intersectionality

I grew up in a middle class household with one sister and both of my parents. They recently celebrated their 30 year wedding anniversary. While we weren't jetting off to the Hamptons for vacation, we always had enough money to make ends meet. My father was working on his doctoral dissertation while I grew up, which meant he spent a lot of time at home, and was always available for me when I needed him. My mother worked a lot of the time, but was also always supportive and was able to take off work to stay home with me if I was sick. One of them was almost always available to care for me when I was little, or take me places as I got older. They felt that my education was very important, and carefully chose schools that they felt would help me love learning. I was in an "alternative" private school through fifth grade that encouraged developing interests and individualized learning. There were three children in my grade, 41 in the school, ranging from pre-K to seventh grade. I loved school, and consider myself very fortunate to have been able to have that experience. My entire childhood centered around having two very involved parents, doing everything they could to make sure I got a solid education that I enjoyed.
In seventh grade, I started at School of the Arts, an arts centered public high school. Around 85% of the students were not white, and about 80% of students received free or reduced price lunches. While I am white and was never aware of financial problems, I had the opportunity to interact with many people of different backgrounds. When I arrived at SUNY Fredonia, I realized that many students did not have that opportunity.
I knew that I was both heterosexual and cisgender in preschool, when I "married" three different boys. There was never a time in my development when I questioned either of these, I just knew. There was never a time that I had to "come out" to anyone, everyone that I interacted with assumed that I was both female and heterosexual.
I first noticed the unequal treatment of women early in high school, when I was called incredibly negative names for nothing other than the fact that I had started growing larger breasts than my peers felt I should have had.  I received anonymous messages online calling me ugly and telling me to stop stuffing my bra. My body was apparently the business of all of the students in my class. I was catcalled by middle aged men in cars as I walked home from the bus stop after school. My identity as a feminist grew as I got older and recognized that these aren't just high schoolers being stupid and gross old men, they are signs of a harmful societal belief system.
I try to check my privilege frequently, and I know that The fact that I am white, that I grew up in a middle class household with married parents, and that I am heterosexual and cisgender. I realize that by having these characteristics, I never struggle to see women like me in the media. Being tall and skinny, every magazine is full of women that look exactly like me. I am not expected to speak for all people like me, and my actions are not attributed to "all white people" or "all straight people." I have privileges that I have done nothing to earn, and that a lot of other people will never have, based on the circumstances in which we were born and brought up.