Like a potter to a mold of clay, so is privilege to the human existence. Life is the most obvious reality we ever grow to witness. It unfolds in a different and unpredictable form at every tick of the second hand of our clocks. It has its favorites and its regulars; the “regulars” have to raise their heads to see the “favourites,” sometimes having to shade their views with a palm of their hands, usually ahead of their (regular) position.
At the earliest stage of life which I call the 'ain't got no worries' stage where we were not bothered about where to be or what to have, we were very much gratified by the basic provisions made available by our earthly guidance. We could only cry as a call to rescue and right there, everyone will arise to the emergence of our needs. Life was really beautiful then.
We grew beyond the confinement of other's palms, primary education came and we were exposed to the differences that exists in personalities, we saw life from others’ perspectives, the people's perspective. That was when we began to know that life actually had a range and we could sure gauge our positions, see where we belong, saw that some were far above and some were far below. This taught us that no matter our conditions, there's always a better and a worse case.
Teenhood emerged, the full realization of reality emerged. Here our wants seem to exceed our needs, we craved for style and exceptionality, we knew that we could actually be better because we saw those who were. We knew that we were less-privileged and at the same time more-privileged but our zeal for more privileges sprung up by the day. Here we could define depression and social anxiety, we could feel the power of non-physical oppression.
People dwell in broken homes in the same world where others are taking a family leisure trip, people slept in the park where others sleep in a mansion, some learn sign language where others learn foreign languages, some could only watch from a public TV while others are the ones being watched. The same world where people labour to eat, others are trashing food. Some drink from the well where some are choosing from Spring, distilled, mineral, purified or carbonated water. These we can't count.
The bottom line is that privilege sets a standard for humans and it ensures maximum advantage in a competitive universe. Life had been obviously fair with the favoured, leaving the rest in an ever striking situation. It brought with it, demography, education, religion, race, ethnicity, class, sociality just so that there will be a need for the invention of a scale. It measures the capacity of each individual and throw them to a class.
But to recognize a difference, it means there must be more than one subject, here's the good news; life didn't just flaunt privileges but also carried along opportunities. Opportunity (chance) had been presented as a tool to correct the slag and raise our values. This happens to every single person in a way, it doesn't discriminate. Opportunities give meaning to hope and present us with a chance to stand out, stand out and shine our lights bright.
To anyone who recognizes this opportunity not minding the weight or anyone who can create one from the existing amenities, this set of people are no different from the privileged. There's always an equitable distribution of this particular dividend. The task is to recognize it and utilize it, it all starts from your zeal and beliefs. Once you're able to sharpen your inner potentials, your outer performance will be unlimited. Make it and live it!
Written from the perspective of an average individual.
Picture from pixabay.