Exploring Social Class in the U.S.

I used to be a military brat, my father is retired Air Force, and I can definitely understand how social class plays a huge part in our lives here in America. As a child, we moved around a lot, similar to the girl from the People Like Us website.  The changes in scenery didn't really start to affect me until 8th grade, because I didn't really care as a kid and loved meeting new people and have loved everywhere we have lived. However, when I entered high school we lived in DC, on Bolling AFB and I started 9th grade at a DC school downtown and it was not exactly what I was used to. I went to private school for 7th and 8th grade and it was nice. This DC school was a culture shock for me completely, because before you even entered the school, you had to go through metal detectors. In my previous school, I had many friends and everyone loved my company, but in this DC school is was predominantly Black and Hispanic students with a few from Ethiopia. I am multiracial, being Black, White, Filipino, and Native American, yet did not fit into this school at all. They had their own groups and classes and I was an outcast, literally in the entire school. It was a school more on the poor side, but it was the only school that buses went to from Bolling AFB. I was judged for being different because I was told I spoke too proper of English, and they called me a snob only because I talked the right way. A lot of kids there had kids themselves and they created their own groups, the only people I sat at lunch with and that were nice to me were the two girls from Ethiopia.

My mom caught wind of this, and we moved to Mount Vernon, VA and I went to a school there. It was a large school and very clean and nice, but the groups were the same because of the area that we lived in. My dad chose a new assignment in Florida and we went there. I loved that high school, I had many friends and no judgement, and the community was great. My father was head of police on base, and also one of the varsity football coaches there and everyone knew my family and I felt more comfortable. We moved back to VA in 2007 and as an adult, I began seeing that the class system does not change just because you grow up. Every job I have had so far they all have groups and cliques and they put themselves in these classes. You have the upper class, the white collar folks, and then the lower class, or the bottom-feeders. We live in a class society where people fit in to different groups, and I do not think it will change.  I think social class matters in our society today, do I think it should? I do not, but I can not change it. People will climb that social ladder all their lives, and by one mistake they can be outcast I have seen it. Maybe one day, people will be treated equal but there's always going to be classification.