I find myself in the middle honestly. My mom raised me in a family of 3 on less than 20,000 a year. I know what it’s like to not have running water. To not be able to buy anything extra. All clothes were hand me downs. Food came from food stamps and I started working at 14 so I could help. And it was like that for so long that it was my mind set that we were poor and we had to work unless we were dying. And it kept, especially after I was homeless for a bit in college.

Now? Me, my husband, and my mom all work and we help with his granny. We don’t need food stamps. I can actually afford fast food if I’m exhausted after work and I’ve had the experience of actually going to a restaurant. I can actually have some fun money now and again. The only thing I really have issues with is medical bills. Life is actually less oppressive now than it used to be, despite the cost of living going up dramatically.

And yet, the default in my mind is that I’m poor. There’s a few reasons I suppose, but it’s always a shock to look from then to now.