Question
1] As a kid, I dreamt of a magical land of two-parent families and two-story houses. A
land where everyone shopped without looking at price tags and ate at restaurants with
multiple forks and non-disposable napkins. I imagined that people who had two parents
and two floors had no problems and many Polo shirts. I knew almost no one who had
either.
[2] After I grew up and left Prince George’s County, Maryland, to go to college in the
Midwest, I rarely discussed where I came from. I quickly skipped over the conversation
when people asked, referring vaguely to “just outside of Washington” before moving on
to the next topic. Out of college I worked with people who had never known the inside of
a Marshall’s, clipped a coupon — let alone knew what a double coupon was — or
walked the front lawn of a yard sale looking for clothes or dishes
Why did the narrator avoid discussing their hometown in college?
land where everyone shopped without looking at price tags and ate at restaurants with
multiple forks and non-disposable napkins. I imagined that people who had two parents
and two floors had no problems and many Polo shirts. I knew almost no one who had
either.
[2] After I grew up and left Prince George’s County, Maryland, to go to college in the
Midwest, I rarely discussed where I came from. I quickly skipped over the conversation
when people asked, referring vaguely to “just outside of Washington” before moving on
to the next topic. Out of college I worked with people who had never known the inside of
a Marshall’s, clipped a coupon — let alone knew what a double coupon was — or
walked the front lawn of a yard sale looking for clothes or dishes
Why did the narrator avoid discussing their hometown in college?
Answers
GPT-4o mini
The narrator avoided discussing their hometown in college likely due to feelings of insecurity or discomfort about their background. They described a dream of a "magical land" that was starkly different from their own experiences, suggesting a sense of inadequacy or a desire to distance themselves from a past they perceived as less privileged. By referring vaguely to "just outside of Washington," the narrator may have been trying to align themselves more closely with peers who came from a wealthier background, thereby avoiding potential judgment or misunderstanding about their upbringing. This reflects a broader theme of social class and the contrast between their own experiences and those of their college peers.