Breathe Easy, You've Found Me ((HUGS))

People will wonder why this blog is needed, why minority midwifery student? It's very simple actually; I was looking for this blog...but I couldn't find it...so I created it. We all have unique experiences, and every experience, every story, can help someone else. I am a black girl from the hood at an ivy league professional school. That, alone, is reason enough to write. Somebody was looking for this blog. Someone wanted proof that what I'm doing can be done - even when you come from where we come from.

To that person especially, WELCOME.

Sunday, January 20, 2008

Class Privilege Meme

You bold the ones that pertain to you.

1. Father went to college (Grambling "where everybody is somebody" State University, an HBCU in Louisiana, and then a state school, then the military) My other father went to college for a while, too.

2. Father finished college

3. Mother went to college (a secretarial trade school I think?)

4. Mother finished college

5. Have any relative who is an attorney, physician, or professor (I'm gonna say yes, based on professor...but I'm not sure...my family is huge, there's no way I could ever know...I have a cousin who's a pharmacist, though)

6. Were the same or higher class than your high school teachers

7. Had more than 50 books in your childhood home (dad's, plus library, plus my own, yes!)

8. Had more than 500 books in your childhood home

9. Were read children’s books by a parent
10. Had lessons of any kind before you turned 18
11. Had more than two kinds of lessons before you turned 18 (I took a lot of free classes...cooking, sewing, etiquette, clarinet, drama, sex ed, woodshop, pottery, art, computer...the list goes on forever...these were mostly taken at the community girls club where my mother works)

12. The people in the media who dress and talk like me are portrayed positively

13. Had a credit card with your name on it before you turned 18 (yep, my grandma made me an authorized user on her Kohl's department store card, which gave me a card with my name on it, LOL, when I was 16, I think)

14. Your parents (or a trust) paid for the majority of your college costs (paid for my own college...all of it)

15. Your parents (or a trust) paid for all of your college costs

16. Went to a private high school

17. Went to summer camp
18. Had a private tutor before you turned 18

19. Family vacations involved staying at hotels (yes, there were lots of those, whether we could afford it or not)

20. Your clothing was all bought new before you turned 18

21. Your parents bought you a car that was not a hand-me-down from them (bought my own vehicles, including the first)

22. There was original art in your house when you were a child

23. You and your family lived in a single family house (yes, and they still live in it, here it is...)


A whole 670 square feet! I came home to this house when I was born. This house is on a street that was filled with my family members. When I'm out in blogland reading what others write about family and love, I always come back to this place in my mind.

24. Your parent(s) owned their own house or apartment before you left home (no, they rent the home above, but they're working on saving up to buy something)

25. You had your own room as a child (yes, I was an only child, no one to share with)

26. You had a phone in your room before you turned 18

27. Participated in an SAT/ACT prep course (yep, found a free one!)

28. Had your own TV in your room in High School

29. Owned a mutual fund or IRA in High School or College

30. Flew anywhere on a commercial airline before you turned 16 (yep, including twice out of the US, to Europe)

31. Went on a cruise with your family (no, but after I got grown and moved out of the house, me and my mom went on two cruises!)

32. Went on more than one cruise with your family

34. You were unaware of how much heating bills were for your family

I think that's it for this meme in its original form. You can read dd's here or reSISTERence's here.

I put this up on my sight for a very specific reason. When you know very specific, limited things about a person, you really have no idea of their upbringing. Poor people have a habit of doing things, anything, to not look poor. You could be poor, but God forbid you looked or acted poor...meaning clothes dirty, half dressed for the weather, be the only one who couldn't afford the fieldtrip even though you really couldn't afford the field trip...ya know? There's also very little here about things other than the financial...other things that really go into defining class like the description of one's neighborhood, or the food commonly found in the refrigerator...do you buy sugar in 1 pound boxes, 2 or 4 pound bags, or 10 pound bags? Your health practices, dental work. Are there safe parks nearby, are you bussed to school. I'm surprised that this meme doesn't ask, were you on welfare? Using food stamps? How many relatives are in prison? Hell, was your father in prison? Did you get free lunch? Is it safe to be outside after the street lights some on? Do you often hear violence or gun shots or helicopters flying overhead? Is your neighborhood diverse? If you were not bussed, did every student have books at your school, or did you share? Have you participated in the section 8 housing voucher program? Are their metal detectors at your school? So much more could be asked. I think it's interesting where I fall on this meme. I bet my life experiences might be hard for people to reconcile with their idea of poverty. I think within the community people don't think much about why they have multiple phone lines and new cars but no IRAs or health insurance....

I tag a new blogger to do this: SOS midwifery Welcome to blogging!

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