People don't really know how terrible poverty is.
They think it's just a lack of money.
Meanwhile, it's lack of money, access, help, choice, mentorship, and so much more.
It's the absence of someone to guide you through doors you didn't even know existed.
It's watching opportunities pass by not because you're lazy, but because you never even heard they were calling.
It's waking up with talent in your bones, fire in your chest, but nowhere to pour it into.
It's being brilliant, but stuck, because brilliance alone can't buy data, can't pay transport, can't afford connections.
Poverty blocks travel. It blocks exposure. It blocks the kind of education that teaches you how to dream and reach.
It blocks safety, because when you're poor, even sickness becomes a luxury you can't afford to have.
It blocks creativity. Not because the ideas aren't there, but because survival takes up all the mental space.
It blocks confidence. When all you've ever known is lack, it rewires your self-worth.
It blocks voice. Because society listens differently to someone with empty pockets.
It blocks experimentation, because you can't afford to fail when failure means hunger, prison or even death.
It blocks rest. It steals sleep. It drains peace.
It blocks time, as everything takes longer when you have to figure it all out alone, from scratch, with no safety net.
It blocks joy. Not all of it, but the kind that lasts.
It blocks visibility. You can be exceptional and invisible at the same time if you're poor.
It blocks love. Real, safe, sustained love.
It blocks even the belief that things could ever be different.
But here's what makes it more tragic... Poverty is not just financial. It becomes mental. Emotional. Generational.
It passes down like an unwanted inheritance. A chain of silence, of limits, of "manage it like that,"
... of "this is how it's always been."
Gradually, it stops being just a condition. It becomes an environment. A culture. A cage.
So if you've escaped poverty, I congratulate you. What you have accomplished is in the list of top three most difficult things in the world. Please, don't just count your blessings, reach back, open doors and help some out too. Just be sure that you've escaped totally. You can pull people out of the well if you've made it outside the well. Doing it inside the well can make you fall back to the bottom.
If you're still in it, hold on. You're not crazy. You're not broken. The system is.
And if you're in a position to do something, do something. Not everyone needs a miracle. Sometimes, people just need a ride to the interview.
A connection. A kind word. A break.
What you feel is a negligible help might just be what they need to begin to break the chain.
People don't really know how terrible poverty is.
They think it's just a lack of money.
Meanwhile, it's lack of money, access, help, choice, mentorship, and so much more.
It's the absence of someone to guide you through doors you didn't even know existed.
It's watching opportunities pass by not because you're lazy, but because you never even heard they were calling.
It's waking up with talent in your bones, fire in your chest, but nowhere to pour it into.
It's being brilliant, but stuck, because brilliance alone can't buy data, can't pay transport, can't afford connections.
Poverty blocks travel. It blocks exposure. It blocks the kind of education that teaches you how to dream and reach.
It blocks safety, because when you're poor, even sickness becomes a luxury you can't afford to have.
It blocks creativity. Not because the ideas aren't there, but because survival takes up all the mental space.
It blocks confidence. When all you've ever known is lack, it rewires your self-worth.
It blocks voice. Because society listens differently to someone with empty pockets.
It blocks experimentation, because you can't afford to fail when failure means hunger, prison or even death.
It blocks rest. It steals sleep. It drains peace.
It blocks time, as everything takes longer when you have to figure it all out alone, from scratch, with no safety net.
It blocks joy. Not all of it, but the kind that lasts.
It blocks visibility. You can be exceptional and invisible at the same time if you're poor.
It blocks love. Real, safe, sustained love.
It blocks even the belief that things could ever be different.
But here's what makes it more tragic... Poverty is not just financial. It becomes mental. Emotional. Generational.
It passes down like an unwanted inheritance. A chain of silence, of limits, of "manage it like that,"
... of "this is how it's always been."
Gradually, it stops being just a condition. It becomes an environment. A culture. A cage.
So if you've escaped poverty, I congratulate you. What you have accomplished is in the list of top three most difficult things in the world. Please, don't just count your blessings, reach back, open doors and help some out too. Just be sure that you've escaped totally. You can pull people out of the well if you've made it outside the well. Doing it inside the well can make you fall back to the bottom.
If you're still in it, hold on. You're not crazy. You're not broken. The system is.
And if you're in a position to do something, do something. Not everyone needs a miracle. Sometimes, people just need a ride to the interview.
A connection. A kind word. A break.
What you feel is a negligible help might just be what they need to begin to break the chain.
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