"Macam orang biasa je"

Funny how my subordinates - and even peers - reacted when they learned that Mak used to be in a rather senior position before her retirement in the civil service.

"Tapi puan macam orang biasa je..."

"Eh, memanglah saya orang biasa je. Takkan saya mutant pula, orang luar biasa.."

"Isy, taklah. Maksud saya, puan ni anak orang berada tapi macam biasa-biasa je"

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Sometimes I wonder what do people expect from the children of ex senior civil servants?
I know that another friend of mine who shares almost similar background with me kept being told that she's "macam orang biasa je" when others find out about her background.
We sometimes asked each other - what are other people's expectation of us?
I mean, okay, our parents used to be in senior position.
And yes, our parents used to make quite a lot compared to others in the civil service.
So?
What is there that make people almost always tell us that we are "macam orang biasa"?
Are we supposed to be unlike "orang biasa"?
Are we expected to be "luar biasa"?
In what way?
It's almost like there are expectation for us to be spoilt brats or the like.
Seriously.

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Trust me, there were moments that we wished we are actually "orang biasa-biasa"
The friend I mentioned had trouble persuading the guy she was interested in, that her family had no objection against her marrying him, whose family background is "biasa-biasa saja".
He insisted that only birds of the same feather should fly together.
She was broken hearted.
And remain unmarried until today.

Once a long time ago, I was interested in a guy who hailed from a rural area, who used to rubber-tap and he claimed that his house had no indoor toilet.
I told him that I had no trouble accepting him, his family, his rural way of life and all.
He insisted that I might.
"You've grown accustomed to living in a big house, having a maid, not getting your hands dirty doing nitty gritty stuff. There is no way you could adjust to living the way my family does"
It was really frustrating.
I wanted to give us a chance, but he gave me no real chance to prove myself to him.
All because he believed that I do not come from a "biasa-biasa saja" family background.

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It hurts - when one is told by the person she's interested in that they could not be together because she deserves 'someone better'.
It hurts even more - when what he meant by 'better' is only in financial terms.

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We have been raised by parents who do not look down upon others because they in turn, were raised by parents who had undergone lots of hardship.
We were made never to forget our roots.
We were made to realize that it's just Allah's rezeki for us and not our own doings that put us in the comfortable zone.
We were trained never to differentiate others because of one's wealth or status.
We were trained to accept others as who they are.
Sometimes it's quite frustrating when others do not accept us for who we are.
But rather, (mis)judge us for who our parents are.