This is Real, That's Not
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This is Real, That's Not
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Re: This is Real, That's Not
#2This was a great deal better read and for my mind than I anticipated going in. It’s also worth noting since I’m commenting that I have the inverse class experience (I grew up literally eating garbage at times because we couldn’t afford food, I still present as trash even after years in the upper middle), but that inverse has always carried with it an understanding that what comfort I have might be gone in an instant.
The author is partly right that reconciling what ought to be and what is... is a powerful part of navigating the way out. But part of that reconciliation for me is also recognizing that what is doesn’t reflect what should be. And that the people most at the whims of what is are not often equipped to do more than escape, “rescue” or not.
Re: This is Real, That's Not
#3Great read. The movie quote really resonated with me. I am well to do now but have had the anxiety and fear of someday losing it all.
Re: This is Real, That's Not
#4Fantastic read!
Always remember that "money doesn't buy happiness" is the shibboleth for people who always had money. Bring that up next time someone says it. Fun reaction guaranteed.
I like to follow it up with my favorite slavic saying: "Sure money won't make you happy, but crying in a Ferrari is much nicer than on the bus"
Re: This is Real, That's Not
#5Fantastic read! Always remember that "money doesn't buy happiness" is the shibboleth for people who always had money. Bring that up next time someone says it. Fun reaction guaranteed. I like to follow it up with my favorite slavic saying: "Sure money won't make you happy, but crying in a Ferrari is much nicer than on the bus"
I agree It's such a crazy statement. If going to the supermarket and buying whatever you want doesn't seem like a crazy luxury, you've got a 1% station only perspective.
Re: This is Real, That's Not
#6As I read the post, especially the references to Metafilter in combination with a lesson about homelessness, I thought to myself, “This sounds like DoreenMichele.”
I press the back button and, see it is submitted by them. I press the forward button and scroll to the top and it was written by them.
It’s a small world.
Re: This is Real, That's Not
#7What a great read. This resonates with me. At one point in my life I was desperately close to homelessness. At the time I was lucky to still be enrolled at a university and could therefore easily take out as many loans as I needed. It was a horribly risky gamble I wouldn’t wish on anyone, but without going into more details of my life story I barely managed to graduate and find a successful career. I was able to pay off all that debt (nearly 150k) in 4 years. I recognize soberly that my story is the exception and far from the rule. I had a lot of luck. But from that experience I can say nobody should have to experience this. Especially not in the most wealthy nation in the history of the world.
- edit: I just want to add the experience nearly broke me, to the point friends and family barely recognized me and the looks I remember in their faces still haunt me. That transition after graduating and starting to make money to being a person who could interact with others who never got so close to total disaster was just as hard.
Please be kind. You just don’t know what someone has been through.
Re: This is Real, That's Not
#8I imagine it’s easier to go from middle/upper class to homeless and then bounce back, than it is to bounce back to a place you’ve never been.
For my own homeless experiences (~5 years), I was able to jump back because of work history and experience that would not have existed if my life had started out otherwise.
More cross-the-tracks experiences would undoubtedly make the world a more tolerant, understanding, and uplifting place to live. Though I can’t say I’d wish my personal trauma on any specific person. I’m thankful for the perspective gained, but it would be easier to prescribe if there were less long-term-costly means of gaining it.
Re: This is Real, That's Not
#9Since it's not spelled out in the article, what is a better mental model for how the world works?
Re: This is Real, That's Not
#10Fantastic read! Always remember that "money doesn't buy happiness" is the shibboleth for people who always had money. Bring that up next time someone says it. Fun reaction guaranteed. I like to follow it up with my favorite slavic saying: "Sure money won't make you happy, but crying in a Ferrari is much nicer than on the bus"
Easily the worst time of my life was during a 1 year eviction. I even dated a girl for a brief period who told me the ' you can always have a good attitude' thing.
Years later when a met someone else struggling to find safe housing, I told them 'always stay positive, attitude' is bullshit. Allow yourself to be upset.
Money buys security. Security means one less thing to worry about.
I'm very grateful for the career I have now. Started with trying to copy Unity scripts from youtube videos and I'm a senior level dev now. Paying my rent early gives me an endorphin rush