Letter to the Editor: 'Helping Those Less Privileged ... Should Not Be a Sacrifice'

Dear Editor, 

Growing up in Carroll County I was told that I was privileged; that was just a part of life that was acknowledged only when pointed out directly. It wasn’t until I got to college a year ago that I started to understand what being privileged actually meant.

To be privileged is to have an undeserved advantage that sets you apart from others. When I was told that my privileges were underserved I denied it; I’ve worked hard to keep up my grades, I worked during the summer and the semester, and my parents work overtime to afford certain luxuries. However, it became evidently clear that working hard is a privilege itself; some are not given the opportunity to apply themselves. Simple things that I take for granted and have previously assumed were universal are all privileges like my ability to learn, communicate in English, and take care of myself. 

Often, the average family looks at the things they have and feel like they earned the money, food, and house they inhabit, but in reality they were just put into a situation which made those privileges possible. Often someone’s unfortunate situation (being without a home or income to support themselves) is looked down upon and it is assumed they had made some mistake to lead them to these unfortunate outcomes. This is not always the case.

Plenty of people who are without the ability to provide for themselves just lack the privileges many have so undeservedly been given. We live in a world in which we look at people and see their hardships but simply walk passed because we have “earned” our salaries and expect them to do the same. Instead of trying to understand their situation we belittle them as if we know their story.

This should go on no longer. We should no longer expect failure from people who are not given the privileges that many others have been granted.

As the holiday season quickly approaches I urge others to break free from their safe lives. Helping those less privileged than you should not be a sacrifice; one should be eager to help because at the end of the day we are all living similar stories, some of us have just been given an underserved advantage. 

-- Juliana Ottomano, McDaniel College student