Have you ever been in a room filled with strangers and been like, hey, nice to meet you, would you like to compare our social status?
I have.
It was weird.
So at Thursday's class all 25 or so of us stood against a wall in the hall. My teacher then would ask a question, and if our answer was yes, we took a step forward.
If your parents read to you when you were little, take a step forward.
If your electricity never got shut off when you were a child, take a step forward.
If you went to summer camp while growing up, take a step forward.
If you had braces, take a step forward.
If your father went to college, take a step forward.
If he finished, take a step forward.
If you had a phone in your room, take a step forward.
If you had your own car, take a step forward.
If you could eat whatever you wanted whenever you wanted, take a step forward.
You get the idea.
It didn't take long before we were all scattered in different areas of the room. Some still near the wall, a few in the front, and most some where in between. It really made us reconsider our great wealth, you could say. Because when someone asks a question about something you thought was a necessity growing up, and you see others around you not taking a step forward, you start to reconsider.
Now I feel some sort of need to take a second and just say, all of us in that hallway are students at Brigham Young University. In one way or another, we got there, and because of that we are incredibly lucky and in relative terms, not poor at all.
But as some of you know, I grew up in a relatively we-don't-have-a lot-of-money home. Which was fine with me. My parents still taught me about manners and respect, they taught me the importance of education and that money and wealth aren't everything. But sometimes I wished we had more of it. But on Thursday, I was in the upper section of the middle area that day. So what did I learn about social class? To me it isn't about money. My parents read to me at night because they loved me. They sacrificed to make sure I got an education because that's the type of people they are, and the life they wanted for me. And I think I'm better for it.
What do you think?
We also had braces because our parents felt it would be important for our self esteem, employability, and overall health. Braces aren't cheap, but they weren't something that was discussed. It was a given.
ReplyDeleteWhen I look back to my childhood, I don't ever remember thinking we didn't have very much money. I knew and understood that we didn't always get a toy when we went to the store or that each of us got a car when we turned 16. I don't remember those being among my top interests either... and I'm really glad. I was my happiest "fishing" in the canal with my kid sister, or climbing to the top of our tree house, or making potions out of otter pops. My favorite toy at one point was the leftover container from my mom's braces wax which I filled with tiny scraps of paper and the tips of colored pencils.
I am so grateful to my parents for giving me the things I feel are most important and for not crapping up my life and ambitions with things that just really... aren't important or valuable. Granted, I was not the most beautiful, most popular, or the smartest in my graduating class.. but I do count myself as one of the luckiest, most stable and generally happy.
I like this post about social status... but I think I like this hummingbird background even more!
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