I would define my social class, in regard to my immediate family, as upper-middle class. I’m self-aware enough to know that I have been privileged my whole life to belong to a social class where I don’t have to worry about my next meal or if I could afford school supplies for the next year. Being apart of the upper-middle class has impacted me in ways that I never realized but self-reflecting in this moment, I can come to terms with realizing that it was because I was upper middle class.
An example I can think of is going shopping and buying whatever I wanted as a child, without even looking at the price tags. It’s specific instances like this that make me think about the impact your social class can have on you. I can recall an instance interacting with someone apart of the capitalist class and how that made me feel. Recently, in December of 2023 my coworker invited me to her friend’s house for a Christmas party. Upon arrival, I realized my coworkers friend was rich rich. Rich in the way that her father won a lawsuit and started his own insurance company. This was the first time I had ever met my coworkers friends but I could tell their was some unspoken difference between us. Don’t get me wrong, my coworkers rich friends didn’t treat me differently and they were actually quite nice and welcoming to me, but their was still that feeling, in my head, about money. I couldn’t help myself, considering standing in this massive home, probably the biggest I had ever been in.
It’s interesting to think about because throughout the night, I couldn’t help keep thinking about these differences in social class and I would bet that my coworkers friends never thought about it once. It’s a fascinating idea to think about because even with myself, I tend to not think about someone’s class if it’s lower than mine, however, I couldn’t stop thinking about it when it was above mine. It’s says something about money and power and how that relationship can play a role in how you perceive someone. In the instance of the Christmas party, although I had a great time and met some great people, their was a consistent thought in my mind about how rich these people were. I was never raised to think about people’s class in general, so I find it interesting how it still find it’s way into my thoughts. Going back to the start, I think this example is perfect for looking at one’s social class and how that impacts their being. I never explicitly try and think about someone’s social class in general.
