My Socioeconomic Divide

Most of my childhood was spent in the middle of nowhere, in trailers and small houses in the woods or on busy roads where rent was affordable. Since most of our money was funneled into house payments and other bills, I was provided with few outside opportunities for personal growth in which many of my peers participated, such as sports or competitions. In addition, my parents could not afford the medical care that they so desperately needed. This lead to something of a domino effect, where our living conditions and health entered a downward spiral. Our homes continued to grow smaller and more ramshackle with each new downsize in rent. Without proper exams and medical care, my mother’s cancer developed rapidly and by the time she was finally
Throughout my school years, I watched as many of my wealthier friends went on to enjoy exotic vacations, participate in sports and clubs, own nice cars, or purchase fancy clothes, while an alarming number of my less affluent friends turned to crime, anger, drugs, addiction and other forms of experimentation to cope with their situations. In addition, some dropped out of high school or had children in their teens. My own sisters had children before graduating high school, and none of my three siblings attended college. These trends are reflected in many of our own establishments, such as educational and legal institutions. Children living in poverty are often less likely to score well on standardized tests, are at higher risk of poor mental and physical health, and are less likely to attend or succeed in college. Many of the same people who struggle with poverty are also at a higher risk of incarceration, where they are placed into a system that not only deprives them of a normal life, but also detracts from their overall health and exposes them to further maltreatment and abuse. Race and gender, among other determinants, also play key roles in this socioeconomic divide. All of these factors culminate in a broken society where the disenfranchised suffer and the more fortunate often fear those who are struggling, ridicule the lower class, or attempt to ignore these
I skated along a fine line throughout my childhood, where any small disturbance could have thrown me off balance and into drug abuse, depression, or crime. However, I managed to rise out of that situation, primarily through education. All of my experiences have ignited a passion within me to speak out about the problems facing impoverished communities, to spread awareness of the behaviors that contribute to such divisions, and to extinguish the fear that keeps so many people from opening their hearts and minds to the marginalized members of our nation and global community. I want to pursue this goal in the hopes that positive changes can be made for the benefit of not only the marginalized, but for everyone, so that collaboration and respect can be fostered for the betterment of the community. So, in order to clear paths for communication and discussion regarding social justice, this topic sits at the top of my lecture