Poverty

When I saw the budget calculations through the EPI and the poverty line I was truly humbled. Coming from a family of 6 in a town such as the one that I grew up in I never really understood how easy I really had it. This lesson comes at an interesting time in my life because in the past couple of weeks I have been in tears just about every other day over money because my parents are trying to teach me about financial responsibility and are making sure that they are giving me complete financial freedom by making me pay for everything food, gas, clothes, and part of my other bills. This has been a particularly tough year to learn this due to the current economic status of the country. With all of that being said I am still dependent on my parents for most things and they do claim me as so, therefore I used the budget calculations for a family of 4 kids with 2 parents. I am still at a shock and cannot imagine if my family was in actuality impoverished.
According to the HHS poverty guidelines my family would have to live off of $548.00 per week. Obviously our standard of living would have to go down significantly. I was embarrassed when I saw this calculation because I realized how selfish I have been in the past with my parents. I had the nerve to complain to my parents about the fact that when I graduated from high school my car was two years old.... obviously if I lived on this budget my family would probably not have a car, let alone one that is two years old. I can hardly imagine how my family would afford to eat under those financial constraints and it gives me a whole lot of respect for those that work hard for their family. Seeing these calculations and the video today in class also really angered me. This summer I got into a heated debate with my brother over government programming. He thinks that people that are in these situations have brought it on themselves and that it isn't the governments problem to deal with them... I am under the impression that the government needs to help these people. If a family is in this much financial turmoil I am sure that they aren't just sitting back waiting for the government check to come, because frankly that government check will come, but it won't make them rich and no one WANTS to be impoverished. I highly doubt that there is someone out there that wants to be poor.
When I took a look at the EPI calculator I was still humbled. It put a family with 2 parents and 3 children (because they didn't have a four child option) at a grand total of roughly $1,148 per week. It finally hit me when I realized that my rent for two months this summer was the equivalence of two weeks for an entire family. I don't think that me or anyone in my family could live comfortably on this budget at all. Gas alone for the 6 cars that we have would probably kill us. We would definitely have to make some changes and really get in touch with reality. It would be interesting if my family would try it out for just one week on this budget. That would mean that my parents would have to distribute $191 to every person in my family and tell them to survive with nothing more for a whole week including rent.
As I said earlier it gave me severe respect and sympathy for the families and persons shown in the video today it particularly gave me respect for the family with the girl who has cancer. It really broke my heart when it said that over 18,000 people a year die because they don't have health insurance. I know that these people are working and the cards have just been poorly dealt to them. They are trying as hard as they can to get out of their situation but they can't. But the video really changed my perspective on my education and it really makes me value it a whole lot more because it really is the only way that I can have the opportunity to make sure that I don't become like those people. Because in almost all of those situations their way out was a higher level of education.
I really don't know what I would say to the future president about this issue. I wish that college could be free to everyone and I wish that everyone could be brought up in the environment that I did, one that set me up for a life of success. However, I know that that is not possible. So, the only solution is government programs and the situation will only get harder with the current financial situation the economy is in. I would though, tell him to recalculate the poverty rates, and make at least something available to those who really do need it.

Matrimony

The South Carolina State laws for Divorce say:

The Complaint for Divorce is the initial document filed with the South Carolina court. It is in this document that the filing spouse will request the court to terminate the marriage under certain specified grounds.

No divorce from the bonds of matrimony shall be granted except upon one or more of the following grounds:

No-Fault Based Grounds: (1) Living separate and apart for at least 1 year without cohabitation.

Fault Based Grounds: (1) Adultery; (2) Desertion for at least one year; (3) Physical cruelty; (4) Habitual drunkenness or Drug abuse. (Code of Laws for South Carolina - Chapter 3; Sections 20-3-10)

I think that South Carolina's laws divorce laws are perfect the way that they are. I think that a year's separation is the perfect amount of time to ensure that a divorce is the appropriate course of action. I do not have any direct experience with my immediate family and divorce, but I do know that a divorce should not be a immediate reaction. The dissolution of a marriage is something can tear down individuals who are not directly involved (children, cousins, grandparents, friends, etc.) so a couple needs to take this years time to ensue that they are making the correct decision.

But another part of me says, "Why can they get married at the drop of a hat but divorced in a minimum time a year?" I just keep picturing past relationships of mine and at the time of some of these relationships we would find ourselves blinded by "love" and saying things like, "Let's run away tonight and get married!" Looking back on these relationships I was obviously too stupid and inexperienced to even be able to handle an engagement, but we were also of the legal age to get married. What if we made that impulse decision? I would still by South Carolina State laws be married to that boy, and we are very much not together anymore. This is a common mistake that so many young people make not only in South Carolina, but across the nation

So this raises an interesting argument: Should there be a law for the time before one can consider marriage? If they did this maybe they could fend off some of those "blinded by love" or impulse-quickie marriages that seem to be so glorified and excited by today's pop culture. If every couple who planned to wed was bound by law to wait 1 year before they did so I would put money down and say that a lot of these weddings would never happen. That one year would allow for time to go to premarital counseling, set up a prenuptial agreement, and even just relieve stress from these modern brides to plan a fantastic and over-the-top wedding in just 4 months. It would also probably allow some, not all of these, people to see that they were really not meant to be together, because honestly if they are going to be together for the rest of their lives, then what is one year of waiting? Most of these couples are all ready living together, so it wouldn't affect leases and financial situations as much as it might have 30 years ago.

According to the census bureau the average marriage lasts 7.2 years these days. Personally I would have to say that this is most likely due to the fact that marriage is no longer considered something sacred and holy. I remember when Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston split. Pitt was quoted saying something along the lines of "we didn't think that marriage was going to be an eternal thing, you can have multiple soul mates" My question to Mr. Pitt is then why get married, why make those vows that clearly state they are for eternity "till DEATH do us part" if you do not mean them? It is examples like this that turn divorce into something hot and full of gossip and trendy and hide what it really is... something painful that tears people's worlds upside down and destroys families as well as friends.

On the other end of the spectrum marriage has turned into something "hot" and "trendy." My mother and I were recently having a conversation and in that conversation about marriage because she met my father very young and they recently celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary. In fact, she met my dad when she was exactly my age. I often talk to her about my relationships and I was telling her that I couldn't imagine that I knew who my husband was yet and that I kind of always pictured myself married by the age of 25. And she gave me a word of advice that I think young America should listen to she said, "I would be sad if you married someone at the 'correct' age to get married just because you were at that age but it later ended in divorce because you were more caught up in the wedding than the marriage, and I would also be sad if you got married when you were older because you felt like time was running out and that ended in divorce, I would only be happy if you got married because you were head over heals in love with this man and it didn't matter how old you guys were, it didn't matter if you wedding had 2 people or 200 hundred people, because thats what matters. It's not about how old you are, or how big your wedding is it's about picking your spouse, someone who is the big picture and who makes the beautiful wedding and the house and the car just fall in around him not him falling into them." That advice has stuck with me and will make me think about who I choose to marry. I think that America should listen to that advice as well and I could guarantee you that we would have less divorces on our hands.

*as a side note I would like to add that my opinions on these issues are not for fault based grounds, but simply for no-fault based grounds.

Boozin and I Don't Care

Ever since the law that changed the drinking age to 21 instead of 18 there has been plenty of debate about the issue. As a teen in high school I shared one perspective about the issue and as a teen in college I shared another. The United States will probably never agree on this issue, but I am going to offer one facet of the argument.

In high school I went to the epitome of Southern Baptist high schools. As a teen I was never particularly as conservative as the rest of my high school companions and was in fact considered kind of radical for maybe popping open a brew and having a good time with some friends. I would not have even considered myself an even regular drinker. So, when I was in high school I thought about drinking as something I did occasionally but was something that I would do regularly once I was old enough. To some things up I was in agreement with the existing law, but was slightly annoyed with it.

When I came to college I began to see the frustration with the number 21. As a college student I regularly go to bars and parties where there is drinking. I am forced, if I want to hang out with any of my friends, to go to these places and partake in illegal activity. This is especially true for a person living in Charleston. There is nowhere to go to past 9:30 if I am not 21 and frankly if I want to go somewhere that is just a house it’s less safe than going to the bars.

Apart from the convenience of drinking there is also the maturity thing. If I am old enough to be living on my own, managing my own finances, and making my own decisions shouldn’t I be able to go to a bar and have a drink with my friends? Since I have come to college drinking has become a regular part of my social life. As a college freshman I went out A LOT but still managed to be in 3 school clubs, a sorority, have a job, and maintain a 3.8 GPA. I can obviously handle myself under the influence of alcohol and it has become what I do to relax. It has become such an accepted part of the average college student’s routine that most of us forget about the risk and the fact that we are doing anything illegal.

Sure there are health risks, but so are there with eating too many hamburgers. Everything just needs to be in moderation and people wouldn’t be so tempted to overindulge and binge if it wasn’t such a big deal.

A little About Me

My name is Elaine Savarese and I am from Hilton Head Island, SC. Before I started college in Charleston I didn’t know what I was going to do with my life after college. I’m still not sure, but I do know that I will probably major in Hospitality and Tourism Management and possibly minor in Business Marketing. What I would really love to do is become an event planner for a large corporation. Whether or not all of these ambitions will be fulfilled and completed I’m not sure of yet. However, if its one thing that I have learned by being in Charleston it’s that nothing that you think will happen happens.
I have lived my entire life in the Lowcountry, however, Charleston is so different from Hilton Head. I chose to live here over the Summer thinking that it was something I was going to LOVE. I did love it, but there were certainly ups and downs that came with it, but most of all it made me realize how much I actually love my hometown. My parents are both from the North but chose to raise us in the South so I often come off with a very “Yankee” perception on life. This often confuses people but what confuses people even more is my lack of an accent from either region.
On the CofC campus I am involved in a lot of activities. I am a member of the Chi Omega Fraternity and I am very involved there. I am also a peer facilitator for a freshman leadership conference called Cougar Excursion. CE has been one of my favorite parts about being on campus. I also work off campus at King Street Grille.
I am really excited to take this sociology class I took 101 and fell in love with it!