I don’t think I drive a junk car.
What gives others the right to tell me I do?
It’s not like I even care what you think.
It’s the exact same age as me, has a clutch that needs replacing, tops out at 80 miles per hour, and currently has 202,033 miles on it. It has roll-down windows and none of the locks are automatic or connect with each other. It has a $20 cigarette lighter adapter that tunes into a dead radio station so I can use Bluetooth.
One day, as I was making the long walk down to J-lot after cross country practice, I spotted a business card wedged into my windshield wipers. It read “1-800-WEBUYJUNKCARS.” No one else had been gifted a random person’s anonymous insult to the car that they and their family saved for that afternoon but me.
The funniest part is that despite the flaws my car may have, it was the car I dreamed of having as a kid. It’s a cherry red, four-door, manual Jeep Wrangler. It’s not the newest model, but it’s a nice car. I’m lucky to drive it. I recognize that, and I wouldn’t put down those less fortunate than me.
Even if I didn’t have a car that I thought was nice, what is with this normalization of students putting down other students at our school? Especially when it’s about something that involves money, like what car you drive. I’m not the first person to be told I drive a lemon, and I am certain that I’m not the last.
When did it become okay to indirectly call people poor? Was it okay to judge the shoes someone wore when we were in elementary school? Then why is it okay to judge people about something that involves a lot more money? Who wants to be the punchline to a joke like that?
No teenager should expect everyone to drive a Tesla when they turn 16, or a brand new Jeep. And those who do should be grateful. We live in a very affluent community—that’s a fact. I am very lucky that I have a car at all, let alone parents and grandparents who helped me get it. It’s even been my dream car since I was five years old.
However, there’s a difference between being spoiled and being a spoiled brat. I’m very lucky, and I have been spoiled by the opportunity that I have been given. If you are content with what you have, why would you feel the need to let others know that they have less than you?
There is a real problem at this school with people acting like they’re better than everyone else and not recognizing their privilege. Cars aren’t the only thing that people seem to think is okay to judge.
I know a kid who won’t let anyone drive them to their actual house because they’re worried about what people will think. Not even their friends. How terrible is it that someone feels as though they can’t even trust their friends to see their house for fear of being scrutinized and put down?
The reality is that the vast majority of students at our school have never worried about where their next meal is going to come from or if they will be sleeping with a roof over their heads. Every student at this school gets the opportunity to get a high-quality education, something that many people around the world, in this country, and in this state don’t get.
That in itself is a privilege. Privilege doesn’t always look like a closet full of Lululemon, a spring break vacation to an all-inclusive in Cancun, or a ski house in Breckenridge.
Who is anyone to judge or make fun of someone based on things they can’t control? Just because you may have a certain expectation of what you should get doesn’t mean that others have that too. I recognize how lucky I am and the opportunity and privilege I have been given. You never know what’s going on behind closed doors in someone’s life.
You never know how hard someone has worked for what they have. You never know the opportunity that someone has or hasn’t had.
Are we really going to ignore the opportunities we’ve been given to put others down over trivial things? It takes just as much effort to uplift others and recognize our wealth of opportunity as it does to ignore our privilege and put down the people we’re around.
So who are you to judge?
Check your privilege. I know I have.
