Free Essay

The 7 Up Kids Essay

In:

Submitted By youngone6543
Words 1067
Pages 5
Christopher Owens
Sociology 9:30-10:45
Class Number 58
Row 10

The UP series
Paul & Suzy

The Seven Up series was one of the first reality T.V shows to air. One gentleman took several Children from the age of seven till 49 plus and interviewed them every seven years. He found children from every background whether poor, female, or rich. Some of these children came from over privileged backgrounds able to fly the world and see great sights and live and outlandish life, while some were stuck in boarding schools sleeping 15 to a room with no knowledge what a University was. Two of my children I was assigned to was Suzy a privileged girl and Paul who was no so fortunate.

Suzy was one of three girls they interviewed at East London Primary School. When she was first interviewed she had her life all figured out. As a young child she loved her ballet, and was seen as very smart by the way she talked. Her attitude was quite snobbish and seemed much more mature than the others. At the age 14 Suzy was the child of divorced parents. Her loss of confidence is seen when being interviewed she continuously looks at the ground. Her parents split, changed Suzy’s behavior and attitude towards life, especially this program proclaiming its pointlessness and not worth doing. We then find out at 21 UP Suzy had dropped out of school and 16 and had noting meaningful to say about marriage or children, that all she wanted to do was travel the world and learn about other cultures. Suzy’s “planned out” life wasn’t going as she predicted it would. Suzy then went on and Married a gentleman by the name of Rupert and had two children. Between 21-28 up her father had passed. Rupert has been great for Suzy pulling out her wife and motherhood for her children and the way she looks at life again. At 35 Suzy mother has been diagnosed with lung cancer but Suzy is determined that she will overcome this illness. At 49 Up Suzy and Rupert are still married with two grown children and works as a bereavement counselor.

Paul was attending a charity-based boarding school at 7. His parents had divorced and he was left in his fathers care. Paul seemed very quite but answered every question to the best of his ability. By the age 8 Paul had moved to Australia with his father and stepmom. In the series 14 UP Paul was very quick and short with all his answers like he was rushing to get it over with. He wasn’t a fan of people and told us he wouldn’t mind living by himself away from the public. By 21 Paul had lost his entire English accent and developed and Australian one. He met his girlfriend Sue whose personality was strong and alive, which brought Paul’s confidence up. Paul’s low self-esteem could have been from all the put downs and discipline he entailed at the boys home. Come 28 UP Paul was married to Sue with two children. His self-esteem was still low, considering he never thought highly of himself. Having his loving wife and two children were the best thing for Paul in my opinion. They showed him love and appreciation that he needed. They traveled around Australia together and depended on each other for love and support. By the 35 Up Sue and Paul are still married and working together as parents. Paul eventually has a nervous breakdown in the 49UP series. He doesn’t understand why Sue is still with him and in love with him. All he knows is he is in love with her. Paul has always suffered from low self-esteem. Luckily for him Sue is there for him and helps him through all of his problems.

After watching and reading more about Suzy and Paul’s lives I have noticed some similarities. Even though they both lived two different lives, both around the age of 14 started to become more to themselves and more or less depressed people. I feel that most teenagers go through their “alone” periods in life and have many ups and downs. Suzy, which had everything, went through her low self-esteem issues, as did Paul who grew up not as fortunate. Certain actions had altered their paths in what they had planned for themselves. It was until they found their significant other, until they changed their views on the world and society. Makes me to believe that being alone can alter ones perceptive in the world. Having someone that loves you, depends on you and cares for you makes your life much more meaningful. Even though Paul still had low self-esteem being with Sue made him a much happier person. As the years went on he became more open and his self-esteem improved. Suzy had the “I hate life” attitude and didn’t want marriage or children, but then Rupert came along and changed that. All it takes is to open your eyes and witness life from different angles, and your life will slowly start to improve. Shutting your mind and imagination to the endless possibilities, can bring one to depression in my opinion.
These two people started as little children with nothing but hopes and dreams. Through their lives they found obstacles, ups and downs. Coming from two types of financial backgrounds they both found ways to surpass the problems they encountered. The tale of Suzy and Paul can show money doesn’t buy happiness. Money can make life a little less stressful, but can also cause more problems. Each social class deals with the same problems. Self-esteem, self-worth, depression, stress, emotions and the list can keep going. Each individual has their own kind of happiness and it is up to them to find it. Whether that is children, wife, husband or a career, it’s our responsibility to explore it. Fortunately Suzy and Paul found it through family and travel.
I am very happy that I had the chance to watch this series as it has given me somewhat of a new outlook on life. Watching all of these children grow up, and make life-altering decisions that impacted their future and what the outcomes were. Its very easy to make mistakes but also very easy to fix them as well.

Similar Documents

Free Essay

History

...here To watch his woods fill up with snow. My little horse must think it queer To stop without a farmhouse near Between the woods and frozen lake The darkest evening of the year. He gives his harness bells a shake To ask if there is some mistake. The only other sound's the sweep Of easy wind and downy flake. The woods are lovely, dark and deep. But I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep, And miles to go before I sleep. Sandra Barry Manilow She's a great little housewife Though sometimes she talks like a fool But she helps at the store in the holiday rush And she picks up the kids after school And she puts down the phone when her husband comes home And she changes from mother to wife 'Til she feels the words hanging between them And she hangs by her words to her life She says, I swear I love my husband, I love my kids I wanted to be like my mother But if I hadn't done it as soon as I did Oh there might have been time to be me For myself, for myself There's so many things that she wishes She don't even know what she's missin' And that's how she knows that she missed She's a sweetheart, except when she's moody It's hard to get through to her then Depressed for a while when the youngest was born Oh but that happens now and again She might take a drink with the housework Or when Michael's kept late at the shop A Martini or two before dinner But she always knows when to stop She says I swear I love my husband and I love my kids You know I wanted to be like...

Words: 434 - Pages: 2

Free Essay

Me Talk Pretty One Day

...Essay – B Me talk pretty one day – David Sedaris ”Me talk pretty one day” is a story about how David Sedaris started to learn French. He moves to Paris after taking a one-month French course in New York. Throughout his essay he explains how his ability to speak French is developing, and how his fellow students and teachers are affecting his learning. He brings up many aspects of good and bad things that contribute to your learning. It is clear that he wants to use his own story as a representative story of how learning languages is a process that takes time and effort. “And it struck me that, for the first time since arriving in France, I could understand every word that someone was saying. Understanding doesn’t mean that you can suddenly speak the language. Far from it. It’s a small step, nothing more, yet its rewards are intoxicating and deceptive.” Page 3 line 120-124 This quote is from the absolute ending of the essay. This is where his entire point with the essay becomes clear. Basically the first two and a half pages is a short story with a 1st person narrator. I think this structure is his way to make sure that we can identify ourselves with his situation. Most people have tried to learn a new language, and know how hard it is to remember grammar and regular everyday words. It is frustrating if you can’t remember a certain word or phrase that you need. I think that this is why David Sedaris in general has a negative attitude to his learning process. It’s...

Words: 937 - Pages: 4

Free Essay

Eoc Exam Essays

...Athletics / Sports 7. Internet 8. Community Service / Volunteering - Humane Society - Food Bank - Library Volunteer - Kim’s Kids 9. Family Support / School Support 10. Family Gatherings - Thanksgiving, Christmas, Fourth of July, New Year’s - Birthday, Quince, Anniversary 11. San Antonio Events / Non-Profits Literary Examples: 1. Jurgis 2. Eli Weisel 3. Equality 4. Atticus Finch 5. Frederick Douglass 6. Ivan Denisovich Words that support Excellent Examples in the Persuasive Essay: - courage -discipline - resilience - leader - vision - journey - strength - support - organize - perseverance - duty/joy - fearless Excellent Examples: 1. Gandhi 2. Malala 3. Nelson Mandela 4. Cesar Chavez 5. Nikoli Tesla 6. Frederick Douglass 7. Susan B. Anthony 8. Harriet Tubman 9. Dr. Martin Luther King 10. Rosa Parks 11. Helen Keller / Anne Sullivan 12. Facebook / Google / Instagram 13. Syrian Refugees 14. Steve Jobs / Bill Gates / Mark Zuckerberg 15. Spurs / Coach Pop (prompt about teamwork) Good Matches: - Gandhi / MLK (in that order!) - Frederick Douglass / Harriet Tubman / Susan B. Anthony - Steve Jobs / Nikoli Tesla - Eli Wiesel / Frederick Douglasss - Cesar Chavez / Ema Tenayuca - Facebook / Mark Zuckerberg - Bernie Sanders / Jurgis - Jurgis / Jonas / Atticus Finch - Ivan Denisovich / Eli Wiesel - Jurgis / Syrian Refugees - Syrian Refugees / Steve Jobs (his father was a Syrian Refugee who attended university in America, Jobs was put up for adoption by...

Words: 521 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Reflection

...REFLECTION ESSAY Reading and writing do not come easy to me. It’s not that I don’t read well; it’s difficult to find material that interests me. As for writing, I write how I speak, so I don’t think I’m very good at it. Although, because The Norton Reader has such a variety of essays, I found it much easier to appreciate and understand than most books referred to me by friends and family. I chose to read the following * “On Dumpster Diving” by Lars Eighner, because I saw a documentary a few years ago called “Dive!” and wanted to understand the reasons of why people do it. Is it because they are experimenting (for a documentary) or because they have no other choice? * “On Keeping a Notebook” by Joan Didion, because I kept a journal when I was young and I’d like to start again. I thought maybe this essay would give me some tips on doing so. * “Once More to the Lake” by E.B. White, because I thought it would be a good read. The challenges I found were few. My biggest issue was my kids. With college starting one week before the rest of the Northwest, entertaining my twin, 7 year-old boys, in their last week of summer, and managing coursework for three classes, was a huge challenge. Even with them entertaining themselves was a huge distraction because of all the noise they make, indoors and out. Noise reducing headphones seemed to do the trick, but then I constantly worried about what mischief they could be getting themselves into. I also found it difficult to...

Words: 856 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Assignment

...Kaplan University Writing Center Writing an Informative Essay Did you ever pick up a magazine or newspaper and after reading the article say, “Hmm! I didn’t know that!” That article is an informative essay. Informative essays, also called expository essays, seek to inform or educate the audience on a given topic. The goal is not to persuade the reader but to give the reader more information, to provide the reader with insight, and to support the writer’s interpretations with factual information. The essay should make the reader say “Aha! I didn’t know that.” Informative essays do not express the writer’s opinion. Views, pro and con, can be included but they must be presented in an unbiased fashion, pointing out comparisons and contrasts of viewpoints. One way to do this is to imagine that the audience holds a common view of the topic; the writer’s purpose is to give the audience a surprising new view based on research. To do this you can: • • • • Enlighten your audience with new facts and/or statistics. Give them usable material that they can apply. Present sufficient information to explain the new findings about the topic. Make clear from the beginning of your paper its purpose. Here is an example of an informative essay topic: a student wrote about technology invading churches in the form of ATM machines. He called it “Technology goes to Church.” His purpose was to inform readers that because of the decrease in weekly donations some churches are now installing ATM machines...

Words: 3397 - Pages: 14

Premium Essay

Schools and There Rules

...Schools and their rules Kids are meant to enjoy their childhood and play around and have fun. Parents only want the best for their children, but it’s their children’s education that always come first. There are always controversies and arguments about which schooling benefits the student’s learning the most. Most kids are put into public schools because it doesn’t require much money unlike homeschooling or private school. Many families struggle with poverty so public schools are the only options left for them. Money isn’t the only problem that people are facing, but whether or not the students are learning going to school. Does the different type of schools really determine how much the students learn? What are the pros and cons of public schools, private schools and homeschooling? What type of school is the ‘right’ school? According to the Institute of Education Sciences, folks reported having state funded school decision, more or less 25 percent went to a picked government funded school, while 67 percent went to their allocated school while the other 9 percent went to a non-public school. When it comes to how much the students are learning, is the school really the most important factor? Parents are the ones who mainly makes the decision in what schools are better for their child. Usually, private schools are mainly for religious purpose. They are quite strict, but I have Ngo 2 read articles in the newspaper that they have a better teaching system compared...

Words: 2002 - Pages: 9

Premium Essay

The Hope of the Child Beggar

...begging. They are also ‘engage in begging to help their parents in eking out the subsistence of the family.’As they remain in the streets begging they remain ‘unschooled, unskilled and with no future, if they don’t beg, they will starve’and probably begging is their last resort to live. In the Philippines, especially in the Quezon City, beggars are common sight, especially the children. Child beggars in the streets of Quezon City are eye-catchers since they can be seen in the streets, in front of the convenience stores, inside the Public Utility Vehicles and everywhere. ‘A considerable number of children take to the streets to engage in petty peddling and other odd jobs in order to augment the inadequate incomes of their parents or make up for their parent’s lack of employment.’ Street children are exposed to extremely...

Words: 2681 - Pages: 11

Free Essay

Information Technology Acts

...Communications Commission, n.d.) The (CIPA) was passed in December 2000. The main purpose of the CIPA is for the protection of children from obscene, child pornography and other dangers of the internet. CIPA does not precisely state what kind of filtering systems to use. This is the third law that Congress has passed to allocate concerns about the children’s access to the inappropriate Internet sites and it is the only one “that the U.S. Supreme Court found constitutionally defensible.” (Minnesota House of Representatives House Research, 2004) Our kids face online predators and other inappropriate things in chat rooms, online games, pictures of teens drinking, drugs, sexual messages, and even false information about them written online before they are eighteen. (Convenant Eyes, 2012) Just about all households, schools, libraries, public places and even our workplace have a computer and access to the Internet. (Anti Essays, 2012) People are even using smartphones to access the Internet. The advanced technology has great prospects for the society but there are “new ethical and social issues for individuals.”...

Words: 680 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

What It Means To Be An American Analysis

... freedom of speech, freedom of color and freedom of judgment. In the essay What is Freedom? It say in paragraph 7,” Freedom means I want to do, not what the government wants me to do.”Too me that means not giving up your dreams....

Words: 801 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior

...-Why Chinese Mothers are Superior- The essay “Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior” by Amy Chua was published on “The Wall Street Journal” January 8, 2011. The topic of this text is Chinese parenting methods opposed to the western way of parenting. Within the first few lines it is very clear that Amy Chua has a different view on parenting than most traditional western parents. The title itself is a claim, and it sets the tone for how the essay is going to be. From the start we get the hint that this text will try to convince us, that Chinese parenting methods are superior. Amy Chua begins something that she claims is on a lot of people’s minds. The wonders about how Chinese parents are able to raise such successful kids. She then continues to saying that she can give the answer to these wonders, because she has done it herself. Amy Chua gives us a list of things that her daughters, were never allowed to do. This list seems, to us, unusual and maybe even mad. But to her, this is a necessity in her way of parenting. To her this is logical and is what must be done to get successful kids. In her list we see that not only are her children not allowed to get any grade less than A, but also they have to be the No. 1 student in every subject, except gym and drama. This put a really huge amount of pressure on her daughters. Amy Chua is an American lawyer, writer and legal scholar. She is the Professor of Law at Yale Law School. Amy Chua has two daughters Sophia and Louisa. The fact...

Words: 1183 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Bullying

...is a big problem. Bullying is the biggest problem I know of as a fact. My reasons for this thought are that; [pic]more and more kids get bullied every day. Bullies don’t get blamed for what they do. Kids get hurt by bullies and I personally want that to stop. [pic] All of this is important because you can hurt someone or some can hurt you in bullying. Bullying is a big problem because more and more kids get bullied every day. That should stop immediately; children do not deserve that kind of treatment at school and at other places. It is frustrating. [pic] Hard to deal with a bully. Maybe a bully shows up at your soccer practice or even at a park or where you are and bullies you. I am disappointed at those bullies out there. [pic] I have information to support this serious problem that is going on; [pic] it affects over 60 of [pic]kids in the world, I want to stop that. [pic] On this chart what it shows is, to me I see that in fourth grade there is a lot of bullying, [pic] there is less in the fifth grade for some reason than it sky rockets in sixth, seventh and eighth grade. The reason for this information about grade bullying is that more kids bully and more. [pic] I used to think that the bullying is evened out, but know I realize that as you get older there are more bullies. The chart that I showed shows the percent of kids getting bullied in grade order. [pic]I know this is upsetting, but many people are admitting that they have bullying or said something...

Words: 1766 - Pages: 8

Premium Essay

Essay #2

...2014 Final Essay #2 Final Essay #2 This song is about a little boy and girl who became best friends at a very young age and fell in love. The girl moved into the big and blue two-story house across the street from the little boy and his family. It was just her mom and she, a rather small family but they were very close. The little boy lived in a smaller house with a younger brother, a mom, and a dad. He had a tree house in his backyard that had been built by his dad and a pool, very convenient for the kids in the summer time. When the little girl moved in it was right before school started for the kids in August and that is when they first met. She was 7 and he was 9 years old. The boy was out in the yard playing football with the other boys in the neighborhood, he saw the little girl sitting on the back of her moms’ red Ford truck. He walks over to her and asks if she wanted to join their game and she agrees. Every day after that it was like that. The boy would walk over to her house and ask her to come outside and play and she would without hesitating. After that they spent all their free time together, every summer, spring break, and weekends just him and her, together. They were always doing something active and he would make dinner for her at least two or three times a week because her family was poor; so he wanted to take care of her. The moms and dads would joke and say they would grow up, fall in love, and be a couple someday. But as kids they were just...

Words: 1013 - Pages: 5

Free Essay

Summary

...a narrative essay where the writer, Jessica Hemauer, talks about her childhood growing up on a farm. I believe that the audience for this essay was more than likely a teacher or professor. The tone was not set for the essay as a whole. Depending on the part you were reading in the essay, the tone goes through many different emotions from angry to respectful and patient to sad and depressed then to happy. My emotional response to this essay was that growing up on a farm must be very hard on children. I felt bad that she and her brother and sisters had to get up so early to do chores around the farm, while other children their age were still soundly sleeping in their warm, cozy beds without a thought of waking up anytime soon. There are many points of this essay that stuck out to me personally, however, the main point was very clear; that growing up on a farm was very difficult as a child but, made her a more mature, responsible and strong willed adult. Jessica and her brother and sisters had a very strict, time sensitive routine every morning before school in order to get all the various chores and jobs done as well as shower, get dressed, eat breakfast and make it to the bus for school. The farm had to come first before anything else; it was the entire family’s first priority. The children had to face harsh weather conditions such as cold, wind and even snow at 5 o’clock in the morning, even when Jessica was just 10 years old. They would finish their chores at 7:30am then rush...

Words: 539 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Persuasive Essay

...Christina Clarke Period 8 English Honors Persuasive Essay Students attend school everyday of the week and stay there for many hours. School should start later on in the morning. It should start later because kids would be more awake and willing to learn, students in Paramus Catholic have to travel far distances every morning, and it allows kids to get a couple more hours of sleep. If school started later, mornings for students and parents would be less stressful because there wouldn’t be as much of a rush. Paramus Catholic starts at 7:45 A.M. That is very early in the morning. Most students are not fully woken up yet when they start learning. How are kids supposed to be asked to complete an algebra or history test that early in the morning when their brains aren’t fully functioning? Students would be more willing to learn because they won’t be in a grumpy mood. They’ll be awake and the teachers can get more accomplished. Paramus Catholic Regional High School consists of students from 120 different towns. Students who live a half hour or even an hour away have to wake up extremely early just to get to school on time. Some student’s have to take the public bus. The students at Paramus Catholic get dismissed very early. Instead of making the students arrive to school so early in the morning, the faculty can make school start later and the students will get dismissed later on in the after noon. Another good reason why getting dismissed later on in the afternoon...

Words: 474 - Pages: 2

Free Essay

Wilderness

...and manhood. Life, for a man, is like the woods....   [tags: Ah Wilderness Essays] | 1052 words (3 pages) | $24.95 | [preview] | Civilize The Wilderness - Civilize the Wilderness Wilderness, why civilize it. This is an interesting question, and one that is hard to answer. Why not just leave the wilderness alone, and let it grow and decide it's own beginnings and ends. Does civilizing the wilderness make it better or worse. In what ways is it better or worse if we leave it alone or it we civilize it. These are all excellent questions and are all worthwhile to think about. Western culture has tried to civilize the wilderness for quite sometime now, but is it really something we should be doing....   [tags: essays research papers] | 514 words (1.5 pages) | FREE Essays | [view] | Wilderness Empire - In Wilderness Empire, Allen W. Eckert has given a sweeping and thorough look into the lives of key decision makers and the pivotal events leading up to and including the French and Indian War. Through Eckert’s educated insight, the reader is able to enjoy a look into a distant way of life made edifying through his portrayal of historical figures. Following the lives of William Johnson and his friend Tiyanoga, a powerful leader of The Six Nations, the reader is able to better understand a way of life that has long since been eradicated....   [tags: essays research papers] | 904 words (2.6 pages) | FREE Essays | [view] | The Alaskan wilderness - ... According to the Alaska Department...

Words: 2049 - Pages: 9