Sunday, October 16, 2011

21st Century Social Classes


            Although our society today is supposedly a classless society, we still find a pecking order in every social interaction. The wealthy and highly talented are given special treatment and the average and sub-par people are pushed to the bottom of the list. I myself have experienced both such extremes.
            I am a competitive tennis player and I travel across the Midwest and to many different destinations all over the country throughout the year. With all of the competition comes a lot of practice, and this being my junior year, I realized I was going to need a little extra. But with my rigorous academic load, I knew I couldn’t cut out study time. So instead I decided to try to get exempted from gym. However, I came to learn that this is a very rare occurrence that people get exempted for the entire year for one sport. I have found myself at the top of the athletic chain at New Trier. I have been given special treatment that most other people don’t get due to the amount of talent I have. I hope I don’t sound arrogant when I say this because the truth is it has taken an immense amount of hard work to get where I have gotten. However, at the same time, I am put on the opposite end of the spectrum in the tennis world.
            I play for the varsity tennis team. I played for them my freshman year and played state. I didn’t play last year due to an injury but when I came back to play this year, I felt that I was treated as if I was lesser than others of my same playing ability. I was in many ways disrespected because I had taken myself out of this status I had earned for myself my freshman year. I had to prove my spot once again just like I had as a freshman. Except this time, I was a junior. I had to climb to the top once again with little aid. I watched other girls of equal and lesser playing ability get special treatment just because of the history they have with the team. It’s a frustrating thing I deal with every day. I think to myself,  “They are no better than me. Why are they given special treatment? Why don’t they have to come to practice every day? Why do they get to just choose their position in the lineup while I have to earn my spot time and time again?” At the end of the day, I am going to state just like them. There are only three girls on the entire team that I believe could have a prayer of beating me, and there’s still no guarantee. So why am I treated as if I am at the bottom of the lineup. I have dealt with our coach laughing in my face and then berating me for telling her one small dissatisfaction with the team, while she turns around and lets other girls on the team completely manipulate her. Is it fair? I don’t believe so. Is it reality? Unfortunately it is and I just have to battle through it.
            Then I take a step back and realize that this is the kind of crap that many Americans deal with every day. They are pushed to the bottom of the food chain and forced to fight an uphill battle. It’s not fair. But it’s a reality in American society. We have to prove our positions over and over again in order to get any kind of reward or treatment. Unfortunately, most of us will never win this battle. But we can at least give it a good fight.

No comments:

Post a Comment