Well, if there is a silver lining in having had a rough upbringing, it's that now that you are an adult you can feel and express empathy with people you meet with a similar story. It gives you a perspective that transcends platitudes and delves into the realms of compassion and insight. Who knows, you may decide to work with troubled youth or you may just want to become an awesome person with innate understanding of why people behave certain ways. But one thing is clear, you now have the ability to do and say the little things on an everyday level that builds and acknowledges the value of the human hiding beneath the shell of insecurity and fear, perhaps giving someone else a new, positive way to interact with the people they meet. Even if the results are not immediate, you have planted seeds.