Life as a Gamble

From reading Min Jin Lee's novel, we have seen that there can be certain factors that may rig the game of life against certain people. For me personally, I have not really felt that there are factors that make life rigged against me. In terms of race and ethnicity, I am only half white, but I have not really felt that my race or ethnicity has stopped me from getting opportunities in my life personally (although that is not the case for everyone).  I am fortunate enough (and thankful) to be able to attend a university too... In terms of gender, I think that men are more respected and sometimes I have heard that the pay gap in gender can affect women, but again, I have not really experienced that personally. 

But for a lot of people, it can be more difficult to move up the social ladder in life depending on what circumstances you are born into. For example, I know some people who are unable to attend college because they/their parents are unable to afford it or others who have to work 24/7 just to afford college or are only able to attend a community college.  Even in the novel, Noa's family felt the struggle of thinking about how they would pay for his college. Although Hansu helped out with it, I think it shows that it is a lot harder for people born into families, who do not have as much money, to move up the social ladder.

So I think that there are some factors that rig the game of life against people like economic status, race, and gender. I think that there is always a chance for people who feel that the odds are stacked against them to be able to move up in life... It just might require a little more work for some, which can make life a bit unfair.