We've been watching "People Like Us, Social Class in America." One of the people in the film commented that for individuals born into the upper class, or perhaps upper middle class, life is an endless series of opportunities, while it is not for people of the lower classes.

Would you be willing to write in this thread about your own access to opportunities? It is not bragging to admit you have had endless opportunities, nor is it complaining to say you have not had them. This discussion is a way to get to better know others in this classroom while at the same time getting to know yourself better.

PS I'm including a poll on the topic.

Life has not been an endless series of opportunities for me. I have had to work hard and make sacrifices to get to the place I am now. My family has also had to make sacrifices because of my dreams. However I am glad that I have not had endless opportunities because I don’t take things for granted as easily. It has also brought my family closer together too because of the sacrifices we have made for one another. Yet, many times what some may call a sacrifice I don’t really see it that way.

I do not feel like life has been an endless series of opportunities for me. I feel like I have had to work hard to get where I am today. I had to work hard to make the grades and do the application and the interview to get Teaching Fellows. It wasn't something that was just handed to me. I think a big problem in today's societies is that so many people feel like the world owes them something, and everything should be handed to them!

Like Jessica said I feel as if I have worked hard for everything that I have. With that said I do believe that I am lucky that my parents have been able to provide for me and that I have had the chance to go to college without getting into debt. I don’t believe that I have had a very hard life but nothing has ever been handed to me on a “silver platter.â€

I have not had an endless amount of opportunity in my life but i have had a good amount of opportunity. Most of that is due to my parents working their tails off so that i am able to have a vehicle to drive and go to college. They have tried to instill this in me. My family does not make alot of money so i am grateful that they have saved the way they do so that their children can prosper in life. I have never been deprived of anything that i needed but have not always gotten what i wanted either. I will follow in the same footsteps as my parents which i dont view to be a bad thing because it teaches me the value of things and i dont take anything for granted.

I feel life has handed me endless opportunity. It is what I have done with that opportunity that has made it seem endless or seem not endless. Although I am a first generation college student, I feel like I was labeled a "smart kid" and "college bound" at an early age. Those two things alone provided a great deal of opportunity as far as connections I made with teachers throughout the years. My parents were also labeled when I was very young as "highly involved" and supportive. Again, I have to say that having those connections with teachers and amazing parents only provided the opportunity, I had to embrace the opportunities myself.

I do not believe that life has handed me endless opportunities. Although I have lived comfortably due to my parents will to make life the best it could be for me, I have had to work hard for what I have earned. This is the same for my parents. They would not have been able to provide me with the things they have if they had not worked hard their entire lives. I have had to work hard to get where I am. Even though I was labeled the "smart kid," I have had to stay up late nights working on things, and I have had to put 110% into something if I wanted it. Life gives everyone some sort of opportunities, but it is what you do with them that makes them endless or end very quickly. Yes, life has given me opportunities, but I chose to use those opportunities for the betterment of myself and others. I agree with Jessica and Tracy. The problem with many people is that they believe everything should just be handed to them. Some believe that they should not have to work for anything they get. This is completely wrong and really goes against the American ideals.

I feel like I'm somewhere in the middle on this one. For the most part, I do feel as though life handed me opportunities because I did come from an upper middle class family. I feel this because of the fact that opportunities were available to me as far as education, sports, involvement in extracurricular activities, etc. However, I am appreciative because, at the the same time, things were not handed to me. My parents created a situation in which I had to work and earn rewards for what I was doing. My parents made me go out and get a job as soon as I was able and I had to contribute to my costs of living. Also, I have done all of the work and have worked very hard in order to do well in high school, get into college, and continue to do well in college. I feel as though things have been balanced for me, which is good, because I still have the work ethic and experience that comes from working hard for things.

To understand my opportunities my history must be known. My parents divorced when I was four. My mom died when I was ten, but before and after her death there were endless custody battles. When I was twelve, my father remarried.
I am not a wealthy individual, but I am not exactly poor either. My parents do not pay for my college education because they cannot afford to support me in that way. I have a scholarship, and due to my "smartness" I am able to excel in many activities. I fear that if I had been born with a lower IQ, I would not be in college because I would not be able to find the financial support. I have been allowed to take three 19-hour semesters, and this semester I am working on top of having 19-hours of class.

I do have opportunities, but not because I have a surplus of money at my disposal. I have opportunities because God was kind when He formed me. I have opportunities because I am resilient and intelligent. My opportunities are formed not by what I am given but what I fight for. "I am woman hear me roar."

I do not believe life has been an endless opportunity for me. I have had to work very hard for every improvement in my life. I was a first generation college student and paid nearly one hundred percent of the cost of education myself when I earned my first degree twenty years ago. I have however benefited greatly from having grandparents who grew up during "The Depression" and were also poor to begin with. They placed great value on education and encouraged me to learn all that I could while also teaching me that anything worth accomplishing would require effort on my part . Even having had to work hard and to sometimes create my own opportunities I believe it's only through education that I have been able to succeed.

I would say life before college has not been an endless series of opportunity for me. Even though I have always lived comfortably because of my parents, I have had to work very hard in every aspect of my life. I am not a first generation college student, but I have encountered teachers, employers, and peers who've all held some preconcieved stereotype of how well I should do in something, forcing me to not only "work hard" to achieve a goal, but to go above and beyond what was expected of me. For me life has been working harder than what was required of me. I don't consider this a bad thing, as I've developed certain habits that have led to success in my education because of this. Maybe the experience made me value my education even more than most of my peers from the same background.

I was hoping to see a little variety on the topic...but most of us feel the same about our opportunities. I also like to think that I have had many opportunities in my life. In earlier years, my parents worked really hard to give my sister and I the best that they could. Some of the opportunities included sports, summer camps, after school programs, etc. In fact, I can't think of a single time that I asked my parents for something (excluding toys) and they told me no. I'm not saying this to sound like a spoiled brat. What I mean, is that they made sure that I was able to engage and take part in many different activities as long as it was something I was really interested in and it would benefit me in the long run. So my parents and society did not hand things to me, but they didn't take them away either. As I got older, I learned the concept of privileges. I also learned that choices were a big part of being a responsible person. Now I feel like it is my responsibility to work for the things I want in life, and I can't push that responsibility (or blame) on anyone else if I don't succeed.

I feel like my life has been filled with endless opportunities. I have my parents to thank for most of that, but I have also worked very hard to get where I am today. Growing up, my parents put a lot of work into giving me and my brother the best life that they could give us. My mom gave me tons of books and educational things that I know for a fact are benefiting me today. To disagree with some other posts, just because my parents gave me things that I wanted does NOT mean that I think the world owes me something or that everything was handed to me on a "silver platter". In high school, my parents supported me in anything I wanted to do. I swam and ran cross country and track competitively. I practiced every day, and went to states in all 3 sports (also not just given to me). I received the Teaching Fellows scholarship, which was quite an accomplishment that I feel like I worked very hard for. I've had the privilege to do things like go to Ireland and raft the Grand Canyon (because of my parents financial situation), but this does not mean that I'm spoiled or always get what I want. I value every single thing that has been given to me in my life, and I wouldn't change a thing.

I do feel as if life has been an endless series of opportunities for me. I am very blessed to have both of my parents and they are very active in my life. They have always told me that as long as I perform well in school then they would back me in any decision that I may or may not have. Growing up my parents were always there for me. I was always real big in athletics and they worked with me to improve. Many nights me, my dad, and my brother would stay in our shop practicing hitting or pitching. I played on many different teams and my parents were always right behind me every step of the way. They even backed me on my decision not to take a full athletic scholarship for softball to Brevard. I always knew that Appalachian was were I wanted to attend school and become a teacher. On that note they have also been able to provide for me so I haven't had to take out any student loans or anything. I will forever be grateful to them for all the wonderful things they have done, and all the countless opportunities they have provided for me and my brother throughout our lives.

Like many people have said, I do believe that my life has been a series of endless opportunities for me. Also, like many have said, I have had to work my butt off just to get where I am today. I worked through everything that life has thrown at me: a dad, and step-dad, who were both alcoholics and put my family in a lot of debt; my family not having enough money to sometimes pay our bills; I have been the only person in my immediate family to actually walk across the stage and graduate from High School; I have had to work to be able to pay my own bills (which could be considered bills of luxuries: cell phone, car insurance, and some other things). I had to work to get a scholarship in order for me to attend school. I have had to work for all of this. Life has been a series of opportunities because these opportunities were opportunities to make me stronger as a person. If not for these "opportunities", I probably would not be where I am today.

Like most other people have mentioned, I do not feel that life has handed me endless opportunities. I have to work for what I get, and my parents have to as well. My parents are very active in my life, and financially supportive. I don't work well under excessive stress, so being a music major and having between 10 and 12 classes a semester, they have never asked me to work during the school year. I am lucky in the fact that my parents have supported me throughout my life. They never let me get "carried away," but always let me go for whatever sport, dance, or music after school activity I asked to participate in. They also taught me that I had to finish out what I had started, once I signed up for soccer, or piano lessons, I finished the year or the season. As far as academics and musical success, I worked very hard. I have never gotten EVERYTHING I want, which I think has made me appreciate what I have even more.

I too am on the same page as a lot of people that have already posted. I do feel like I have been blessed with a life with endless opportunities. I not only have two wonderful parents but a sister, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins who all form a network of support around me. I have had support throughout my life financially, spiritually, academically, socially, and athletically. Even when I am stressed out with school or upset about one thing or another I know that I will never be alone in any challenge, which is a wonderful feeling to have.
However, although many doors have been opened for me, there has not always been a red carpet laid out for me to walk right on through. My parents and family have given me a lot, but never have they let me lose sight of the meaning of hard work, discipline, respect, and dignity. Before leaving for school everyday as a child, and even sometimes today my mom repeatedly says to me to things, "reach for the best!" and "remember your manners!" The seem like simple quotes, but I feel as if these two quotes have made me who I am today. I have always worked hard to do my very best if it is in school and athletics, and I always try to display respect and good manners towards others.
I believe it is because I have been given so much that I have chosen the career of teaching. It is my hope that in the future I can work with kids who have not had as easy of a life as myself. Since doors were not opened for them at home, I hope I can step in and show them they themselves can "reach for the best" and open there own doors!

I looked up the definition of opportunity because I feel so split on the subject. The definition is: a good position, chance, or prospect, as for advancement or success. My automatic answer is no, I have not had endless opportunities, and the only factor was we were not financial able to take every advancement that I saw and wanted to do. BUT, in comparison to the someone even more financially burdened, yes, I have had endless opportunities. I also feel that opportunities don't present themselves unless you are looking for them and when you find them I feel that there is always a way to attain your goals. So, I guess in conclusion, yea, I have!

I can't say that my life has been full of endless opportunities, but I have had my fair share. However, regardless of the number and types of opportunities that have be presented to me I have also striven to create my own. Rather we like it or not, a lot about getting ahead in life is not what you know, but who you know. To beat the system you have to know the rules of the game.

I have been very fortunate in my life. While I don't think that I have always been handed everything, I do believe that my life has been full of opportunities. I am truly lucky that my parents were able to provide for me in a way in which i did not have to work while pursuing school or other extra-curricular activities. I many times have been given the opportunity to pursue my interests and the things that i like to do. I don't think that I would have entered college as a vocal performance major if I had not been given those opportunities. While I have never absolutely had to have a job, I have worked very hard in school and in voice, and i also truly believe that i have been given many of the opportunities that I have pursued because I worked hard in those areas. I also try to work as much as I can every summer to be able to have money for myself and mainly to relieve my parents. My parents have worked very hard to provide for me the best way that they can, and I believe that their way of doing that is to try and provide me with opportunity. In turn, I have worked hard for both them and myself to be able to deserve it.