Privilege

My initial thoughts as I first looked at the title of the article was that it was going to deal with the unequal privileged or advantage that certain people have because of their race, social statues, or economic condition. I was expecting to read an article about the need for equal opportunities and how the privileged will always be privileged because because that the way they have always been, like the royal family which continues to be royal because that is what is has been at a prior date.

A term that was new to me was the term Allyship. I guess I had never thought about the people who are part of the majority who are privileged but side with those that need help and are less fortunate. It honestly reminded me of the movie Les Miserables where a young rich man is part of the head of the revolution that is trying to help the poor people of France who are starving while the rich ignore them. Although this was a movie, it deals with what actually happened in the French Revolution. The people who were not royalty but still had elevated status started the French Revolution in the name of the poor people of France who were starving.

I also always new what the definition of Privilege was but I had never thought about the fact that the people who are privileged do not realize and and also do not deserve it or have done nothing to obtain it. This new definition of privileged left me thinking about the pure luck that is also a part of being privileged. This directly affected me because before I came to college I did not realize that I was a privileged person in many ways. Back home I had always felt lie I was the least privileged of my friend group as I struggled financially , especially when it came time to go to college. At first when I came to college I felt the same way, but slowly I realized that in reality there are few people that go to college relative to the amount of people in the country and ever more so in the world. What are the chances that I was born in the United States, one of the richest countries in the world? It was basically luck. I could have been born in Africa where chances of education are limited or in a country where women are not allowed to go to school. It amazes me that I was able to be born in this land of opportunities and I did not realize that completely until this year. I am extremely privileged to live hear, to always have food on my plate and to be going to college.

Furthermore I think about my family situation. Recently I have heard many stories about other people's family and hardships. I have gone through many hardships, but in reality I have been privileged to have the amazing family that God gave me. They love me and they are always there for me although sometimes I feel that I am on my own. Hearing the stories of others and their hardships has allowed me to realize that I am privileged in this way that I did not realize before. Its crazy to realize that I do not deserve the amazing things about my life, that they are simply given to me in the amazing mercy and love of God and that I have done and will never be able to do anything to deserve them.

Allyship is a quality that could help my leadership skills because being aware of the the people and problems that do not apply to you but you can help with is an amazing quality for a leader. That leader will be able to understand and help many more people, not just the people like him or her.