Privilege is a right or benefit given to some people and not others. The first time I ever came across this concept was when I was 15. My theatre teacher held a discussion about the difference in privilege between the students in class. After this class, I thought long and hard about the privilege I had. I thought the only privilege I had was being able to take an international holiday almost every year with my family.
As the years went by and my knowledge of this term kept expanding, I realized I had a lot more privilege than I previously knew. The thing with privilege is, no matter how aware you are of it, and no matter how consciously you recognize it and are grateful for it, there will always be something else to be grateful for which you might have overlooked.
In a world with over 7 billion people, there is always someone better off than us. However, we end up paying too much attention to those who have more than us, but not nearly enough to those who don’t. It’s always “he has an Audi R8,” but never, “I have a car, and so many people around me don’t.” In the end, we’re constantly feeling as though we never have enough, and the grass on the other side always looks greener. Given social media’s central role in our lives, it makes it much easier for comparisons and jealousies to grow, leaving us with a perpetual feeling of unappreciation.
As the years have gone by, I have spent a lot of time trying to figure out everything there is to be grateful for. Throughout our lives we’ll be put in situations where we get to meet different people and experience different things. It’s in those times when you start realizing the different things you have that would otherwise be considered a privilege, or that when you did have something, that was a privilege too.
In December of 2023, I lost my father to a cardiac arrest. It was the most traumatic event I had to deal with. However, that incident helped me recognize a few other privileges I had. For starters, I am so immensely grateful for and aware of the privilege I had just to be able to have two amazing parents for 18 years of my life. I realize that living with my grandparents is a big privilege, and the fact that I have a younger sister to share all my feelings, pains and troubles with is something I am so incredibly grateful for.
All the things I listed above may seem very mundane; however, they are not. According to UNICEF, approximately 153 million children around the world are orphaned. So as normal as it may seem — having two parents, a home, a family — even just the bare minimum is a privilege we must all be aware of and incredibly grateful for.
No matter how much or how little you have, there’s always something to be grateful for and consider a privilege. The grass on the other side is sometimes green, but it's also sometimes brown and withered. So, it’s vital for us to recognize the grass that each of us have and be grateful for it, every single day.
Pehal Aashish Kothari is a freshman majoring in marketing with a minor in merchandising.
