Social Class Position

            I think the first time I was made completely aware of my social position in society was when I first went to visit my roommate’s house.  Their lifestyle was so different from anything I had ever known.  I walked into what looked like a museum to me but it was their home.  I am not saying that I was brought up poor; I came from a standard middle class family.  On average my parents annual income is like the national average each making between 60 to 80 thousand.  We lived comfortably but you also do not get the advantage of “daddy I want this” to everything under the sun like my friend.  I used to laugh when she called her father because I could not believe that people lived like this. That was my first slap in the face, safe to say, when realizing that I was not as well off as others. 

            On the complete opposite hand the first time, I realized how fortunate I was to have everything that I own was my first visit to my home country of Egypt.  I could not believe seeing the way people lived there.  I would go to a café with my friends and ordering what seemed to be the entire menu, while there are children within walking distance of me playing with garbage because they could not afford toys.  That was much worse than seeing people were better off than I was, because it affected me much more.  I could not even stand the thought of these kids sleeping, eating, playing around garbage and I am walking around with our house cleaner behind me.  Egypt was a total wake-up call as to not only my social class but also to the type of person I wanted to be.  The thing that shocked me most is that the separation of classes in Egypt is so great and the upper class has no remorse for the lower class.  I will never forget my cousin yelling at me for giving a child a pound.  Egypt is not like Europe the pound does not work the same way. The conversion rate is about one American dollar to six or seven Egyptian dollars.  I was giving a child what was ten cents to me and my cousin yelled and asked me why I would waste my money.  He was yelling because the second I did that another ten to twenty kids ran up to me asking for the same.  He was shocked that I gave all of them a pound.  It was less than two dollars for me but they could not understand how I felt. 

            I have never really been unaware of my position in society and I believe that the reason for that would be my upbringing. My parents raised my sisters and I very level headed and it is because of this that we know the value of money.  I think that the best thing my parents did was allow me to work when I wanted to.  I have been working since I was fourteen and when a child is taught to earn their own money it teaches them not to take things for granted.