I Grew Up Poor

People do not get it. I grew up poor, but my parents have taught me that American poverty equals being rich. They come from the 3rd world. They taught me the value of generosity, humility, and community, none of which applies to most Americans. I was bombarded by a culture shock everyday that I stepped into the classroom as I was going to grade school. The older I got the more complex, yet I found understanding at the end of every obstacle. It's like finding the treasures Jesus wanted me to find, the rewards are wisdom and knowledge. I try to not let this physical world make me lose myself, I do not want to live materialistically; it is not fulfilling to be at constant competition for trying to be better than the next man. I am over here simply trying to make my ends meet. My goal is to finally start living and not just surviving. Despite the hardship, this surviving has made me great at improvising, and giving people advice.

People do not understand how hard I try to move up the economic ladder. It is a lonely hike, but I am an introvert, I'll be just fine, having Jesus by my side. I found out he has always been there even when I was an atheist. When I think about that, it is a lovely reminder that there is more to this world at what we physically see. Spiritually, I am ascending, but to the physical eyes of another, I am still stuck with the same small amount of cash in my wallet. But truth be told, what I make now, is more than I ever made in my life, and they consider it below poverty line. I grew up poor, but I been picking up the jewels of knowledge on my way to spiritual ascension, to get closer to I AM...

Growing up poor taught me so many valuable lessons. They see me poor, but I feel quite rich because I have been enriching myself with knowledge, and I still am in that journey.

My father told me, "Don't let this American society make you materialistic, they have everything they need plus luxury, yet they want more and more, just to be better than the next man. They may view us as poor, but I feel quite rich, and financially this is the richest I've ever been. Now it is your turn to continue to elevate our name and motivate our people to do better."

Existentior · M

Tell me about it. I come from similar roots as you and the culture shock was also a great one for me when I immigrated. In elementary school, all the way through university, kids would find the concept of generosity and humility to be an alien thing.
In my senior year I was class president and I helped out each and every damn classmate individually, like they were my own children with all the strength of my heart because I had the empathy of what it was like to struggle and not understand things. I had experienced that struggle ever since I joined school here. Kids would already know the language and I would be laughed at for not knowing basic terms such as "bike" and I would have to learn things on my own from the ground up, making me a much more independently-thinking and stronger person than they would ever be, the molly-coddled, white-privileged saps.

I swear, at university my classmates all looked oddly at me and thought I was a weirdo for helping people. To them, helping others is a thing that doesn't exist. Why would you expect anything else? This Western society is full of selfish people.
Then one rich kid invited me to a huuuuuuuuge party where all the rich kids hung out. They found me weird because I never consumed a single drop of alcohol and when they asked me about my family, they were shocked to hear that I come from very poor means, while of course their parents are all CEO's of large corporations (but they cut me slack because I was class president. My integrity stood out and they respected me for that, for letting them pass their courses).
Hardship? That's unheard of in this modern society, especially in the middle upper class and especially in colleges for higher education, except for those few extremely hard-working and honest students (who usually make it).

Speaking of richness, there are indeed all kinds of richness, such as Danilov said in the movie Enemy at the gates:

Danilov:
I've been such a fool, Vassili. Man will always be man. There is no new man. We worked so hard to create a society that was equal, where there'd be nothing to envy your neighbour. But there's always something to envy. A smile, a friendship, something you don't have and want to appropriate. In this world, even a Soviet one, there will always be rich and poor. Rich in gifts, poor in gifts. Rich in love, poor in love.

I'm glad you shared your story!

AkAtSUki · F

@Existentior I'm glad you shared yours my friend. Yes, it is a joy to read your post because I agree with everything you stated. This western society is fat, lazy, inconsiderate, prideful, arrogant, and foolish.

lovelywarpedlemon

I want more of this

generosity, humility, and community

and everyone needs it. The global systems in place (GDP, monetary success) do not measure health and satisfaction of the people. We are living in a dark age, where corporations rule the world. People get caught up in politics and forget we are all human sharing the same Earth. We are cruel to each other. Nothing but competition, appearances. Our lives are filled with material distractions. And most people are okay with this because their basic needs for survival are met. But for many people this is not enough. And people kill themselves from sheer loneliness, isolation, and abuse. Addictions pacify people enough to keep them in their full-time jobs. Consumerism makes their lives seem not so bad... But we are going to stay lonely, passionless, and soul-poor unless we make some huge changes. And I think we will. But I'll take some more time. And a lot more suffering.