Monday October 10, 1870The Gilded Age was a difficult time for me and other families where it was difficult to lead a life and prosper. Long hours and low wages were common because owners could find low wages. -cost of workers. Without unions, I and the rest of the workers were exposed to extended hours at a time when overtime pay was not possible. With limited opportunities, workers like me and their families had jobs that we struggled with and had no hope of getting far in life. During the Gilded Age, there were two social classes, the rich and the poor and, unfortunately, I was in the poor social class. The Golden Age had a meaning and I had an idea of ​​what it meant: "Golden means covered with a layer of gold, but it also suggests that the glittering surface covers a core of little real value and is therefore misleading” (Foner, 609). We workers did what we had to do to make our city look good, but inside we were miserable and struggling just to be able to eat and survive to live another day. Today is another day of hard work, struggle, depression and nothing to look forward to. Times were getting worse for me and my family. I'm just an eight-year-old American girl struggling to make a living. I never imagined that at such a young age I would have to work so hard to earn a living. My family and I lived in an overcrowded house with no space to breathe. I had to do as I was told and obey the orders of the richest people who were our owners. They controlled me and I had no choice but to do as I was told. I realized that the richest had more resources, social benefits and better living conditions. People, who were poor like me, had no provisions, no social benefits, or good living conditions. My life consists of... middle of paper ...... aging as the days go by. I began to realize that businesses were built on child labor, that child labor was what allowed big businesses to function, and that without it they were nothing. The government was so selfish that it sought to make big profits and pay so little. Children like me were exactly what they wanted because we were minors and at that time we didn't think about creating a union. What really upset me was that the factory where I worked treated me like an adult and treated me so harshly. I was so young and was treated like dirt, constantly bossed around, working non-stop and being paid so little. But I had to do it and I had no other choice, so I followed every order I was given. I needed this job more than anything. My life was not getting better with time. I just tried to survive and provide for my family.