My life’s easy. That isn’t to say I haven’t experienced any challenges, dealt with any stress, and have never suffered in the slightest… but everything’s relative and to pretend that, by large, my life isn’t very easy would be ignorant. Compared to many people in other parts of the world- and even in America- I have things really good.
Today, I woke up to the alarm of my iPhone in a room in my parent’s house where I am able to stay with them (rent-free). I sleep on the floor on a yoga mat, but that is completely by choice since my back is happier doing so- like a very, very firm mattress. I started my day by drinking a glass of clean water (something I have in abundance, without even having to think about it), meditating, going for a walk around my safe neighborhood, and then doing some yoga. I have a variety of healthy foods to choose from for breakfast.
Each day, I dedicate my morning and afternoon solely to being productive. I’ve blocked or set time limits social media and other distractions on my phone and computer to ensure I utilize my time well. I’m taking 16 credits this summer so that productivity often takes the form of doing assignments or studying, but I also commonly use this block of time to read, watch educational videos (one of my quarantine goals is to learn about a variety of new subjects), prep for my nursing admissions exam, and do work for clubs I’m on the executive team of. I don’t have the financial need to have to work this summer so I have the luxury of focusing on my classes and these self-improvement goals and not having to stress over putting myself at extra risk by working during a pandemic.
I’ve recently been immersing myself in literature on, and implementing into my life the principles of minimalism. I’ve donated a lot of clothes, cleaned out my other belongings, and made other changes to simplify my life. This decision will have environmental and financial benefits, but I was able to make this decision primarily for the self-improvement aspect of adopting this lifestyle. Moreover, I have the privilege of having the option of having more while choosing to have less. I’ve made this conscious choice to give up things I don’t need in order to reap the personal benefits of it, whereas others live that way out of necessity. The people in America or other countries who already get by with less than what they need and who struggle to attain the essentials don’t call it “minimalism,” it’s just reality.
With the recent events regarding George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter movement and protests, I have been actively trying to educate myself more on these topics. Education is an ongoing process but I have been more aware of the white privilege that I have, and consequently more conscious of the privilege I have in other areas. With white privilege, a very helpful way I saw it explained was: it doesn’t mean your life isn’t hard, it just means your skin color doesn’t make it harder. A white person could have a disability, be LGBTQ+, have a low socioeconomic status, be an immigrant, etc, and be disadvantaged in those areas while still having white privilege- they aren’t mutually exclusive.
Likewise, I am privileged in many other areas of life. Some in big ways, some in small ways. Though some parts of my identity, life, and circumstances do not give me privilege, those hardships don’t cancel out the privileges that I do have.
Just like I’ve learned how important it is to acknowledge white privilege, I believe a lesson everyone should take away from the recent events is that it is beneficial and important to be cognizant of all the ways- all the facets of our identity and circumstances out of our control- in which we have privilege, or are advantaged, or at least are not hindered by.
Having privilege doesn’t make someone a bad person and it isn’t something to be defensive about. However, having privilege and not acknowledging- or even worse, arguing it doesn’t exist to begin with- it is where the problem arises.
The world we live in is competitive. People’s worth and livelihood is often based at least indirectly on how they rank against others.
The most relevant example of this to me is college: college isn’t the be all end all, but if you go to college then the college you get into does undeniably have an effect on what opportunities you have while in school, the quality of the education you receive and skills you develop, the internships you get, and eventually what job you get. The job you get affects your income, where you live, what kind and quality of housing you have, your stress level (such as financial stress), who you network with, opportunities for advancement that are available to you, and many other important things.
The college admissions process is also a great example of a system that isn’t completely fair. Even if it isn’t a factor in the admissions process, socioeconomic status, race, gender, ability, sexual orientation, language, country of origin, family structure, and many other things can all make things harder or easier for a student, and can affect the things that are factored into the admissions process. And, most importantly, they are all factors that the student cannot control and could not “earn” the benefits or deficits they receive from them.
Take socioeconomic status, for example. During high school, socioeconomic status impacts the school district the student is in, their stress level (instability in housing, parent’s job, and availability of food can all be highly stressful), if they can receive paid tutoring or test prep, if they can afford extracurriculars, if they can go to summer camps, if they have to work during the school year, if they have to provide child care for siblings, if they have to help provide for their family, if they have parental help on homework or applications, and many more things. And those are just things that affect the student and their eventual college application, not even taking into the effect socioeconomic status has on the choice of college itself, success in college, or financial situation after.
In this world it is naïve to pretend that some people don’t have unearned advantage. That advantage may be being born to parents who live in a place with better schools that have more resources or being able to participate in the extracurriculars that are so important for college rather than having to work to help feed your family or provide child care. That advantage may be being able to go through your day without fear of being targeted or killed because of your race, and with never having to think about race at all if you don’t want to. It may be growing up with parents to read to you at night and help you with homework. Or maybe it’s not being ridiculed by friends or even kicked out by family members over the gender of the person you love. Or it could be the ability to walk and have physical access to any place you want to go.
Whatever it may be, working to be cognizant of our privileges and to be aware of how these advantages benefit us in everyday life is important. Race, gender, sexual orientation, and all the other aforementioned features and identities color the way we interact with the world, and the way the world interacts with us. We cannot separate our experiences, including both our successes and our failures, from those identities or their effects. We need to start viewing society, our interactions with others, and the world around us through this lens of awareness and perspective. Awareness is the first step to action and change.
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