I grew up in a middle-class family, and honestly, I was given more than some of the people I went to high school with.

My family has always there for me, and I couldn't be more grateful to them. However, because of my background and the support I've received, many people have been working under the assumption that I am 'entitled.'

This became blatantly apparent at one of my recent work calls for a class of mine. I was talking to a girl, a freshman, about having to do my laundry. She responded by saying she also had to do hers. Attempting to make conversation, I said something along the lines of, "yeah, that's one of the things I miss about the dorms. Believe me, doing laundry gets a lot more annoying when you can't use six different machines."

I said this very lightheartedly - I was in no way condescending and had said it mostly to add something to the conversation. Yet, what she said next floored me:

"Well, I did my own laundry when I lived at home because I wasn't entitled."

I was completely taken aback - I'm not a person that believes the world owes them anything, but by making a harmless remark about laundry, this girl had been made to believe that I was.

Yes, my mom did my laundry in high school, but I don't believe it was something required of her - I appreciated it. Even now, as a sophomore in college, I bring my laundry to my parent's house whenever I come home (their washer and dryer is better than mine) with the full intent to do it myself, yet by the time I wake up in the morning my mom has already done it.

Just because my mother chooses to do something out of the kindness of her heart does not mean I am entitled.

I don't say or even think that I am deserving of special treatment. My mother did my laundry in high school - but that doesn't mean that I don't still work my ass off like people whose parents didn't do their laundry. I've had a job since I was 15 years old, and now, at 19, am working two jobs while enrolled in 18 credit hours. I'm not going to pretend that I don't have several nice things, but having them is not the same thing as them being handed to me.

I have a 2016 Toyota Corolla that I bought myself, and that I was responsible for the insurance, sales tax, and monthly car payments on. When my phone broke, it came out of my pocket. I have a Kate Spade bed set that I waited for to go on sale and that I used coupons for. Every Christmas/Birthday/Mother's Day I try my very best to find my mother something I think she'd enjoy, as an attempt to give her back some of what she's given to me because I'm extremely grateful for everything she's done.

The idea that someone is entitled just because they came from a middle-class (or upper-class) family is absolutely absurd. I've been dealing with people thinking I was born with a silver spoon in my mouth for quite some time, and it still bothers me. I wasn't handed everything in my life, and have had to work hard for the things I have.

For me to be seen as successful, I have to work twice as hard, so people don't attribute any success I have to me growing up 'entitled.'