Class Structure

Not only did we have a lot of toys, but also so did my dad. He had a boat, a motorcycle, stereo equipment, etc. When I was a baby my grandmother passed away. Not long after, at the age of 3, my grandfather passed away as well. They left my father with the business and a large sum of money that they had earned over the years. There is an actual term for when parents hand down what the have earned to their children. According to Gilbert "people who simply inherit their parent's position" are considered to be people of "social succession" (Gilbert, 1998). My dad is an alcoholic and has always spent all of his money on partying. Once his parents were gone he not only wasted all of the money they had given him, but the business also folded because he was so lazy and irresponsible. He lost just about everything he had due to his alcoholism, but he never sought out help. My mom had enough and decided we would be better off without him. This soon sent my family into the working class. My life chances began to look slimmer and things were about to get rough.
             When I was 5 years old, my parents decided to get a divorce. This caused my mom, my sister, and I to go down drastically in the social class structure. My mother did not work when she was with my father. Once we moved into our own home she started working at Jewel Osco. That gives you an idea of how much she was making. As for child support, that never happened. Once in awhile my dad would send a check, but not regularly. My mom was basically forced to fend for all of us. Money was really tight from then on. Life chances were not good at all during this period. If my families" social mobility wouldn't have risen, I would be much less likely to have pursued my college career and even possibly my high school diploma. My mother remarried when I was 11. My step dad was a railroad engineer at the time and was making pretty good money.