Something I really took for granted as a kid was all the luxuries my parents’ home had. When I was young I thought that everyone had appliances like dishwashers and washing machines, but I was wrong. We were very lucky to have these things, especially in the area that I grew up. I only realised that these were luxury items when I went to my best friend’s house and realised he didn’t have the same things we had. I went home and asked my Mum about it, and that was the first time I realised that there was some significant inequality in the world.
Something I surprisingly never noticed was that not everyone had central ducted heating in their homes. I only realised this once I moved out of home. I refused to move out before I could purchase my own home, so I didn’t move until I turned thirty-two. This was significantly later than my friends and majority of people around me, but I had a ten year plan that I wanted to stick to, and that involved saving as much money as possible. It’s extremely difficult to save money when you’re paying hundreds of dollars in rent each week, so staying at home was the way to go. Luckily for me, my parents made a point of getting regular heating services. Sydney can get quite cold in the winter months, and it would have been extremely tough on the people living without heating in their homes.
I am now one of those people. Thankfully I’m lucky enough to have a dishwasher and washing machine, but I will have to get ducted heating installed in the near future. I won’t be able to survive the winter months without a heater. I’m quite emotional right now thinking about the people who have no choice but to tough out the cold. Life truly is unfair and I really hope that one day everyone is able to afford basic heating.