Please write a personal narrative about your experiences with social class. Do not try to narrate your entire life story. Instead, focus on a specific moment or event when you realized something about your class status.  Whatever you choose to write about, explore your memories and experiences, and try to find a moment that, upon reflection, reveals something to you (and readers) about your life. In writing your narrative, keep these strategies in mind:

Tell a story: Be specific. Ground your writing in the events of your life. Consider moments when your views of the world were formed, tested, or changed. Think of your own experience, work, and family, and tell of the things you know that no one else does. Your story need not be heartwarming or gut-wrenching—it can even be funny—but it should be real.

Be brief: Your narrative should be brief—no more than two-to-three pages.

Be personal: Write in words and phrases that are comfortable for you to speak. Try reading your essay aloud to yourself several times, and each time edit it and simplify it until you find the words, tone, and story that truly echo your experience and the way you speak. Since this is your story, you should use the first person.