One of the things we did early on in CCSC was separating our "needs" from our "wants." In American culture things that are really "wants" are often perceived as "needs." These needs and wants can be material things or they can be other things like having free time or being in a romantic relationship. Differentiating between needs and wants helps when living on a small budget, and it also helps keep life simple. Sometimes when something stays on the "wants" list long enough, I decide I don't really want it that much after all.
There are a lot of things that I need and a lot of things that I want right now as I move into an apartment, start my new job, and shop for a car. Most of the things I'm worried about right now are material things because these are more basic than having my emotional needs met (basic Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs) . So, I made a list of "needs" and "wants" (both lists are pretty long) and then I put the needs into two categories: things I need right away and things I need, but can wait a little while. This is helping me to prioritize since I have very little money right now and, even though I have a job, I won't have a pay check for a while and even once I start getting paid, I won't be paid much.
A year ago I would have made a list with needs and wants all mixed up together and I might have gotten things in the order of how much I thought about them. For example, I really really want a haircut because my hair is driving me crazy, but I don't actually need one, so I'll wait until September or October once I get everything on my "needs" list. Although it's annoying to live with bad hair, it's more important that I get things like a bed, rain boots, and a sturdy umbrella that can handle the Buffalo wind (the wind broke two cheap ones last year).
It's interesting that one of the first things we talked about in CCSC is one of the first things I'm using post-CCSC to keep with the Simplicity pillar in my life.
Showing posts with label simplicity. Show all posts
Showing posts with label simplicity. Show all posts
Friday, August 26, 2011
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Solidarity
One of the four pillars of CCSC is simplicity. This year has been the opposite of simple for me.
We don't have internet at our houses, we share a car, and we're asked to be mindful of how we spend our time. This isn't too awfully hard for me, though I do like to spend my free time reading and listening to music—which is a good use of time—but can sometimes serve as a distraction from problems or just from living life in the present moment. The part that is hard is not being able easily look things up on the internet.
What's hard is that my life has been complicated by things such as health insurance, a car that seems to get a lot of flat tires and has a few other problems, my gym closing not long after I finally found one, all the computer issues I've had, and my student loans (which were supposed to go into deferment this year) haunting me.
So far, of the three lenders I have student loans with, only one has granted me forbearance, another is still pending (for three months), and another was denied. I sent an official AmeriCorps letter from the myAmericorps website, but they didn't accept that.
When I called the lender and explained that I'm in AmeriCorps and am living on a very small stipend, the woman said in a condescending tone, “oh, we don't work with AmeriCorps.” She said it as if AmeriCorps is some shady organization that's under investigation for human trafficking and tax evasion.
In the past week, I've gotten two letter and three phone calls from the lender about an unpaid bill (even though it was, in fact, paid). Two of the calls were within ten minutes of each other. My parents have also been getting these letters and phone calls because they're co-signers. I wasn't surprised at how rude everyone on the phone was, but I was surprised at how rude I was back. I'm usually pretty polite, but I certainly wasn't to them. I blame it on the stress and annoyance.
Being harassed by my lender has made me think about people who have late credit card payments and how the credit card companies call them. I feel annoyed and stressed out about these phone calls. I'm also very worried about this loan and the other loan that the forbearance request is still pending.
Another way we use the word simplicity in CCSC is to mean solidarity with the poor and the populations we serve. I certainly feel solidarity with the poor worrying about money all the time and getting annoying/harassing phone calls from the loan company. It's only been happening to me for a week and will hopefully end soon, but I know that for some people it goes on for years. Maybe they become indifferent about it after a while, but then again, maybe not.
We don't have internet at our houses, we share a car, and we're asked to be mindful of how we spend our time. This isn't too awfully hard for me, though I do like to spend my free time reading and listening to music—which is a good use of time—but can sometimes serve as a distraction from problems or just from living life in the present moment. The part that is hard is not being able easily look things up on the internet.
What's hard is that my life has been complicated by things such as health insurance, a car that seems to get a lot of flat tires and has a few other problems, my gym closing not long after I finally found one, all the computer issues I've had, and my student loans (which were supposed to go into deferment this year) haunting me.
So far, of the three lenders I have student loans with, only one has granted me forbearance, another is still pending (for three months), and another was denied. I sent an official AmeriCorps letter from the myAmericorps website, but they didn't accept that.
When I called the lender and explained that I'm in AmeriCorps and am living on a very small stipend, the woman said in a condescending tone, “oh, we don't work with AmeriCorps.” She said it as if AmeriCorps is some shady organization that's under investigation for human trafficking and tax evasion.
In the past week, I've gotten two letter and three phone calls from the lender about an unpaid bill (even though it was, in fact, paid). Two of the calls were within ten minutes of each other. My parents have also been getting these letters and phone calls because they're co-signers. I wasn't surprised at how rude everyone on the phone was, but I was surprised at how rude I was back. I'm usually pretty polite, but I certainly wasn't to them. I blame it on the stress and annoyance.
Being harassed by my lender has made me think about people who have late credit card payments and how the credit card companies call them. I feel annoyed and stressed out about these phone calls. I'm also very worried about this loan and the other loan that the forbearance request is still pending.
Another way we use the word simplicity in CCSC is to mean solidarity with the poor and the populations we serve. I certainly feel solidarity with the poor worrying about money all the time and getting annoying/harassing phone calls from the loan company. It's only been happening to me for a week and will hopefully end soon, but I know that for some people it goes on for years. Maybe they become indifferent about it after a while, but then again, maybe not.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Technology and poverty
I hope this is the last time I write about computers and internet access. I've done some reflecting about how computers connect to simplicity and poverty.
Technology has the ability to both simplify and complicate our lives. Lately, I've seen how complicated life can be without a computer and internet access and how complicated it can potentially be to attain these things. Aside from how frustrating it's been to actually attain a working computer, it's hard to live in a new city and not have internet access to do simple things like find directions and what times the metro runs.
What if I didn't have parents who could and were willing to buy me a new computer as a graduation gift? Would I be able to apply to graduate schools with a 17 minute time limit at the library? No. What if I'd never had a computer? I'm sure I could have gotten through college using the library computers that don't have a time limit, but it certainly would have been more complicated.
Yesterday I had a one-on-one meeting with one of the support people for CCSC and we talked about how someone not having a computer can contribute to keeping them in the cycle of poverty. In most schools there are computer labs for students to use, but they probably have limited hours that may be at the same time a student wants to socialize with their friends, so if they don't have a computer at home doing their homework can be a challenge. Then, we talked about how many job applications are online. Some people might not be able to get to the library use the internet to apply, and then there is the issue of the time limit (though I'm sure many libraries are more generous with their time limits than the library that is the closest to my house). If someone already had a job, but maybe it was a minimum wage job and their work schedule prevented them from going to the library to use the internet, they would have that significant barrier to finding a better job.
There are so many obstacles to education and employment that I've thought about before (previous education, child care, transportation, etc.), but this is really the first time I've thought about technology, or rather the lack of technology, being a barrier. I guess I've always been privileged enough that I've never had to worry about what it would be like not to have a computer before.
I find it interesting how the simple lack of a computer is tied into three of the four CCSC pillars. The obvious one are simplicity, but there is also social justice and community (I relied on my community members to borrow their computers while I didn't have one). Really, it's tied to spirituality too: I wasn't able to research for the spirituality night I organized for my community and it was kind of a flop.
Technology has the ability to both simplify and complicate our lives. Lately, I've seen how complicated life can be without a computer and internet access and how complicated it can potentially be to attain these things. Aside from how frustrating it's been to actually attain a working computer, it's hard to live in a new city and not have internet access to do simple things like find directions and what times the metro runs.
What if I didn't have parents who could and were willing to buy me a new computer as a graduation gift? Would I be able to apply to graduate schools with a 17 minute time limit at the library? No. What if I'd never had a computer? I'm sure I could have gotten through college using the library computers that don't have a time limit, but it certainly would have been more complicated.
Yesterday I had a one-on-one meeting with one of the support people for CCSC and we talked about how someone not having a computer can contribute to keeping them in the cycle of poverty. In most schools there are computer labs for students to use, but they probably have limited hours that may be at the same time a student wants to socialize with their friends, so if they don't have a computer at home doing their homework can be a challenge. Then, we talked about how many job applications are online. Some people might not be able to get to the library use the internet to apply, and then there is the issue of the time limit (though I'm sure many libraries are more generous with their time limits than the library that is the closest to my house). If someone already had a job, but maybe it was a minimum wage job and their work schedule prevented them from going to the library to use the internet, they would have that significant barrier to finding a better job.
There are so many obstacles to education and employment that I've thought about before (previous education, child care, transportation, etc.), but this is really the first time I've thought about technology, or rather the lack of technology, being a barrier. I guess I've always been privileged enough that I've never had to worry about what it would be like not to have a computer before.
I find it interesting how the simple lack of a computer is tied into three of the four CCSC pillars. The obvious one are simplicity, but there is also social justice and community (I relied on my community members to borrow their computers while I didn't have one). Really, it's tied to spirituality too: I wasn't able to research for the spirituality night I organized for my community and it was kind of a flop.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Preparations: Panicking About the Technology Fast
I’m very worried about this technology fast.
At first, I wasn’t worried because I grew up in a house without a TV and I don’t use my cell phone much (weird, I know). I am pretty attached to my computer and the internet (especially facebook), but I really don’t think I’ll miss it much. My big worry is being without my ipod.
I love music. I’ve always loved music—both listening to and participating in music. I was in choral, band, concert choir, and musicals in high school. To me, one of the most important parts of the Mass is the music, and I often judge a church on how good its music is. Music relaxes me, lifts my mood, makes me want to dance, and distracts me from problems in my life.
It’s the distracting that is the whole reason behind this technology fast: the whole point of the technology fast is to be present in the moment to ourselves (what we’re thinking and feeling), learning to live simply and recognize the difference between needs and wants, to get to know our community instead of staying in such close contact with people who aren’t there, and to the other people in our community.
As my sister, Laura, and my roommate from my senior year at Salem, Jane, can attest, I am addicted to the music of Tegan and Sara. I feely admit I’m addicted and I warned Jane not long after we moved in. Fortunately, Jane likes T+S too—or at least she did (it’s very possible she got sick of them and now hates them, I don’t know). In the past two years or so I don’t think I’ve gone more than two or three days without listening to T+S music.
I’m not sure what it is about their music, but on a good day it makes me feel even happier, and almost without fail helps me feel better on a bad day—even if only a little bit. I have a playlist on my ipod called “feel better” that I listen to when I’m stressed out, angry, or sad. On this playlist are the songs that give me comfort or can always make me feel better, and of the 60 songs on this playlist, 24 are Tegan and Sara songs.
Long before I was a Tegan and Sara fan (and that was a long time ago since I started listening to them in high school), music has been a sort of lifeline for me—as I know it is for many people, particularly teenagers. I honestly don’t know what it will be like to go a month and a half without my ipod.
I’m not trying to be overdramatic—I know I’ll survive a month and a half without music. However, I do anticipate that the first month is likely to be one of the most challenging months this year and the time when I will most want to have Tegan and Sara handy.
In the past few years, I’ve become very good at finding the positive in most situations, and--outside of the obvious possible positive effects of the technology fast (simplifying my life, being present in the moment, getting to know my community and participating in community instead of people I’m not with or locking myself in my room with my music, etc.)--once the first month plus some weeks are over and I can have my ipod I’ll probably appreciate my music even more. After all, we all know distance makes the heart grow fonder.
At first, I wasn’t worried because I grew up in a house without a TV and I don’t use my cell phone much (weird, I know). I am pretty attached to my computer and the internet (especially facebook), but I really don’t think I’ll miss it much. My big worry is being without my ipod.
I love music. I’ve always loved music—both listening to and participating in music. I was in choral, band, concert choir, and musicals in high school. To me, one of the most important parts of the Mass is the music, and I often judge a church on how good its music is. Music relaxes me, lifts my mood, makes me want to dance, and distracts me from problems in my life.
It’s the distracting that is the whole reason behind this technology fast: the whole point of the technology fast is to be present in the moment to ourselves (what we’re thinking and feeling), learning to live simply and recognize the difference between needs and wants, to get to know our community instead of staying in such close contact with people who aren’t there, and to the other people in our community.
As my sister, Laura, and my roommate from my senior year at Salem, Jane, can attest, I am addicted to the music of Tegan and Sara. I feely admit I’m addicted and I warned Jane not long after we moved in. Fortunately, Jane likes T+S too—or at least she did (it’s very possible she got sick of them and now hates them, I don’t know). In the past two years or so I don’t think I’ve gone more than two or three days without listening to T+S music.
I’m not sure what it is about their music, but on a good day it makes me feel even happier, and almost without fail helps me feel better on a bad day—even if only a little bit. I have a playlist on my ipod called “feel better” that I listen to when I’m stressed out, angry, or sad. On this playlist are the songs that give me comfort or can always make me feel better, and of the 60 songs on this playlist, 24 are Tegan and Sara songs.
Long before I was a Tegan and Sara fan (and that was a long time ago since I started listening to them in high school), music has been a sort of lifeline for me—as I know it is for many people, particularly teenagers. I honestly don’t know what it will be like to go a month and a half without my ipod.
I’m not trying to be overdramatic—I know I’ll survive a month and a half without music. However, I do anticipate that the first month is likely to be one of the most challenging months this year and the time when I will most want to have Tegan and Sara handy.
In the past few years, I’ve become very good at finding the positive in most situations, and--outside of the obvious possible positive effects of the technology fast (simplifying my life, being present in the moment, getting to know my community and participating in community instead of people I’m not with or locking myself in my room with my music, etc.)--once the first month plus some weeks are over and I can have my ipod I’ll probably appreciate my music even more. After all, we all know distance makes the heart grow fonder.
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