Who you are and how you treat people means so much more than any amount of money. I grew up in a small, wealthy town. We were by no means poor, but my classmates certainly thought so. As I got older, I saw challenges that other families had and felt so much gratitude for all that I had. I felt so blessed and lucky.
Because of the kinds of homes my friends had and opportunities, at times I didn’t feel good enough, or that I didn’t have the luxury of certain things. In high school, while my friends were off playing pranks and being kids, I was working from the time I left school to sometimes 10 at night. Then I would come home, heat up a plate of food in the microwave that my mom had put in the refrigerator for me and get started on homework. Sometimes I even worked two jobs at any given time.
I wasn’t working for riches, though. I was working to pay for things I needed, like clothes or our school trip to Florida. I was also saving money for college, even though I had no idea what I really wanted to do.
Now I don’t think that my friends had it easier than me – quite the opposite. I am so grateful and thankful for those struggles because it taught me a lot about managing finances and practicing delayed gratification. These lessons were invaluable to me, and I wouldn’t trade them for anything.
Building character, overcoming struggles and challenges, and sharing your story is so much more important than what you have. It’s more important than the kind of car you drive (I drove an old, light blue 1984 Chevy Chevette while saving up for a car – my friends called it The Gremlin!) or house you live in. Those are just things that can be taken from you when you least expect it. It is our unfiltered stories and personal victories that inspire others, not what we have.
