well, is that all...

i was watching television with my younger cousins, commenting on kimora's most recent addition to her "fabulous" team (yes i'm afraid to admit that i'm addicted to 3 vh1 shows), when the older - who is about 8yrs younger than me - began to ask a series of questions about diamonds... namely engagement rings. our repertoire for the next 10 minutes or so included my asking ad nauseum for her to clarify. after i finally got an idea of what it was that she was asking (i.e. her idea of the "perfect" diamond), i responded with a very generic quote in the 5-digit range to which she quickly responded, "oh, is THAT all?!"

i looked at her in shock.

"what do you mean, 'is that all?'?!?!"

"well, ______'s ring was like $400,000.00." [spoken VERY matter-of-factly]

in all honesty, i told her that i was/would be disgusted if ________ had told me she/her husband spent THAT much money on a tiny little thing like a ring.

she was noticeably defensive. and tried to rectify the situation by telling me she would be FINE with a $ 10,000.00 ring.

i told her how i didn't understand how someone could waste THAT much money on something as small as a ring. i adamantly voiced that i'd rather spend that on a house or a car (or, in retrospect, my future children's education).

she jokingly responded, "yeah, i'd rather have the ring!"

"do you know that there are people in this world who will NEVER see that much money in their ENTIRE LIVES?!," i blurted out.

she was struck and even more defensive. i was defensive and heated. we ended the conversation there as she stepped out of the room.

and as her younger sister and i finished watching the show - witnessing the new assistant's jaw drop and drool pour out of her mouth as she toured the Lee-Simmons "humble" abode, i began to worry...

i worried what had happened to these girls, now young women. i wondered who or what had corrupted their minds to convince them that their worth was in the THINGS they owned and was disgusted at their lack of concern about real matters of the world... outside of the ones they'd created.

you have one life, unni... you should enjoy it!

their words echoed in my head and heart and i was scared. scared for them. scared for this generation. (yes, i know i sound like an old bitty!)

in this time of instant gratification (e.g. my typing this blog and sending it out to the masses with a click of a button), i wonder at the state of the nation.

girls are once again told they must measure up to the standards of "hawt" boys and the media (e.g. the not to bright girls of "the pick-up artist").

we are told it's OK to lie and screw people over if it means you get what you want.

money makes the world go round

you're only as good as the things you own and the labels you wear (so true of "urban" areas like mine where people are prone to spend their last dollar on butt-ugly "designer" duds if it means they look like "rock stars")

emulate the paris hiltons of this world... they're at the center of what matters

[ blah blah. gag gag. barf barf. roll of eyes ]

now, am i saying that i'm above all this? certainly not! i'm as much a slave to consumerism as the next gal. i just hope that in the end i'll be impressed not by the balenciaga bag you carry, but by your burdened heart for the poor. that i'd be impressed with your desire to walk in the shoes of the brokenhearted, not your brand new jimmy choos. that i'd admire your passion and concern for a (good) cause, not your size 0 status. that i'd be made to feel inferior and question myself not because of your to your 6-figure salary, but your ability to forgive and show grace to other, to me.




"you have one life... you should enjoy it!"



something i guess i need to consider more...