I've been thinking about all of the things I want lately. Off the top of my head, I can list a handful of very expensive things that I've been pining for: a Canon Digital Rebel XTI, a laptop computer, a beagle, a reliable car, an entire house full of brand new furniture that I like... So thinking about all of these things, summing their costs, and comparing this balance to the mountain of debt that my education has created, I start to feel pretty down. And whiny. I annoy Jonathan, and even myself.
Tonight I remembered this bulletin board that I did when I was a Resident Assistant. I LOVED doing bulletin boards. Anyway, one of them was called "Feeling Lucky?" and it was set up like a board game. On different squares, there were flaps that said things like - "Will you be able to eat today?" and then you'd open the flap and it would say "Lucky you! ___% of the world won't." It was a bit sensational, but I did my research and the idea was to make people think about privilege and all of the things they have.
This evening I found the following "Privilege Meme" on the wacky web. It was developed by some researchers at Indiana State University, credited here later. So here's mine:
Privilege meme: Bold the items that apply to you. (My comments are in parentheses - not part of the meme)
1. Father went to college
2. Father finished college
3. Mother went to college
4. Mother finished college
5. Have any relative who is an attorney, physician, or professor
6. Were the same or higher class than your high school teachers (at least some of them)
7. Had more than 50 books in your childhood home
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 (dance, gymnastics)
11. Had more than two kinds of lessons before you turned 18
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
14. Your parents (or a trust) paid for the majority of your college costs
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 (paid for it in full by selling ridiculous amounts of Girl Scout Cookies, but it's still a definite privilege - my family bought a lot of those boxes)
18. Had a private tutor before you turned 18
19. Family vacations involved staying at hotels (when with my Grandpa)
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
22. There was original art in your house when you were a child
23. You and your family lived in a single-family house
24. Your parent(s) owned their own house or apartment before you left home
25. You had your own room as a child (we moved a lot and I think I shared for the majority of my childhood... I'm about 80% sure of that at least)
26. You had a phone in your room before you turned 18
27. Participated in a SAT/ACT prep course (provided at my high school, not a Kaplan expensive thing - but again, my high school offering it was a privilege)
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
31. Went on a cruise with your family.
32. Went on more than one cruise with your family.
33. Your parents took you to museums and art galleries as you grew up
34. You were unaware of how much heating bills were for your family
This meme was developed by Will Barratt, Meagan Cahill, Angie Carlen, Minnette Huck, Drew Lurker, and Stacy Ploskonka at
That gives me 17/34 privileges. But I can count more when I think about it. So many more.
I also came across this list, titled "Being Poor Is...", that should be required reading.
Happy thinking to you all. Feel free to comment if this made you ponder.
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