/year at their first job. And I laughed and said, well the real world will come as a slap to the face for them. But I'm learning that whether or not they're paid that, people are living as if that's what they make. It's especially prevalent in the area of Dallas that I live in. People drive expensive cars and rent expensive apartments that I just don't understand how they can possibly afford. Especially since I see them out in the middle of the day, walking their pedigree dogs in the park. What sucks the most is that despite the fact that I am not like those people, I can't get anyone to give me a chance. I can't get anyone to let me learn on the job. Today I had an interviewer reject me before even meeting me. And it hurts even more than the rejections that come without offering me a chance at all. Because they held out the candy to me and then just as I was reaching out for it, pulled it back and said, wait a minute, we don't want to share with you after all. I just want to SCREAM at the top of my lungs because I actually WANT to work my ass off (and I'm almost back to entry-level salary) but nobody will let me!