Last night as I was sitting in Food Court with some friends, one of them asked me why I was a vegetarian. I told him that I had worked at McDonald's for so long that the sight of all meat now repulses me. I was totally unprepared for his reaction. He laughed. Long and hard. "You worked at McDonald's?" he scoffed.
I became upset. Livid, in fact. I even remember crying for quite a while. Let me explain why.
I come from an affluent neighborhood, a suburb three miles out of the Detroit city limits. My family own a house in an upper-middle class subdivision. Whenever I asked my father for something he considered extravagant, he would say to met, "Margie, someday you will see how the other half lives, and that will change the way you look at things."
So, I ended up working at McDonald's instead of getting a "real" job. I am extremely grateful for this. Somehow, between the time I started working at McDonald's and the time I came here, I realized how the other half lives, and that did change everything.
At McDonald's, I met teenagers from Detroit. They took the bus to the suburbs each day, because all the minimum wage jobs near their homes were filled. In the suburbs, they made a lot more than minimum wage, because the average suburban teenager wouldn't "stoop" to working at lowly McDonald's. They still had to work night shifts at a factory to make enough money to help pay the rent, and often worked 80 hours a week.
I also met single mothers who worked during the day and took classes at night so that they could get make a better life for their families.
And I watched as customers treated them like dirt. Of course, they treated me like dirt too. I wore the same uniform as them, and because of our uniforms, 90% of the people assumed that we couldn't count change or make a hamburger properly, and that we were otherwise stupid. I pitied those customers, because of the stereotypes that they held, and the way they looked down on my coworkers and me. They never realized that the employees had many of the same goals, dreams, as heartaches as them.
As time went on, I became friends with many of my coworkers. I found out that I had a lot in common with them. I also had one crucial difference: at the end of my shift, I went home to a life free from all financial worries. I didn't have to worry if I would have enough food, or fear that I would be evicted from my home. I began to really appreciate all that I have.
I am not pretending that I understand how hard life was for my friends. In fact, I can't even comprehend it. I truly admire them, and I truly admire those of you who have sacrificed so much just to be able to come here and fulfill dreams.
But, I don't close my eyes. I don't pretend life is all middle-class utopia. Some of you do.
My dad was never a big fan of me coming to Dartmouth. He would make comments about the stupidity of paying this much for a school when I could just go the University of Michigan. I think he was afraid that I would forget the other half.
I convinced him, though. I told him that Dartmouth students were committed to helping the other half.
I am trying to decide if I was wrong:
The other day, I was sitting at Collis listening to two girls talk about Tucker Fellowships, and how great they are. I thought, good. At least there are some people interested in helping humanity.
Then, one of them said to the other, "and yeah, it would really help me get into Med School."
I became absolutely furious. If you want a Tucker Fellowship just because it will get you "ahead" in life, then I have absolutely no respect for you. I am aware that the Dartmouth community performs a lot of service for unselfish reasons. Good. We should.
I am also aware that some of the Dartmouth community thinks that volunteering is a waste of time. This is what saddens me, and makes me wonder what the future will be like, if the leaders of tomorrow don't believe in reaching out to help the less fortunate.
Thanks, dad, for telling me about the other half.
Thanks for making me work at McDonald's for two years when I could have worked anywhere else. Because if I hadn't been for you, I could easily be sitting here contemplating how Dartmouth was going to help me make the most possible money, instead of how I can use my education to help me effect positive change.
Please, remember the other half. When you go out into the world and get great jobs and have a big house, don't become so isolated that you pretend that everyone has as much as you.
We have so much potential to positively impact the lives of others. Never forget this.
