11 struggles of growing up in an Indian middle class family

“The bright students are in front of the crowd, the last benchers are at the back of the crowd and those in the middle are the crowd and they always have a an anxiety of both being either of the other two.” Actor Vijay Sethupathi made this wonderful statement in a debate show and shows how being a person from a middle class family is not a walk in the park thing. Here are the common issues that every middle class person has to face in their life.

1. MONEY BECOMES THE ULTIMATE GOAL:

Some may debate over this, but the most stressful times come when one lacks the financial backup to run the daily errands and are a serious hiccup for the middle class person. This further evolves in the years and the race for money in life becomes inevitable and a default part in their life.

2. YOU BECOME EITHER AN ENGINEER OR A DOCTOR:

Every typical middle class person would’ve bumped into this horrifying decision of picking either one of the two professions. Our parents have entangled he profession of engineering and medicine to their so called family pride and so fine arts is rarely an option to consider.

3. COMPARISON WITH OTHERS:

Whether they are illiterate or have a master’s degree, the common notion that a three of four digit number in that marksheet would change the whole progress of their child’s life and so a natural race to the finish line mindset appears universally and the middle class family is no exemption from this. “Why did you lose three marks in this section?”, “What were you doing when Ankit got more marks than you?” are some noticeable examples of the pressure over every middle class person.

4. NO ROOM FOR EXPERIMENTATION:

 As the options are narrowed down to be an engineer or a doctor, most won’t get pass through and those who try to find an alternative are left stranded as they have no other field to experiment and are given the decision to take up a job that’ll provide a stable income. If they don’t get placed in a reputed company with a handsome package then according to a typical middle class family it is game over.

5. PRESSURE TO SECURE A JOB:

“We have so many debts to clear so you have no choice but to go to work”, says the typical father and the window becomes narrower every year if the jobless graduate stays idle at home. In case women particularly, they either find a job or pressure shifts to convince them to get married.

6. ANXIOUS ABOUT THEIR FUTURE:

There is no guarantee that anyone would be able to run a family on their own and a middle class person would have this issue earlier than a person from a well settled background. The anxiety kicks in and has proven to be self-destructive, as there have been multiple suicide cases.

7. SETTLING DOWN FOR A ROUTINE LIFE:

Most of the nine-to-five workers is a middle class person, and this explains how securing a job is an intergral part in their life and the massive unemployment in the country.

8. PEER PRESSURE AND GADGETS:

A classless environment for a middle class person may not be helpful all the time. One will find it hard to fit in to the peer of upper class group and would sometimes find themselves alienated. The materialistic mindset arises and the plan go wild from iPhones and high end watches but later the reality strikes and would finally settle down for a more budget friendly option.

9. DREAM FOR A SUPER BIKE:

The college dreams of boys go wild and have no boundaries. When a section of the students race ahead with cool sports bikes, there is this majority of boys who can only dream about it. The irony is this stays a dream forever for most of the middle class minds.

10. SACRIFICE THEIR HOBBIES AND TALENTS:

As there is no room for experimentation, one loses their interests to try out their talents. Be it a singer, a dancer, a designer or a talented footballer, all these ideas are shattered as the struggle to secure a job sums up the teenage life.

11. TREAT LOVE TO BE A TABOO:

This is the real deal when it comes to a middle class family. Seldom do they accept their son or daughter being in love and their level of brainwashing going to a whole new level. Most of them will never get through the teenage phase and broke up while some struggle till their late thirties to convince, while only a handful of them lead the life of their dreams.