People like us

We are all divided into different classes within a society. Our lifestyle, clothes, the way we behave, our possessions and what not influences our belonging to this or that social class. And even though I think that the existing of the different classes in a society is not so actual in the modern life, still they do have place in American social structure. So, how do the social classes influence one's life and status?


Tammy, Appalachia and poverty
Poverty. The story of Tammy is the great example to talk about when it comes to the question of social classes. She, had been growing up in the family with 21 other siblings, came into the adults' world. At the documentary she is shown as the mother of 2 kids, working at the fast-food restaurant which is placed 10,5 miles away from her home. And she has to get to her working place on foot as far as she doesn't have a driving license or even a car to drive! Her life is full of despair, and she doesn't see any chance to change something. However, her older son tries to fit in into the social class which is higher then his own. How? By wearing better clothes, through the behavior and the network of communication. He also tries to come to his goals by achieving some kind of success at studying and sports. Will he get upper on the steps of the social structure? To my mind, he can. I have a perspective that any person does have a chance to change his or her social statues. And, I think, that the way through education is one of the best ones. And there are a lot of proofs to it in the history, people who came from the lower classes did went to the higher ones. I think, everything depends only on your own desire and hard work.


High School and Social Class
Your social class usually plays a rather great role at high-schools. Depending on what class you belong to, the students hang out together, get split into the groups of interest. High school prepares you greatly to living in certain social class. You exchange your experiences and through the process of communication, you get involved and interested in something particular. The groups you belong to,  form and shape your future class belonging in a lot of cases. Moving up or down the class may be a tough change, and I am pretty sure that going higher may be a very tough way. Because going higher - means becoming better. And changing your class may create, first of all, the change in your circle of communication, which means, your friends, people you hang out with, even family - may be replaced, and not everyone can handle this. A person sometimes becomes much more isolated on their way to success. And, as far as one's belonging to the upper class is nowadays considered to be a part of success, this may require some isolation, too. Personally, I would call myself a part of the in-group at school, at least in the most of the cases.


Social class and your possessions
Everything you posses shapes your social class. According to the judgment of a society, the house you live in, your clothes, all the things you have - creates the picture of your status and class. Your prestige is something that is influenced by the stuff you have. Moreover, it depends on the quality of the products you buy and consume. For example, as the movie showed, even the bread we eat means something. The more white sliced bread you eat, the lower is your social class to be thought of. However, I do not really agree with this because this is the question of the personal tastes and preferences. However, for example, your car can tell way more about "who you are in a society". The more expensive it is, the higher your class "is supposed to be". My family back to Ukraine has a rather good car,  and even the fact that we do have one means that we belong to the middle class at least. So, comparing to American society and culture it differs. Here a family can have 3-4 cars, a car per every member, and they still may belong to the middle class. So, the social classes and judgment about them may differ from country to country, depending on the average level of life within it. And this way, something that may only make you a person of the lower-middle class in one society, may make you the person of the highest positions in some other society.


All things considered, social classes do exist in American society. They often influence the others' attitude to you and create certain image. To me personally, social classes do not really matter and do not change my communication with the people. You should know that it is actually possible to go higher or lower in the class. However, do not concentrate on your position in society. Just chase your dreams, and it will bring you higher in life anyways.