Counting (Some of) My Blessings

     Privilege is a funny thing. Every person reading this has some privilege. The privilege of the Internet. The privilege of time. The privilege of a roof over their heads and regular meals. Some have more than others, but denying it is akin to denying your height or your looks. They are just features you have, so denying them is just silly and pointless. Denying privilege is honestly just an ego boost. There may be differing levels of "getting it out the mud" or being "self made," but everyone who has any privilege has something to be grateful for. A fortuitous relationship (meeting the right person), an unwarranted 2nd chance, a coincidental life event (taking a life-changing course, or hearing perfectly timed advice), and so on and so forth. That being said, I thought it would be a mindful exercise to quantify at least some of my privileges in my adult life (18+). I've seen others post photos or little blurbs of gratitude in these quarantine times, so I thought I'd give it a stab.

1. 4 years of tuition at UCSD ~40k+ (poor people grant - my tuition was covered with grants for all 4 years)
2. Minivan for a couple years/my current RAV4 ~10k
3. Carpooling in Louisiana for 2 years ~2k (how many of y'all knew this? Shoutout my mans Brett Orren)
4. Under-market room & board with my parents for 4 years ~15k
   My sister advised me to stay home & save for as long as I could. Though I planned to move out last year, things took a different turn and I've been living at home 'til now ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

     All told, that's ~67,000+ of benefits I've reaped over the last decade. & for what? I didn't do anything to warrant those benefits besides be born to my parents and have a gracious roommate (actually, roommates - I hitched a ride with everyone in the Teacher Mansion at least a handful of times over the years). So, yeah. I am incredibly fortunate.
     Without meaning to, I've also realized where my generous orientation to social programs comes from. I didn't do anything except to fall into some really lucky circumstances. Why would I deny others the opportunities that I lucked into?
     "But wELfAre QuEEns!1!" Alright, look here, dumbass. It's just a matter of math (and one that I honestly can't find numbers for. So, I am admittedly going out on a limb here). For every shady ass person that defrauds the system, I would be happy if 4+ people were able to leverage the system and experience some upward mobility. If we're being honest, plenty of Viets have made good, honest use of government assistance... along with a significant number who have cheated. I got 5 siblings who are all contributing members of society, and I'm (pretty) sure every single one of us received financial aid at some point or other. If not from the gov, then from living rent-free or low-rent with our parents. So... yeah. I firmly believe in government assistance.
     Didn't mean to rant, but I definitely have a habit of it. Anyways, I promise I'm really grateful :). I hope this inspires you to take a sincere accounting (numerically or not) of your blessings/privilege! If you take the time to really think about it, I'm sure you can come up with a decent list. Thanks for reading - now go write :P.