Cloud 9 and Nowhere to Go But Down


I was searching through my wallet frantically for the extra ten dollars I needed for a pair of jeans at Nordstrom the other day. Maybe I should just buy a less expensive pair and sacrifice the initial high that came after purchasing something upscale, I thought. Then the remaining thirty dollars could go to a soft serve and a nice top. If I was lucky, the blouse that caught my eye would also be on sale, in which case I could put the remaining change towards my lunch privileges. So after contemplating the situation, I put the hanger back on the rack, and walked out of the store.

Yet only ten minutes had passed when I crossed the path of a man wheeling a cart of torn blankets and leftovers of the trash can beside the curb. His sign read, "Please help, went bankrupt, have nothing." Yet all around him were people who walked around him, with their stilettos clacking and their shopping bags crumpling together. So, looking down at my wallet, I picked up a bill and put it in his hat.

Here in Palo Alto, less than five percent of residents are under the poverty line। The median income of a family is about $120,000, way above the average American household. Where do the typical middle class families fit in? Though not as pronounced, the United States does indeed have a class system--celebrities, socialites, white collar, blue collar, and all. So what happens when an entire town's population fits in the upper middle class category?

Palo Alto is obviously a privileged town, with a family-friendly location and splurge-worthy boutiques alike. Still, however, apartments and small condos line many streets along the fine areas of Palo Alto. Even though these condos could fetch the same price as a decent house in another city, they are still somewhat less extravagant than homes lining the more desirable roads. To the home buyer, these are simply pros and cons for value real estate. But for the teenager in one of these families, this decision of where to live puts them in a bubble in which their status throughout their high school career matters most.

High school kids are more cunning than that--the new student can't disguise who he or she is by dressing in the latest trend or going to the hippest concert. But since when have teenagers, too focused on their adolescent greatness, cared about "what's inside"? There is no lightbulb in the teenage mind that alerts them to their immaturity, and no program that educates teenagers to be happy with their lifestyle, or feel content living in such a first-class area.

Any other city school will boast the "popular" kid, whose father owns the retail chain that stretches across America। They can hide the fact that another "emo" kid is a transfer to the school due to behavioral problems। No school, however, has thought of whether a child in a less resourceful city shares their experience। Palo Alto, on the other hand, boasts a wonderful school system, family recreation centers, and an abundance of resources for all ages। It truly is a miracle, albeit a sardonic one, that the blessed children of Palo Alto families can worry about the superficial ideas of social suicide and prom।

So next time, when I'm thinking of those branded jeans, I'll step up and take the activist route. The positive outcome truly is more beneficial to everyone, and the superficial side of every girl can wait a little longer.