What's Wrong With Being Poor?

I'm currently watching this Korean drama series titled "My Strange Hero" starring Yoo Seung Ho, Jo Bo Ah, and Kwak Dong Yeon. This drama is about a High School student who was expelled from school due to being falsely accused of something he did not do. Then when the student grew old, he went back to the same school and seeks for revenge.

As I was watching the drama, one line from Jo Bo Ah caught my attention. Son Soo Jeong, Jo Bo Ah's character, asked,

"What's wrong with being poor?"

Soo Jeong was hiding the fact that he comes from a poor family to her classmates, while her classmates thought that she is rich and could afford a tutor. And when her classmates found out about it, she was accused of being a liar for hiding the truth about her status.

Anyway, upon hearing that question, those words immediately snatched me away from the drama and made me try to realize and answer that question, and that is why I'm writing this right now.

Is being poor something to be ashamed of? Do we have to pretend that we are rich, or at least have the means to live a more comfortable life? What's wrong with being poor?

I personally come from a poor family. I wasn't born with a silver spoon in my mouth. My father is a farmer and my mother is a housewife.

We don't have a huge house. In fact, when I was still a kid, our roof had a lot of wholes that every time it rains, we have to use plastic basins and pails just to catch the raindrops from the roof and for it not to get in. And every time there is a typhoon passing by our area, the rain would get inside the house and the water would be up to the knee level. It still happens sometimes because our house is not yet totally renovated so it's also one of the reasons why I need to work hard.

I also remember, when I was still a kid, my parents would bring us to the rice field for us to help them during the farming season. My brother would help my father in transplanting the plants that my mother and I pulled from the seedbed.

Then I recall, when my mother and I just came home from the rice field, some of my elementary classmates dropped by at our house and they looked disgusted because of how I looked, messy and muddy. I somehow felt humiliated that time and that's when I felt a little embarrassed for being just a poor girl who goes to the farm when most of my girl classmates were in their fancy dresses and just playing with their friends.

Growing up, being poor was my greatest insecurity. We didn't have a huge house. My father even just call our house "tagpi-tagpi" that is why whenever my friends want to hang out at our house, I would feel embarrassed because they might just be disappointed about it. When I was still young, there were times that I didn't receive any allowance because we were short of money. Sometimes, we don't have any viand so we would just fill our empty tummy with rice and a mixture of soy sauce and cooking oil, and shrimp paste.

Being poor, there were school activities that I wasn't able to join because of the expensive registration fees. There were opportunities that I missed because we were lacking money.

What's wrong with being poor?

To be honest, there's nothing to be ashamed of with being poor. However, being poor is a hindrance to experiencing some of the things that we should experience. It is an obstacle to achieving the goals and dreams that we also want to accomplish in this lifetime.

But on the other hand, being poor also gives us the opportunity to be stronger, wiser, and more courageous in life.

Life may seem to be a little better when we are born rich and have plenty of money, but being born poor yet still striving in life will give us a more meaningful and fulfilling journey.

A wise man said, "If you are born poor it's not your mistake, but if you die poor it's your mistake."

I used to believe in this statement. I used to think that if after how many decades of living and you're still struggling in life, you're the problem. However, life is not always fair and not everyone is given the same opportunity in life. But on the other hand, just because life keeps knocking you down doesn't mean you have to stop getting back up. So no matter how tough life is right now, don't give up and don't let poverty become a hindrance for you to achieve greater heights in life.