It’s hard to talk about privilege. We encounter situations every single day that have to do with our degree of privilege or lack thereof. From the neighborhood we grew up in to the school we attend, even simply feeling comfortable holding the hand of your significant other while in public; all of this has to do with privilege.

I didn’t really pay much attention to the idea of privilege until my sophomore year of college. It was never something that I thought really impacted my life. At the time, I was attending a small private university and was signed up to take Sociology 101. It surprised me how quickly Sociology became my favorite class. It challenged me to dig deeper and think critically about things in my life that probably would have never even crossed my mind otherwise. I remember one day in particular that still stands out among the rest. At the beginning of class, we were instructed to participate in an activity called the Privilege Walk. Since then, I have looked at my life in a much different light.

All of the students in the class were asked to start at the back of the room with their heels to the wall while the professor stood at the front of the classroom facing us. The Walk consisted of a series of 35 statements that the professor read off to the class. The statements had to do with a number of topics including race, gender, sexual orientation, financial status, and so on.

As the statements were read, students were instructed to either step forward or step back, depending on how they identify with each statement. At the beginning of the exercise, my class started out fairly lighthearted. We didn’t know what to expect, and we were excited to be engaged in an activity instead of sitting listening to a lecture. However, the second the questions started coming, the whole mood changed. The following statements were read to our class:

1. If your ancestors came to the United States by force, take one step back.
2. If there were more than 50 books in your house growing up, take one step forward.
3. If you ever felt unsafe because of your sexual orientation, take one step back.
4. If you believe that you were denied employment because of your race, gender, or ethnicity, take 1 step back.
5. If you believe that you were paid less because of your race, gender, or ethnicity, take one step back.
6. If you were ever stopped or questioned by the police because of your race, take one step back.
7. If you have ever felt uncomfortable about a joke directed at your gender, take one step back.
8. If you can show affection for your romantic partner in public without fear of ridicule or violence, please take one step forward.
9. If you were embarrassed about your clothes or house while growing up, take one step back.
10. If your parents or guardians attended college, take one step forward.
11. If you were raised in an area with crime and drug activity, take one step back.
12. If you have tried to change your speech or mannerisms to gain credibility, take one step back.
13. If you are able to move through the world without fear of sexual assault, take one step forward.
14. If you can legally marry the person you love, take one step forward.
15. If you were sexually active with several people and it would improve your social reputation in other people’s eyes, take 1 step forward.
16. If you are reasonably sure that you will not be denied access to jobs or political resources because of your gender, take one step forward.
17. If you are able to be drive carelessly without someone attributing it to your gender, take one step forward.
18. If you are relatively sure you can enter a store without being followed, take one step forward.
19. If you are reasonably sure you would be hired based on your ability and qualifications, take one step forward.
20. If your family automatically expected you to attend college, take one step forward.
21. If you have ever traveled outside the United States, take one step forward.
22. If your parents worked nights and weekends to support your family, take one step backward.
23. If you can buy new clothes or go out to dinner when you want to, take one step forward.
24. If you get time off for your religious holidays, take one step forward.
25. If you have a foreign accent, take one step backward.
26. If you can walk alone at any time of day or night in without thinking about safety, take one step forward.
27. If you went to galleries, museums, and plays with your family, take one step forward.
28. If you attended private school or summer camp, take one step forward.
29. If you were raised in a single-parent household, take one step backward.
30. If you studied the culture of your ancestors in elementary school, take one step forward.
31. If members of your gender are portrayed on TV in degrading roles, take one step backward.
32. If you have been a victim of sexual harassment, take one step backward.
33. If you have been a victim of violence because of your race, gender, class, or sexual orientation, take one step back.
34. If you ever went on a family vacation, take one step forward.
35. If you have ever had a maid, gardener, or cleaning service, take one step forward.

As I started taking steps forward, several other classmates were taking steps back. It hadn’t really occurred to me that some of my peers weren’t going to end up in the same spot that I was. We all attended the same university, and many of us were involved in the same activities. In my mind I assumed that we all had pretty similar lives. I couldn’t have been more wrong.

I kept moving forward while other people took steps back. Several statements later, I hit the wall. I couldn’t even take another step forward, and the statements kept coming. I was the first and only person to make it all the way across the room before the end of the activity. After the last statement, I turned around and couldn’t believe that some of the other students barely made it off the wall we started on. I felt a rush of guilt and embarrassment come over me as we all slowly made our way back to our desks.

The majority of the things we were asked had never even crossed my mind as being unusual or out of the ordinary. Looking at my life now, I recognize that I continue to live a very privileged life. Compared to some of my peers, my journey has been fairly easy. My parents have been able to support me my entire life, and I will be graduating this upcoming spring without any debt, which not many college students can say. I have been given all of the tools to succeed in whatever I set my mind to. I had taken my privileges for granted, but now I realize how fortunate I have been. It really put the way I'm able to live my life in perspective. Take time to reflect, and count your blessings.

Below is a video from Buzzfeed showing a demonstration of the Privilege Walk.