Stuck in the Middle

The Rollercoaster of Status

Trouble at Home

Downwardly Mobile

Be Careful What You Wish For

Karen's dad is a career Army man, and Karen is a quintessential "Army brat," having lived ten places in twenty years. Although she has gotten used to the traveling, Karen had a hard time adjusting to the sharp changes in her social status that come with each move. Until the age of 10 she was oblivious to class differences, but when she hit middle school she began to notice how she was perceived by others. For a while the family lived in a small town in Western Pennsylvania, where her father, a colonel, was considered part of the local elite. Karen fondly remembers country club visits with her friends who were the daughters of the local banker and lawyer. But then her father was posted to the Pentagon, where colonels are a dime a dozen. She moved to rental housing in a Virginia suburb and felt excluded from the golden inner circle at her new high school. The family couldn't get into the "best" country club, her clothes seemed out of fashion, and Karen developed a sense of resentment that complicates her relationship with her parents.