Week 10 Blog: A Tale of Two Families

This week I read the stories of two young boys, one white and one black, and how they got to where they are now. Both had two very different paths that lead them to where they are now. I am a mix of German/Hispanic and can identify most with the story of Byron Green, although there are some differences. First, I have grown up in predominantly white neighborhoods, unlike Byron who grew up in a neighborhood that was mostly African American.

I can relate to his struggles, because I feel like my family has had to work hard to be where we are now. I felt like the other man had a lot of things handed to him: a private university education fully paid for, help paying for his house, and because of this he never had to worry about any debt. I am on the opposite side where my parents may have had privileges of white family, but we were not well off like the white family was. Since my grandparents had debt, this also carried on to my mom and dad and then on to me. Because my parents haven't had a surplus of money they were able to help me through college for my first two years with equity from the house, but I have take on my last two years, plus car payments, and apartment payments. This gets me worried for my future with a husband and children, because I don't want my burdens to become theirs. I hope to eventually be able to help them pay for college themselves so they can save their money for kids later on.