Walking through the halls of school you see LuLuLemon, Brandy, Free People, Patagonia, and the newest Nike shoes all around you. Most people never stop to double-guess that not everyone around you can afford these things. All people climb to get these things, complaining when they don’t get it and when they only have almost the newest thing. Yet in this crowd of rich and endless new things, some people are either faking it or are unable to do even that. These people aren’t the lowest class here but are the middle-low class living amongst Mt. Pleasant rich people, and as high schoolers, doing their best to fit in. In movies, you may see the difference of wealth portrayed extremely apparently, normally even as greasers and socs. But here, in Mount Pleasant and at Lucy Beckham the variation in wealth is pretty much hidden, and maybe not even holding that much of a difference. But it is still shown and whether people know it or not, used to compare people and categorize who fits in with who. People normalize the amount of money that is to be expected at this school and used in day-to-day life that many people are not able to afford.
It has become normalized, especially for people who live in Mount Pleasant, to go all over the place during spring break. To travel Europe, on cruises, the Bahamas, skiing in Colorado or Utah. But, there’s also a huge demographic and large population that needs to stay home and work for that week. Not everyone can go out and live the best life, spending all the money they made over the past year on one extravagant week overseas. There’s also a large group of people who are only able to travel because they have a place to go that is free, maybe they’re staying with a grandparent or family friend. But there is also a large portion of Mt.Pleasant that isn’t just able to blow money every spring to go all over the world.
People shouldn’t have to be ashamed of where they live just because it isn’t in a mansion with a pool in the backyard. They shouldn’t have to worry about coming to school because they know they’re wearing something that was worn last year. People shouldn’t be valued more based on where they live or the money they are willing to spend on the temporary objects of today. The objects that we grow out of in an instant, so much so that by the time people can save up for the clothes constantly being idolized, they’re already out of style. We should be a school that can include everyone no matter their background or situation financially. Maybe we’re a school without outright bullying based on this, but, there shouldn’t have to be fear of the people you have to see every day for 4 years. No one should have to feel judged for something you cannot change, especially not about your home life.
