I remember my parents always saying, don't forget, you are born in a middle-class family'. I would always wonder what that means to me. Middle class is a description given to individuals and households who fall between the working class and the upper class within a societal hierarchy. Did I like being addressed as Middle class, maybe not, maybe I didn't care, but who was the society to decide what class I belonged to?
If like me you are born in a middle-class family, you would agree with me when I say you learn to first check the price and then order your food. You look at shops from the outside and decide if you can afford to get in and buy something. Before going to an expensive place, you would have a thousand thoughts racing your mind wondering if you would fit in, and if you really go there then you would hope you somehow magically disappeared so that no one notices you.
I remember my friends insisting I come pub hopping with them when we were in college, but I didn't have the right clothes or shoes to accompany them. Nor I think my parents would permit me to go out to a pub, a middle-class girl doesn't go there. I would more often than not be worried about my clothes, my bags, my curly hair, my shoes and wonder if I am different from the crowd.
Even now when I go out to a fancy restaurant, I keep checking how much I am eating and hoping I don't add too much to the overall bill. I am always on a save more, spend less mode.
I remember working hard and tirelessly to afford things in life that I probably couldn't own previously, to take that one holiday I always wanted, to shop for a shoe I watched on an advertisement, to spend a little on myself without thinking twice. Now I can afford it, or at least some of it. But I always remember how I couldn't afford it earlier. I remember wearing shoes with holes in it, walking to school, avoiding the water puddles so as to not wet my shoes that were exposed because of the tear. But I do not want to forget my roots, forget where I came from, forget how hard my parents worked so I could have food, clothing, and shelter.
And now while in Dubai, I enjoy the bling and bigger things in life, most times I still prefer the simple normal middle-class life. Its my happy space where I can be myself, express myself. I have realized its ok to let go of some things that aren't necessities, avoid places and things not because I cannot afford them, but because I still want to be a middle-class girl.