Same View; Different Perspective Through this life, I have only ever seen one side of the story. everyday My eyes piece together a picture from first person experiences based on class, gender, and race. Therefore, I have the sole ability to pick and choose the setting, the characters, and also the plot. Yet, I cannot control the lives of those around me or see the story from their eyes. I am continuously missing perspectives that make the story feel fragmentary, but to me it is whole. To begin, I was the firstborn female to a single mother still attending high school. Our finances were quite low and she would often take me to her job at the local Exxon because she could not afford a babysitter. Eventually she married my stepfather who is
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High school made me realize it more than when I was in elementary school. In elementary school I made friends with everyone. The whole class was my valentine. Contrarily, in high school there were cliques. People judged everyone and the girls that went there could tear you down with a single stare. “Did you see what Rebecca was wearing today?” or “Do you see how fat Madeline looked in that shirt?” Whether it was your make-up, your clothes, your car, your accent, or your weight, there was always something for them to say. Another example of a difference in class was this time I went to an acquaintances house for a New Year’s Eve party. Her driveway was long and muddy with two giant potholes on each side. When I reached the actual house, it was surrounded by dead grass and broken down cars. The inside was petite, too small for the four people who lived there. There were two bedrooms, so her mother would have to sleep in her bed with her. Her ceiling fell apart and had a tarp over the hole. On top of that, she had an ant colony swarming around on her bedside …show more content…
There are lives out there I could never imagine living in. For example, my life would be completely different if I would have been a straight, white male. Or if I was born as a black woman in a small Ethiopian tribe. To quote McIntosh, “...the feeling that one belongs within the human circle, as Native Americans say, should not be seen as privilege for a few.” (McIntosh, 1988:197). Meaning that no one should feel as though he or she is missing out on life because he or she is inherently different than those around them. Especially the minorities who have been neglected the opportunities given to the privileged based on reasons out of their control. These separations of class, gender, and race divide us when really our differences should be
High school made me realize it more than when I was in elementary school. In elementary school I made friends with everyone. The whole class was my valentine. Contrarily, in high school there were cliques. People judged everyone and the girls that went there could tear you down with a single stare. “Did you see what Rebecca was wearing today?” or “Do you see how fat Madeline looked in that shirt?” Whether it was your make-up, your clothes, your car, your accent, or your weight, there was always something for them to say. Another example of a difference in class was this time I went to an acquaintances house for a New Year’s Eve party. Her driveway was long and muddy with two giant potholes on each side. When I reached the actual house, it was surrounded by dead grass and broken down cars. The inside was petite, too small for the four people who lived there. There were two bedrooms, so her mother would have to sleep in her bed with her. Her ceiling fell apart and had a tarp over the hole. On top of that, she had an ant colony swarming around on her bedside …show more content…
There are lives out there I could never imagine living in. For example, my life would be completely different if I would have been a straight, white male. Or if I was born as a black woman in a small Ethiopian tribe. To quote McIntosh, “...the feeling that one belongs within the human circle, as Native Americans say, should not be seen as privilege for a few.” (McIntosh, 1988:197). Meaning that no one should feel as though he or she is missing out on life because he or she is inherently different than those around them. Especially the minorities who have been neglected the opportunities given to the privileged based on reasons out of their control. These separations of class, gender, and race divide us when really our differences should be