Through spending time living in Ghana, I have truly started to understand the difference between necessities and privileges and how to carefully distinguish between the two.

Coming from the United States, there are a lot of things I experience and use on a daily basis back home that I truly don’t think twice about. For example, I do my laundry using a washing machine. If I don’t have my own washing machine, which I acknowledge is a privilege to some in the States, I would simply go to a friend’s house or a laundry mat to clean my clothes. So what would one do if they didn’t have access to either? In Ghana, the majority of people don’t.

I suppose owning a washing machine isn’t a strong example of something overlooked as a privilege, so I’ll continue to further my point.

As of three weeks ago, I didn’t think water pressure was a privilege. Additionally, I never really thought twice about having a hot and cold water option on both my sink and shower. I’ll take this time to clearly state that both are a privilege. In fact, simply having indoor plumbing is a privilege. I know most of the people residing in the United States would disagree, but when you think of a continent nearly three times the size of North America with the majority of the population not having access to these things, it really makes one think twice about the so-called “necessities” most of us overlook on a daily basis.

If you’re not convinced just yet, here’s another example: having endless access to safe, clean drinking water is a huge privilege. It truly is. Furthermore, having access to malaria pills, mosquito nets, hand sanitizer, cable TV, beds, and even sanitary healthcare facilities ARE a privilege. Many people may think of these things as necessities, but when you put in to perspective that millions of people go about their daily lives not having access to any of these things but are still surviving, it becomes difficult for me to categorize these privileges as “necessities.”

Moving from tangible items to emotional and spiritual beliefs, getting to marry a man you’re in love with regardless of what other people in your family may think or say, is in fact a privilege.

I was having lunch with one of my co-workers the other day and we began discussing marriages in Ghana versus marriages in the States. My friend explained that in Ghana, a marriage is not simply a union between the two individuals getting married; it is a union between them and their entire families.

For example, if two people were to fall madly in love, date for multiple years, and have the potential for a lifelong union but their parents disapproved of the man, even due to a poor reputation his surname holds because of an inadequate distant relative, the two would not be allowed to marry. Moreover, if the two lovers decided to go ahead and marry anyway, they would essentially be shunned by their entire family, and no family member would help should the couple run in to marriage issues later down the road.

I was shocked when learning of this difference in cultures, and I found myself asking, “Doesn’t it matter that the two people are madly in love with each other and would make a good fit?” My friend’s response: “Well to the people who love each other, yes, but to everyone else, no.”

My point?

It’s certainly not to put down Ghanaians or any aspect of their culture. It’s to (hopefully) widen the eyes of most Americans who overlook privileges as necessities every single day, and don’t even stop to think twice about it.

Often times in the United States I find myself stressing out about the most minute of circumstances, and I am often guilty of feeling bad for myself and acting like things couldn’t get much worse when issues arise. However, through spending time in Ghana, I’ve learned that people don’t need much at all to not only survive, but also be happy.

Every single day I walk up and walk down the street to see poverty-stricken families looking happier than any spoiled American I’ve ever seen. These people don’t have much, but they make the most of everything they have, and they get by with a lot of love to mend the gaps where they—materialistically speaking—“fall short.”

I’m sure several arguably ignorant westerners would disagree with me, but people in western cultures have a lot to learn from Ghanaians. In fact, I think most of us would be much better off if we adopted their seemingly simple ways of life, and focused less of our attention and time on gaining “necessities” and “privileges,” and more of our time focusing on love.