It seems like for a long time, pretty much since I arrived at college, I have been hearing animosity towards students whose parents pay for their education and living expenses. For some reason this semester it has been more abundant. Being one of those lucky little souls who wakes up to breakfast in bed (I spit it out and throw it across the room if it is cold, so watch out), I have a few logical responses to this bitterness:

How am I putting my hand in anyone else’s cookie jar? Last time I checked, as far as financial aid goes, it is the exact opposite. There is only so much financial aid going around, and the less kids there are that use it, the more money each student who does use it will receive.

I could see how I might be hated if I declared independence so that I could appear to be penniless in order to receive tons of financial aid, while having my parents still pay for my tuition and living expenses. You could especially be disgusted with me if I used the financial aid to buy a bunch of stuff I didn’t need – like a four-bedroom apartment just for me, to store gold bars in the spare bedrooms, of course. That would be a good cause for resentment.

I could also understand hating me if my parents and I took out student loans to play the stock market because the interest is so cheap; If we did online trading while looking up pictures of poor kids and laughing hysterically, that too would be wrong. Fun. But wrong nonetheless.

Possibly the resentment stems from me not having a job. I know plenty of kids that lived in mansions from my high school who have jobs just for fun – to congregate with the little people. Would you want me working with you at The Gap? When I wasn’t painting my nails, I’d be talking on the phone. Then I’d be buying every outfit/accessory/cosmetic supply in sight and throwing it on the floor two minutes later because I am over it.

It would only remind you that I am nouveau riche and loving every minute of it, while you eat porridge and feel the breeze through the hole in your shoe. Also, don’t blame me for not having a job – there are plenty of students here who get financial aid and don’t work either.

Maybe the anger is based on my lack of financial independence teamed with my ability to live the freewheeling life of a college student. There are only two problems with that theory: I don’t waste tons of my parents’ money partying, and I don’t have all the free time in the world. Although I have tried to coax them on many occasions, my parents do not live on a little rug at the foot of my bed doing my homework for me. They said it would be cramped and dishonest.

Trust me kiddos, since I’m on my own once I get out of here, something tells me I will know what it is like to be poor. I’ll be choosing between food and clothing (dinner at Liluma and a new Juicy Couture purse), heat and electricity (I have, like, ten down comforters, I’ll be good – plus I can always stop leaving all the lights and the TV on when I’m not at home…), cable and my pet chinchillas (cable wins. Sorry boys) and a maid and a chef (Pff. My roommate can be both). These are choices nobody should have to make; yet five months from now, I will be making them. Don’t cry for me. Simply remember this when you start hating the Richie Riches around here. Chances are many of us “rich kids” are going to have a rude awakening that you might already be equipped for.