The other day I found myself with some car troubles. As a result, I was required to walk a distance on a frigid winter morning to meet one of my children at their place of work to get a vehicle so I could continue on with my day. The sidewalks were completely buried in snow making the walk difficult as I tried to position my feet in the deep ruts left by the walkers who preceded me. This experience immediately gave me an alternative perspective of winter travel – with my daily access to an (almost completely) reliable vehicle, I had never considered the point of view of those without vehicles who regularly navigate snowy sidewalks and long walks to connect with public transportation in the dead of winter – an alternative point of view.
This story is a bit of a metaphor for my journey understanding privilege. My experiences in my life are my own. As such, I recognize that I do not always understand that which I have not experienced. With respect to privilege, it is something I have mostly had so, until I had the opportunity to do some professional learning, I had never really given much thought to the experiences of those without the same privileges as me– like having heat in your home – you only really think about it when the pilot goes out on your furnace.
As I began to explore more about what it means to have privilege I began to immediately appreciate the privileges in my life – I do not have to worry about my personal safety because of my ethnicity, race, religious beliefs, or sexual orientation. I have never had to worry about whether or not it will be possible for me to navigate a physical space or being teased because of a disability. I am confident I know where my next meal is coming from. I do not worry about the assumptions people make about me because of my nationality, the way I dress or who I choose to love.
Although I felt appreciative of what I have been afforded as a result of my privilege, emotions such as guilt and shame began to prevail. But privilege is unearned. I have learned that having privilege does not make me a bad person. When reflecting on privilege, guilt and shame are not productive. How do I make my experiences with privilege positive?
In the past, my final thoughts (if any) in the walking scenario I shared earlier would have ended at frustration and inconvenience. My learning about privilege has helped me to approach even the most familiar situations with new found curiosity and questioning from a privilege lens. I will not claim for a even a second to deeply understand what it means to live in poverty but I now have a better understand what it might mean to have to rely on public transit and navigate uncleaned sidewalks in poor weather conditions to get to the places I need to go. I still have much to learn in my journey to understand privilege. In order to learn more and leveraging what I have been afforded in meaningful ways I am choosing to regularly challenge myself with the following questions:

How will I continue to challenge my assumptions about privilege?

How will I develop a greater understanding of privilege?

How I can make things better for those who may not have the privilege that I have?

I cannot control the privilege I have but only by how I choose to use it.

…. Lisa