Making Do with More
In an age of abundance, how do we survive with our souls intact?
by Tim Stafford
posted 01/20/2006 09:30 a.m.

Susan represents a phenomenon so new that most people—including her parents—misunderstand it. She's 18 years old, bright, attractive, and could have won college athletic scholarships. Sometime during her senior year of high school, however, Susan dropped out of sports, took leave from school, and told her parents she wanted to finish via the GED.

That fall, she started at a small local college and then dropped out in the first semester. At the moment, she works in a fast-food restaurant and says she is saving money to move to Peru, a place she knows little about. According to her father, she spends astronomical sums on her cell phone. She has no real plans.

Her parents want their daughter to take advantage of opportunities and work hard in a steady direction. They want to see frugality, discipline, humility, and risk awareness. They're frustrated that nothing they say seems to penetrate. The rest-excellent!