Almost all of us are born into some sort of privilege. Whether we are ethnically white, male, straight, belong to the upper middle class, or live in a developed and safe first world country, most of us identify with at least one situational privilege that furthers us in society. All students, especially boarders, are privileged the moment they step onto campus regardless of their situations at home. At my private school, we have equal access to food, water, shelter, and education. Privilege isn’t something to feel bad about; instead it is something for which we should feel grateful. There is a fine line, however, between acknowledging the privilege into which we are born and acting entitled because of it.

Entitlement has become a vicious parasite that latches onto its inhabitants with no intention of letting go. Unfortunately privilege can breed these feelings of entitlement. As one becomes accustomed to the benefits of their privileged lifestyle, they start to expect life to cater to them. We are consumed with thoughts like “I deserve” and “they owe me” because we feel entitled to some form of payment for our virtuous traits and our charitable deeds. When our expectations are not met and this “rightful” payment is not fulfilled, we become bitter, resentful, and even angry.

During Special Olympics, there were a collection of heated conversations about the late sleep the following Monday. Many students were enraged, for they felt like we deserved a day off after all our hard work of volunteering, and apparently a sleep in and a dress down day simply were not enough. I too admit that I am guilty of many of these complaints because I also felt entitled to a day off, sharing the opinion of many others since it is something we have become accustomed to in previous years. What I have come to understand, though, is that the school does not actually owe the students anything. Special Olympics is something for which we each volunteered of our own free will. What position are we in to demand a reward for the help we volunteered to do in the first place?

I will not deny that it is human nature to feel entitled, nor will I deny the fact that I often experience these feelings of entitlement as most of us here do. Entitlement is a self­serving institution and a partisan attitude that often results in resentment, and although it is innately a part of our behavior, it is something that we as individuals need to control within ourselves. We must accept that, in reality, we aren't owed anything. In fact we are not entitled to anything at all, and while it certainly isn't wrong to be ambitious and determined to reach our goals in life, it is wrong to feel like we are owed them. I urge everyone to stop expecting and demanding the things we feel entitled to, for it is this sort of behavior that takes away our ability to appreciate what we do have. These detrimental feelings of entitlement foster elitism, coaxing us to use our privileged status to justify our inflated perception of ourselves and giving us an illusion of power that we then exert over others. Time and time again, we are caught up in this habitual cycle of acting in our own interests while forgetting the interests of others, or worse, believing that the interests of others do not have the same value as our own interests.

The complexity of entitlement is quite frankly overwhelming. Our best defense is to remember what we owe ourselves ­­not what others owe us.