My Social Class

Looking back at my Familiy's social class, I'd say we fall in the Middle class. My Father came to America during the 70's from Mexico and lived in Chicago. He started out as a dishwasher and worked his way up to being a waiter, bartender and eventually, a Manager. My Mother came in the 80's with her sister from Colombia and lived out in the Northwest suburbs She only had a high school education and did not speak English well. Eventually, the two met and it was afterwards that my dad owned a restaurant in Palatine called El Toreo. I remember growing up, my family did not go hungry and I always had clothes, toys and a house of my own. I also have a little sister, siblings from my dad's previous marriage and a brother from my mom's side. When my Father's Niece came to the United States with her husband and family, my family let them stay in our place till they find a place. Cut to 2005 when my Father's business got caught in fire and for about three months, we were in a tight financial situation. After it was repaired, everything went back to normal. At the restaurant, my whole family was working there. My Father worked both in the front and back, my Mother and aunt worked in the front, my other brothers and sister were wait staff and I worked as a busboy. I made great money and one summer, I had a ton of money.

Then the economic crisis happened and soon, the restaurant saw fewer people each day. Eventually, my Father sold the restaurant in 2010 and gave it to my Aunt. My parents found themselves arguing with each other over money issues and for a short brief time period, my Father went to go live with his Uncle in Chicago. After about five months, my dad returned home and went to his main passion, fixing and installing equipment. Together with his first son and a friend, he started small business installing security cameras in places like Grocery stores, Apartment complexes, and other business's. I also came along and helped out a bit. Now, we find ourselves between Middle and Lower Middle class. Recently, I found a job all of my own as a tutor for an after school program and thanks to my Associates Degree, the pay is good.  

Exploring the site, it was interesting to see the classes and how they developed over the years. With the Income Mobility, it was scary to see the people who were at the top and how some fell to Middle or even Lower class. It was also happy to see people who started at the bottom rose and eventually, find their place in society. The components of class was a favorite of mine because you can choose the occupation and see their education and how much they earn and wealth.