I am a part of an upper middle-class family; my dad works for my grandpa and will get his company when my grandpa retires. My mom works as a director for Trinity Health Organizations, my mom earned her degree and my dad did not go to college. My mom finished her degree in 2021 and took her time getting it, her work paid a certain amount of money each semester towards school and my mom took her time with getting it, so it was free. That saved our family a bunch of money, in return it allowed my mom to get a higher salary because she had higher education.
When I meet people from a higher social class, I unfortunately feel a form of jealousy and irritation. I am not jealous of what they have, wear, own, if their hair is highlighted, what car they drive; however, I am jealous of the fact that they at least seem on the outside that they are living life a little easier and better than I am, and that some of the things that run laps in my mind are not even a thought for them. My jealous feels very selfish to myself, I know ultimately at the end of the day I come from a family where finances are not an issue. My parents still pay for everything except gas, food, clothes, and my credit card balance, I don’t have to work to survive but thinking about my future of being fully independent and paying for everything in this economy gives me crippling anxiety and holds a lot of weight in my stressors, it feels impossible to live in this country.
I feel irritation when people in a higher social class than me or the same one, but they clearly have more money, things, and nicer quality items that others would see as a “flex”. I’ve heard and been agitated hearing people talk about everything they have planned, how they have something nice and new, or will complain and be upset because their parents will not pay for both their education and a spring break trip, I really want to tell those people to touch grass.
In my student org workout group, one of the girls was talking about how her mom talked her into buying a $1,000 laser hair removal bundle deal from a spa and I said “damn, that’s a lot of money” and she looked around, giggled, and went “I mean not that much”…. What do you mean $1,000 is “not that much” I personally do not have an extra money laying around to do the same thing a pink razor from CVS would do. ( I bet you can sense my irritation.) It is very frustrating, although I am finically comfortable, I am also realistic and know that certain things are unnecessary and in my opinion a waste of money, materials, and time.
