14. “I don’t come from a super wealthy area, but some families here were able to grow their wealth or have generational wealth. Of course, one of the biggest indicators of wealth here is what kind of car you drive, especially when you’re a teenager. You could always tell whose parents had a lot of money by what car the kid drove to school. There was one kid I remember: He was two grades below me and drove a brand-new Ford F-350 — diesel, long bed, extended cab — probably one of the biggest trucks on the market at the time. It was lifted and had aftermarket wheels on it. Honestly, it was ridiculous and stood out in the parking lot like a sore thumb. This kid was obnoxious, always yelling in the hallways, either at his friends or the school staff, taking up four parking spots at a time, or whipping donuts in the back of the parking lot.”

“I remember hearing from my brother, who was in the same grade as this kid, that he had recently gotten into trouble with his mom, and she was trying to punish him in some way by not giving him anymore money for his truck (i.e., no more car wash, accessories, or gas money). Well, apparently, this really pissed the kid off, so he stole her credit card for weeks. He was fueling up on her dime the whole time and fueling his friends’ cars on her dime, too. I’m not sure what came of it; I never heard if he was held accountable for his actions, but it just blows me away that he had her card for weeks, and it seemed like nothing could be done about it. Like, why didn’t she just have her card shut off, or why didn’t she take his keys, or even disable his truck? Totally baffling.”

—Anonymous, 30, Idaho