Privilege exists...

4 years ago I got a job a week after getting out of the University. I got employed as a marketing associate at a tech company owned by a friend of mine and his group of friends.
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A lot of people assumed my parents had a hand in the job I had landed but it was simply a role gotten out of a conversation with the right people. It was privilege but not the kind of privilege people thought it was.

My parents never wanted me to take that job. They worked hard against me taking it and gave so many absurd reasons why it was a bad idea. Thanks to the help of my brothers, I win that fight.

I don't consider myself to be privileged but compared to most, I guess I am. I believe my privilege began with a change of Secondary school from a cheap one to a more expensive one. That gave me the privilege of meeting a certain kind of people who in some way lead me through a better path.

However, there are different grades of privilege and I consider mine to be at the bottom of the lot.

While I have the privilege of association, I lack the privilege of Old Money. I'm privileged to be friends with people with that privilege but there's still a huge gap between us that sometimes makes me feel like an imposter.

Some might say I have the privilege of feminity which allows me work less but find the perfect man that can handle the financial aspects of my life but I guess that's not the kind of privilege I desire so I repel that.

I was with a friend a few days ago and out of a whim, his mom made a transfer of a million naira to him. That's about $1,800. For absolutely no reason. He called her and she said she just felt like he needed money.

I felt the shivers of my lack of certain privileges at that moment. It wasn't jealousy but more of a realisation. My privilege resides with the knowledge of these people.

There are different kinds of privilege, however, my privilege requires hard work and not the freewill of just being born.

I'm grateful for mine, regardless of how inconsequential it might seem in the long run. I don't underestimate the value of association.


Thanks for reading

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'I felt the shivers of my lack of certain privileges at that moment. It wasn't jealousy but more of a realisation".

In all things we do in life, it's really paramount that we as humans tell ourselves the truth because self-deceit is the worst that could happen to anybody. Great to know you realized and it doesn't mean jealously, It just shows you're aware and working towards changing your status, hopefully it's everything you want to be and more. Lovely write-up✨

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I get you. Honestly though I never liked this word “privilege” being used the way it is now. It’s a real thing for sure, but the framing feels backward to me. Rather than people “checking their privilege” I think everyone benefits from making sure there are more opportunities and that people aren’t underprivileged. Otherwise it’s way too easy to invalidate people just beaded on their blessings. We all deserve more blessings and I don’t want to take away from anyone who isn’t trying to dominate others or aiding someone in dominating others.

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