… or 5th, 4th … ?
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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — Everything Else

️ Christina 1986-05-20 


— 7 months ago(August 08, 2025 06:13 PM)… or 5th, 4th … ?
My parents express or acted like, if I picked one activity for "my future," they would invest in it alone. (Hence, no problems after 18.. 21, too.)
Funny thing I did try to teach myself keyboard. They acted like I could have bought a violin..
I prefer to get the gymnastics in. I would change to ballet, later.
It would be the dream to stay home, work and save money at "18" or 16.
I would have made $800/month full time. (The minimum wage was $5/hour.) $5.50/hour would be $880/month. $5.75/hour is $920/month.
An apartment was about $285/month. I couldn't find the price of a cheap or used car back then per month.
With the lowest paycheck and no car, you'd have $515 leftover every month, besides the rent.
I'm not sure how I could afford anything, back then, with $515 for groceries, the toilet paper, some tissues, restocking important things like tootbrush's, Q-tips to clean ears, simple facial soap, at least cheap tampons and pads, etc. I heard some groceries were a bit higher, like meat. I do eat a lot, so technically that would not be enough.
If you were married, you'd have $1,030/month but so far most of it seems like the things bought are for one person for that money. I still have the same amount of food leftover. True, today, I can live on maybe $325/month or maybe $350 but maybe even a bit less. Also, my food is not "just" plain beans on flour tortillas or something..
You know, they used to "lecture" us in high school, which was the public one I went to for 2 1/2 / 3 years, about getting a college degree so you don't have a hard life, but I never calculated living alone and not affording groceries. Sandwich, good breakfast, the dinner? Well, now, I just eat dinners and sometimes "snacks" but not the "tastiest" ones.
So, in high school, you have to know to go to college and get ready for your career and chose a college major.
So, say, I did gymnastics and ballet? I seem to be 14. I'm thinking of working in the summer before the 3rd year when I'm 16.
If I worked during high school, during the week, I'd make $400/month, the 3rd and 4th years. The whole year that's $4,800. I could go to a community college in the summer.- English 1
- English 2
- Speech/Communications
- Psychology 1 (General)
There might be like I counted maybe 7 more classes in the General Studies Common Curriculum program, which today vary more greatly but may have never been so academic as possible. It inclines more as humanities, today. After graduating high school, that's 3 or 4 more semesters to finish the Common Curriculum, probably. If you do it all after your high school summers, it's 4 or 5 semesters. It's less than 2 years. There are electives and a major after that to fill.
Normal people just go to college. It takes 4 years with sometimes 15 or 17 credit hours a semester.
I was thinking of majoring in politics / political science. If you did something like find some human services end, like say adult education … you wouldn't be on that tier in 2002, 2004, like oh I'm climbing Wall Street. Get ready, it's the next new year.
Cheerleading seemed to make it over dance team. It was more that TV reality show, America's Got Talent.. show sorta feel.
I was wondering where I went wrong physically younger. I did cross country in 9th grade, but it was like it wasn't good enough. I came next year and I didn't stop as much as people who started that year. (I did earn the varsity letter.)
I had options. I could have done cheerleading in 6th grade, 7th grade, and 8th grade.
I could have done soccer in 7th grade and 8th grade.
I could have done martial arts in maybe 6th grade and 5th grade.
I also don't know my next best escapes, other than physical organized activities too late, in different ways.
I thought of something interesting.
12th Grade - Ballet Once a Week
- Gymnastics Once a Week
BRB
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