Social Class Reflection

In the United States, the population is divided into six major social classes, which are influenced by many variables (Hurst, 15). The six social classes include: capitalist class, upper middle class, middle class, working class, working poor, and underclass (Hurst, 16). Class consciousness is a concept in which a person must have a shared sense of belongingness and understanding in a certain social class, and I feel that I would relate most to the middle class growing up. Because I am a broke college student, describing my life growing up in the middle class would be easier than explaining my current living situation. I would consider myself a member of the middle class based off my parents’ income, childhood living situation, and education system back home.
According to the NY Times interactive graphic “How Class Works,” I am …show more content…
Most people believe that the higher up the mountain you live, the more money you have. This was definitely not true where I lived, along with many other places among the East Maui Mountain (Haleakalā). My neighborhood wasn’t a terrible one and I know that majority of the people who live there are middle class civilians. My home was built in the 1960’s by my grandparents so it is somewhat old and in need of a renovation. Everyone in my neighborhood was friendly, and my siblings and I were able to ride our bikes and walk to the park by ourselves without my parents having to worry about us getting hurt. There wasn’t a serious drug problem in my neighborhood, but there was a lot of marijuana around (as there are many people who smoke in Hawai’i that come from different towns). Thinking back, my neighborhood was a typical middle-class area with safe parks, afterschool activities, a little shopping center, and hardworking people. I feel like my family and I fit in to our neighborhood and we belonged