Be Grateful For What You Have

This week in class we played the game Monopoly; only this time it was with a different set of rules. Each person had a social class they were in and special rules that applied to them. It was interesting to see that even though the lower social class had worked hard and gotten very lucky, at the end of the day the highest social class was the one to make the most money and to remain at the top. In my group, the person who was the low social class member would have won the game if we were playing the game how it was supposed to be played; however, because of how society works [and we were playing based on how society does work] the one who was in the high social class at the beginning was the one to succeed the most because of the rules and very little limitations that were put on that person. This made me think about reality and how no matter how hard people try to work hard and move up in social class, it is rare that that ever happens. For example, my grandfather worked very hard all of his life and although the amount of work he put forth was probably triple the amount a rich man did back then, he still remained in his social class throughout his life. In class this week we also watched a movie and read two articles regarding social class. Both in the article and in the movie the same messaged was brought to my attention. Mathematically no one can live off of what minimum wage is. A majority of people who work 18 hour days and get paid minimum wage cannot afford anything but a fast food meal and living in a trailer park or their own car. It is so sad to see that throughout the experiments in the movie and the articles that in order to get help from a doctor one had to either suck it up and not go, or they had to know they were going to be in debt and have to work double to pay off a bill. Also, when working at minimum wage the lifestyle is not ideal. The lifestyle involves fatty foods, no exercise, and higher stress. Throughout this week of class I really realized how fortunate I am. When I look back and remember that I would complain about having to eat healthy food at dinner when all I wanted was a cheeseburger, I now realize that I am so fortunate that my parents can afford to put a nutritious meal on the table. Also, when I would complain about not having enough money to buy something, I now realize that there are people out there who live paycheck to paycheck and cannot afford the simple pleasures of treating yourself to a movie or a new shirt.