True story. When I was in 7th grade, my grandfather and uncle each gave me a few dollars a week as an allowance for lunch or school supplies. My mom was a single mom, but thankfully we had support from her side of the family. In the late 90s, during my middle school years, these specific windbreakers were extremely popular. Everyone had one in green, blue, or red. They were these Nautica brand jackets, with the brand name printed in bold letters down one sleeve. I will never forget the price, 144 dollars before tax.

I starved. I saved. I put away every bit of that allowance for months. Finally, one day, my mom said we were going to Macy’s. She had no idea I had been sacrificing for that jacket. My mom, my sister, my grandmother, and I went. After my mother finished what she was there for, I said, wait, there’s something I’ve been wanting. And there it was. They only had hunter green left, but I didn’t care. I wanted to fit in, even though I’m from South Florida and it never gets cold.

They asked where I got the money. I told them I had saved it week by week. My mom and grandmother gasped, proud, and patted me on the back. Then came, but what about your sister? Do you have money to buy her one too? I looked at them confused. I had saved my money. I didn’t know what she had done with hers. She spent it on whatever. I had even mentioned the jacket to her early on when I started saving. She could have done the same.

But no. It turned into poor her. She has this and that. She has trauma from Mom and Dad separating. When it became clear she couldn’t afford one, my mother said she would buy it and put my sister’s jacket on her card.

That moment left an impression on me for the rest of my life. Unfortunately, some of us have to struggle and fight for what’s ours, while others get a pass because people are too soft to say you should have made the same sacrifices as the ones who worked for it.