A Student Response From:
Hannah
struggled with the idea of privilege for a long time. My background is a very privileged one and as a kid, I did not understand why I had privilege and others did not. I suppose I chose to accept it until I came to college where I met people of many backgrounds. Now I can smell the guilt too and I find myself being scared to share about my life or even be myself in some situations. Privilege is something that I struggle with and do not always understand.
Comments 2
I am sure I can find where I have privilege, too. And sit with it. It feels squirmy to me. Kind of like this feeling of being the center of attention or when people congratulate me on a career success.
Someone told me it’s imposter syndrome. Where there doesn’t seem to be a place to put it. Maybe this is familiar?
Hi Hannah,
It is understandable as to why you feel scared to share your life after listening to the different backgrounds of others, but you shouldn’t feel guilty for having a “privileged” lifestyle. For one you were born into that life, it is something out of your control and as you stated there are many people that come from different backgrounds and have their own story. End of the day though, YOU have your own story and should feel confident to tell others without feeling guilty since that is the life that you grew up in, you caretakers had set you up (hopefully) for a healthy/wonderful life. In a perfect world, we would take the time to understand each others past and learn about each other knowing the hardships that we have all faced.