I would define my class as middle class. My mother is a English teacher and my father is unemployed. He stopped working when my sister was born in 1999 so he could take care of her and the other 3 kids in our family. I feel as if we put someone in a social class based on the way we perceive them. However, we put ourselves in a social class based on materialistic goods. If I were to see someone who maybe has an old car I would perceive them as a lower social class. However, maybe that’s the 4th car they were bought by their parents.
I was talking to a friend of a friend, and we hung out one time. He is very well off, not quite a capitalist, however, he has much wealth. We were just chatting about traveling and he asked me “so how many cruises have you been on” I was flabbergasted. I have never been on a cruise, not even a boat before. He then asked which countries I have been to. I have not been outside of the U.S./Canada. don’t get me wrong, he is a very nice man, however. The way he lacked awareness was insane to me. He was the same in other areas Aswell, not realizing what some people didn’t have. It’s not his fault it was the way he was brought up.
As for the other side, I personally do not talk to many people on campus. I feel as if the few friends I have are about in the same social class, or a higher one than me. I walk through campus every day and sure, maybe I make assumptions about people based on their clothes or their mannerisms, but one can truly never know how others live just from looking at them. I believe that social class impacts every interaction we have. Being homeschooled, growing up, especially my family had a lot of debt, so we didn’t have much wealth nor much income to spare. So, when I would go to friends’ houses, and they would have all these nice things I would be very jealous. I remember being friends with a girl and how she had a trampoline, and how I felt like she took that for granted. Or how when I would go shopping with friends, they would have money that their parents gave them. Which still happens to this day.
I think social class does matter; it helps us connect to one another. To people like us. It would be hard to relate to someone in a much higher or much lower class than oneself. And I feel like relatability is what we all look for in friends, or partners. If what you like to do and who you want to do it with is vastly different from another you probably won’t want to spend time with them. However, I do believe genuine human connection prevails above all else. And there can be exceptions to the need for relatability
