When I was still an engineering student, I never really considered myself one of the rich kids. My family had money but we were never the ones who were part of exclusive clubs or anything that involved having tea with socialites. I was raised to be simple yet ambitious. I never had my own cars and shopping was something I had second thoughts of.
So growing up, I never really thought about how important money is and my focus was just getting the best education my parents could get me. Luckily for me, I was accepted to attend one of the most prestigious engineering schools in the country. I was excited and very eager to become an engineer.
But when I started college, I realized that there were so many different kinds of students in college from different social classes. I noticed that those who came from poor families can be easily approached. Even the ones who were like me – students who came from middle class families. They were friendly and I got along with them very well. Hanging out with them wasn’t difficult because we all knew the struggles of having limited allowances every month.
Source: Giphy
Source: Giphy
But what surprised me the most when it came to the diverse student population we had there was the rich kids in our school. They were SUPER RICH! I bet they can afford everything me and my roommates had in our cheap apartment. Heck, they probably wouldn’t even buy them because what we had were cheap stuff. Everything they owned had labels. They were beautiful, incredibly smart and popular among the crowd. They never walked around the campus because they had cars. Some even had their own drivers and there I was, maniacally running around from my last class to the next one, hoping I won’t be late.
I would see them having dinner at fancy restaurants and traveling to different countries for the long weekend. They had the latest gadgets and their faces were never shiny! A part of me felt a little jealous because they had a good life. And being engineering students, they were also smarter than me. They looked so perfect and everything they did were seen as amazing.
What I didn’t expect from these rich kids were their kind hearts – well, most of the ones I met anyway. Before I started being friends with them, I was afraid they would reject me for not being part of their class. I was afraid that they would laugh at what me and my friends can afford. I judged them so fast because of what I saw on TV.
Some of these rich kids turned out to be shy and insecure. Some were incredibly nice. Others turned out to be fun and spunky. Whenever we had a major class in engineering, the ones I was classmates with were funny and sweet to everyone in class. They knew how to get along well with all of us and despite the lifestyle differences, they are just like us. They hated the same professors I hated. They were also afraid to fail in any class. And just like the rest of us in engineering school, they also wanted to be engineers.
So to judge a person based on one’s family’s wealth is wrong. While there are rich douchebags out there, we shouldn’t be afraid to be friends with anyone around us. Sometimes, these rich kids end up becoming your best friends in engineering school.
Source: Giphy
