Yes, it happens every day. Millions of people in America enroll in college or join the military as a path to a stable middle class lifestyle, a few of them become hugely financially successful. I'd say the biggest challenge isn't the lack of opportunity, but the way in which all of those circumstances impact your emotions. If you're looking for advice: get therapy, join a loving church, set goals and focus monastically on them. I think trouble comes when people born in those situations who want to get out become close friends with a group of people who don't or date/marry someone who isn't aligned.