This is off topic but due to recent experiences I'm very motivated to write about this and share it with people in hopes that I will inspire at least one individual to really think deeply about it.
I want to talk about transcending social class. I come from disadvantaged and low income background. I grew up on the streets of Beloit WI and moved later to Rockford after my physical and sexual abuse experience. These are city's that most people avoid on their travels. They are urban enviroments with predomiantly lower income families and individuals. They also have higher crime rates than most cities surrounding them. I grew up in this environment. I learned how to survive in this environment. I didn't give it a second thought. I did what most people surrounding me did, get a job. Try to make enough money to enjoy life and to survive.
I moved to Madison WI in 2006. I moved into a Madison Community Coopertaive. Here for the first time I was exposed to and was living with people from different social class backgrounds. People who had parents who went to college and had careers and a substantial amount of money. They themselves many of them, were attending the local big ten university. I was in awe. I thought this was an amazing experience. Me hobnobbing with the likes of them, it blew my mind.They spoke so eloquently and intelligently about topics I had never even been exposed to. They had traveled to places I had only read about and dreamed of visiting.
I allowed myself to be consumed with jealousy and anger. I also was still suppressing any and all feelings about my physical and sexual abuse. I wound up in jail to be followed by probation. I received a felony. This to most is unthinkable and unimaginable. To me it was life. Many people I had know for years growing up and later in Rockford had arrest records. It didn't seem foreign or unfamiliar for me. Logically I thought I would eventually have one as well and I do. This is due to social class stratification.
When I moved into the Phoenix I was on probation and really concentrating on becoming the person I wanted to be. I wanted to be like the people around me with whom I was living with and admired. This would involve transcending my social class. For the first time since living in Madison I lived with another queer male at the Phoenix. I don't know how to put into words the relief and sense of comradery I felt. He is an amazing person. He saw something in me. He sat me down before moving out and asked me what I wanted to do with my life. I honestly was unsure. I felt defeated and helpless because of my experiences. He quite plainly and calmly suggessted going to college. I remember instinctfully laughing out loud at this absolutely preposterous idea. I honestly thought that it was only an option for him and the others like him that I was so privledged to live with. I didn't even think it was a possibility for me.
I explored this idea after lots of urging from him and other housemates that I lived with. They even willingly helped me navigate the enrollment process. Which I found quite overwhelming by the way. I am very lucky and grateful to have these people in my life and I hope that I show that. My one regret in life would be that the people I loved had no idea how deeply I cared for them.
I've been attending college at Madison Area Technical College now and the semester is almost finished. I have A's & A-B's and couldn't be more proud of myself. Something I once thought was impossible, I have achieved.
I'm in the Human Services Associate program. I've learned a lot about society and it's nuances. I've learned that I overcame social barriers to transcend class and be where I'm at today. I have also learned though that the college I attend is still yet attributed to a different social class then the big ten university that they attend. I don't think it's something to be ashamed of or to feel guilty about or to even place blame. It's just something that should be recognized.
Everything we do and make decisions about from the moment we wake up to the moment we go to bed are influenced greatly by social class. Everything from the clothing we decide to wear, the food we choose to eat, the people we are friends with, the recreational activities that we participate in. They are all influenced by class. I dress differently than my housemates. I eat food that comforts me because I grew up eating it essentially it was what was attainable for my social class. I am friends with people I'm comfortable with because they are within my social class. People from different social class backgrounds enjoy different recreational activities not because of their enjoyment for them because of their accessibility. I for one would love to kayak,go rock climbing, biking, or even camping. All of these activities seem commonplace to many but that is because they have the resources to obtain the equipment necessary to participate in these activities.
I want you to think next time you make a decision to think about why your making that decision. Do you feel uncomfortable talking to the person next to you standing at the bus stop. Is it possibly because they do not appear to come from your same social class background.Social stratification is designed to keep you within your class by making you uncomfortable with interacting with people outside your social class background. The people you find attractive, do you find them attractive because they are representative of your social class background. It could be even that they are different from you in some other way and that's why you are uncomfortable interacting with them such as sexual orientation, ethnicity, gender. Think about this before you make your decision. Think about how that other person feels when you make these decisions. I'm just as guilty for making these mistakes but I try diligently to recognize them before I make my decision. I only ask that you put forth the effort.
I want to talk about transcending social class. I come from disadvantaged and low income background. I grew up on the streets of Beloit WI and moved later to Rockford after my physical and sexual abuse experience. These are city's that most people avoid on their travels. They are urban enviroments with predomiantly lower income families and individuals. They also have higher crime rates than most cities surrounding them. I grew up in this environment. I learned how to survive in this environment. I didn't give it a second thought. I did what most people surrounding me did, get a job. Try to make enough money to enjoy life and to survive.
I moved to Madison WI in 2006. I moved into a Madison Community Coopertaive. Here for the first time I was exposed to and was living with people from different social class backgrounds. People who had parents who went to college and had careers and a substantial amount of money. They themselves many of them, were attending the local big ten university. I was in awe. I thought this was an amazing experience. Me hobnobbing with the likes of them, it blew my mind.They spoke so eloquently and intelligently about topics I had never even been exposed to. They had traveled to places I had only read about and dreamed of visiting.
I allowed myself to be consumed with jealousy and anger. I also was still suppressing any and all feelings about my physical and sexual abuse. I wound up in jail to be followed by probation. I received a felony. This to most is unthinkable and unimaginable. To me it was life. Many people I had know for years growing up and later in Rockford had arrest records. It didn't seem foreign or unfamiliar for me. Logically I thought I would eventually have one as well and I do. This is due to social class stratification.
When I moved into the Phoenix I was on probation and really concentrating on becoming the person I wanted to be. I wanted to be like the people around me with whom I was living with and admired. This would involve transcending my social class. For the first time since living in Madison I lived with another queer male at the Phoenix. I don't know how to put into words the relief and sense of comradery I felt. He is an amazing person. He saw something in me. He sat me down before moving out and asked me what I wanted to do with my life. I honestly was unsure. I felt defeated and helpless because of my experiences. He quite plainly and calmly suggessted going to college. I remember instinctfully laughing out loud at this absolutely preposterous idea. I honestly thought that it was only an option for him and the others like him that I was so privledged to live with. I didn't even think it was a possibility for me.
I explored this idea after lots of urging from him and other housemates that I lived with. They even willingly helped me navigate the enrollment process. Which I found quite overwhelming by the way. I am very lucky and grateful to have these people in my life and I hope that I show that. My one regret in life would be that the people I loved had no idea how deeply I cared for them.
I've been attending college at Madison Area Technical College now and the semester is almost finished. I have A's & A-B's and couldn't be more proud of myself. Something I once thought was impossible, I have achieved.
I'm in the Human Services Associate program. I've learned a lot about society and it's nuances. I've learned that I overcame social barriers to transcend class and be where I'm at today. I have also learned though that the college I attend is still yet attributed to a different social class then the big ten university that they attend. I don't think it's something to be ashamed of or to feel guilty about or to even place blame. It's just something that should be recognized.
Everything we do and make decisions about from the moment we wake up to the moment we go to bed are influenced greatly by social class. Everything from the clothing we decide to wear, the food we choose to eat, the people we are friends with, the recreational activities that we participate in. They are all influenced by class. I dress differently than my housemates. I eat food that comforts me because I grew up eating it essentially it was what was attainable for my social class. I am friends with people I'm comfortable with because they are within my social class. People from different social class backgrounds enjoy different recreational activities not because of their enjoyment for them because of their accessibility. I for one would love to kayak,go rock climbing, biking, or even camping. All of these activities seem commonplace to many but that is because they have the resources to obtain the equipment necessary to participate in these activities.
I want you to think next time you make a decision to think about why your making that decision. Do you feel uncomfortable talking to the person next to you standing at the bus stop. Is it possibly because they do not appear to come from your same social class background.Social stratification is designed to keep you within your class by making you uncomfortable with interacting with people outside your social class background. The people you find attractive, do you find them attractive because they are representative of your social class background. It could be even that they are different from you in some other way and that's why you are uncomfortable interacting with them such as sexual orientation, ethnicity, gender. Think about this before you make your decision. Think about how that other person feels when you make these decisions. I'm just as guilty for making these mistakes but I try diligently to recognize them before I make my decision. I only ask that you put forth the effort.
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