My friend and I were having a discussion yesterday and somehow I mentioned I was more comfortable with friends who were from a blue collar background as I was. I said thirty years ago a group of us women formed a support group comprised of women who were the first in their family to go to college, and we had all put ourselves through by working. It felt so immediately safe in that group. We were supposed to jump class by our education, but we had been overwhelmed and confused. Our parents wanted us to have a college degree, but they also had a kind of contempt and distrust of education. The situation estranged us from our families. I noted that most of my friends are from the working class, and those are the people I feel "get" me. I didn't do this consciously, but I trust someone with that backdrop more.
I realize I've been judging people, sizing them up, because I want to stay in my safe, familiar zone, and it's long past time to be more open and fairer to those I meet who might become close, if not for my prejudice. I've got a little bit of Elizabeth Bennet still inside me, and it's time to let go.
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