Personal Narrative: Growing Up Poor

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Growing up poor is a funny occurrence - as a child, you never truly realize that your family is poor. Your parents explain to you, oh, Daddy has to make payments, Mommy is going to school, we just don't have a lot of money. You notice that your friends have Game Boys and you don't, "Santa" failed to deliver what you asked for, and Mom never hires a sitter when she goes to her college classes (she drops you off at your father's work instead) - but you never question any of it. You never think the "p word" because in your house, there is an unwritten rule that your family is not "poor"; such a term is reserved for the homeless and the Africans. And yet, you, yourself, are still poor. This is how I grew up - poor, but never "poor". My upbringing is the greatest …show more content…

However, working weekends at Church's Chicken, alongside taking AP courses and participating in extra-curricular activities, was no cake walk. But I lived through it. I adapted to a busy life, making a mantra out of Henry Ford's production strategy - "make no wasted movement". I made every motion productive, but gave myself breaks when I required rest. My own psychology was altered, and I put common sense and time management at the front line of my mental processes. I went to school during the week, practice after school, and kept going. I worked from nine to five on the weekend, then did homework after I clocked out, and kept going. I cooked meals for my family, pitched in to pay the bills, did homework some more, and kept going. I was a machine; I kept going, I kept going, I kept going. Here I stand presently. It is my senior year, and my work-school home schedule is not quite as hectic. However, it feels a bit different following my crazy junior year. I feel that now I am, in a way, more cultured from coexisting

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