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Look, I grew up privileged. Okay? I’m ready for the figurative rocks to be thrown. I do fear that the word “privileged” has become interchangeable with “Snooty,” “Entitled,” or even “As*#ole.” But being snooty, behaving entitled, and being an as*&ole are things people choose to be. Being privileged is not something someone chooses to be. It is something someone just is. Just like one’s sexuality or skin color, someone cannot choose whether or not they’re privileged. And yet, sometimes it feels like society judges privileged individuals as if they did somehow make themselves privileged and as if they think they’re better than others for it. My parents had money, yes. But today, I live in a rent-controlled apartment and shop at thrift stores. My upbringing, of course, influenced who I am, but not in the ways people often assume. Here are things people assume about you, if you grew up privileged.
You think you’re better than others
I in no way think that I am better at all than those who grew up without the things I had as a kid. I know that there is a lot of different types of knowledge to be learned in this life, and it doesn’t all come from expensive tutors. I even know that my privilege my have unfortunately, unintentionally kept me from some knowledge and wisdom that those who grew up with less than I did do have. How could I think that something I didn’t do or choose makes me better than anyone?
