Do you remember when you were in high school? Even middle school and elementary school… Ever since you were a young learning child, you were raised with the idea of a social class. In elementary school there were always those “goody two-shoes” who had all the cool supplies like the sparkling journal that was unnecessary, and the cutest kitten notebook, and the one and only backpack that no one else had. Those kids usually inherited some money in their family to afford all of that. They were in the high social class. Then there were those kids who picked their noses, cursed out loud, and “tawlked lak dis n’ thurr aint nuttin’ y’all can do bout it”. They typically were the ones who were considered being in a low social class. And then there was the majority of your class who were the average joes. They had the normal clothes, normal attitude, and a normal personality. What I mean by normal is: not preppy and boastful, but not sloppy and trashy- not that it really matters. Just think, you learned about all of these types of people while you were only in elementary school! Once you grew up a little and graduated into middle school, you started forming “cliques” of the weirdos, the geeks, the preps, the cool people that are out of your league, and then your own group that you never knew what you were called. I’m sure other groups of know-it-all teenagers had a name for your group as well. Oh, the fun life of middle school. Then you grew up to high school. Here you have the jocks, the cheerleaders, the sluts, the geeks, the musicians, the Jesus people, the skaters, the ANY name you can think of groups are everywhere. There isn’t anything wrong with them, well, except for the sluts… I wouldn’t recommend taking that path. Anyway, there USUALLY isn’t anything wrong with the other groups- they’re “normal” people, just like you. Just because they are different from you, that doesn’t mean they are aliens and you have to stay away from them. They are only representing their own unique lifestyle and hobbies that interest them.
Now that you are probably thinking of some old memories of growing up with these types of people, let’s think about it. Why exactly does social class matter? Obviously categorizing people happens all the time, but why? There doesn’t seem to be any logical explanation. Let your mind travel back years ago in the time of the Cowboys and Indians… Do you think that some of the Indians picked on others in their tribe if they wore a subtle blue face paint instead of a Bold and Proud red face paint? I highly doubt it, although it is hard to know the truth of history for certain. What I have read about those times is that the tribes stuck together as a family and protected each other. I wonder if that is possible for Americans these days to do that. On the cowboy side of the matter, one man might be better with guns than the other… I don’t think they made cliques like we do about that situation. I don’t think they had a “no good with guns” group, or a group whose “cowboy hats look funny on them”. It’s sort of humorous in a way of how society thinks that they are SO important that they need to boast about themselves and look down on others by classifying them as if they were a breed of dog.
Social class- what defines social class… Money? Wealth? How you present yourself? How popular you are? It could be one or all of these ideas. These seem to be the perceived ideas anyway. From what people say, money and wealth seem to be the biggest factor in social class. Even if you visit the “hopping town” of Hays, Kansas, there is a section in the North West section of town called Thunderbird Dr. where common city folk refer to it as “the rich people area”. They seem to be automatically classified as a high social class. They have the larger than normal houses, big boats in their driveway, clean and tidy lawns, and they always have the coolest Christmas lights out of the whole town! Like I said earlier, it is not a bad thing that they have all these nice things, it’s just that they seem to boast and brag about the wealth they have. It would be so cool to have all of those things and live the life of vacations and relaxation, but every human being can find happiness and fun without money if they wanted to. Maybe it’s not the money idea, maybe it’s how people present themselves and their belongings. There are many farmers I know that own land and do their own hard manual labor to earn their money and believe me, they get excellent money out of it. But people don’t seem to consider them as being in a high social class. Focusing on presentation, I can think of a dirty farmer who earns his/her money versus a rich city girl/boy dressed in high fashion who inherited money to afford those expensive clothes and make up and of course, accessories. That dirt-covered farmer isn’t boasting his money by showing off his well-kept tractor, but the city person dressed in either a suit and tie or a shiny dress with expensive shoes and a handbag is obviously carrying money with them all the time by wearing their money. If it is such a priority to have those things, then that there should show your true unthankful self. I wonder what people would say or do if I showed up in jeans and a sweatshirt to a dinner party that had extraordinary china and wine to observe and discuss very expensive paintings and sculptures. I would probably get stereotyped as the “non-lady-like gal who doesn’t have any manners”. Who knows, but that is my guess. These are only observations, but it seems to me that the well-presented people are in a higher social class.
Still, it boggles my mind on WHY IT MATTERS. Not to be negative, but we are all going to end up in the same place whenever the time may come. We were all born the same at birth, but once you start learning how to stereotype people, our cultures change. You can grow up believing that you have to judge or you will be judged by others, but who really cares once you’re dead and gone. It will only be a regret when you get old enough to look back on your stupidity. Do you really want to live your life trying to be superior to others by impressing them with your glory until your last breath? It seems completely illogical and unnecessary to categorize people the way you learned while growing up. If you want to wear make-up and be fake by not showing your natural beauty, then go for it. Everyone has their own opinion and unique preference. Remember, everyone is different in their own way- that doesn’t mean that they are inhumane. They have personalities just like you have a personality. Personally, in my own biased opinion, I think ‘actual’ social classes have to do with levels of education rather than ‘perceived’ classes which are the listed above ideas such as money, looks, and where you live. Having a higher level of education by no means makes one a better person, but it usually widens one’s perspective of the world and allows them to be more aware. You can ponder about all the possible factors of social class, but they are all inclusive with education and the maturity of your mind. Live life and don’t worry about impressing others or judging others. That shouldn’t be a priority.