Everyone knows of the great American dream of rags to riches. The idea is that opportunity exists to pull ones self up by the boot straps and climb the social strata.
With poverty and class issues as they exist today, I can see many valid arguments for why this may be much better in theory than reality. The poor in America are for a large part handicapped by the economic and social conditions that surround them. Getting out is not as easy as it may sound.
I however believe that it is possible to climb the ladder of success. I grew up in in rural Oregon right on the poverty line. Growing up I wasn’t really aware of this. Had you asked me in grade school or high school where I fit, I would have said middle to upper-middle class. Of course this was comparing myself to those around me in rural Oregon, those under the poverty line. I think that my inability to recognize that I was not in a good economic condition allowed me to function as if I were in a higher social class than I ever really was.
For instance, when I finished high school I only applied, and go in, to two prestigious liberal arts colleges (Lewis & Clark College & University of Puget Sound). I didn’t really consider the fact that my parents had saved zero money for my education as a barrier to the education that I felt was right for me.
After facing challenges in funding this education I made my way through college by working two jobs and putting all of my savings to pay for the next semester of tuition. It may not have been easy, but it got me through.
I recall being in my intro to econ class when it finally occurred to me that I was perhaps out of my league. He mentioned that the average family income for a student at Lewis & Clark was $70k at that time (keep in mind that Oregon incomes are not the highest in the US). I was struck by this and felt even more fortunate to have made my way into this world.
The interesting thing that I discovered in college was that suddenly I had more money than any of my roommates. All of them received generous allowances from their parents, but then promptly blew it all. I was the only one of them with a chunk of change in the bank, until it was time to pay my next tuition bill that is.
Ten years later I likely have more money and make more money than most of my cohorts at the time. I now make six times what my parents take home. It goes to show that it is possible to make your way in the world.
Looking back I think it had much more to do with gumption and stick to-it-tive–ness than it did economics. Going in to college I did the math at what it would take to make it through and numbers alone would have told me to head to the nearest community college. I believe that the social skills in being able to fake it until you make it also paid off big time.
I don’t think that my story shows that anyone can make it out of poverty, but it does should that there is the opportunity to do so.
Readers: I’d love to hear your stories of making it or not.
Best,
Miel
P.S. Check out Nickel and Dimed – On (Not) Getting By in America, by Barbara Ehrenreich for more on the poverty cycle.
No Comments yet!