I try to have the appropriate amount of empathy for everyone. Like many Gen X peeps, my mom and dad did not graduate college, but they wished for their kids to do so. My sister and I did so. We were the first college graduates in our family line. But in many ways, my mom and dad deserve WAY more respect. My dad dropped out of high school, but later got his GED. He then served in the Navy and Army, then went to trade school for the lumber industry. He became chief lumber inspector at Middle Tennessee Lumber Co. And he was great at his job (as confirmed to me by the founder of the company, who BTW helped pay some of the college bills for me and my sister). My mom became a legendary kindergarten teacher (whom MANY parents requested their kids be under her tutelage).

So you see, I am actually prouder of them than they were of me. They achieved their outermost dreams, whilst I only achieved what I did (as a computer programmer) because of their efforts. I am NOTHING without them. THEY were the heroes in my story. What now can WE do (as Gen Xers) to live up to their lofty standards?