The Perks of Being Poor

We’ve never been a rich family. We didn’t have a home that we can really call our own until I was about in my sophomore year in high school. So yes, you can say I was used to sharing rooms with siblings and having a toilet that would make you put up a fight before it takes away your poopies to whatever land it is that poopies go.

But hey, being poor also has its perks. Sure, I’d rather be rich than poor any day–I’m no hypocrite. Then again you have to make light of what life serves you because if you won’t, there’s nothing else to lose (remember, you’re already poor bwaha!) but your sanity.

Without further blah-blah, here are the perks of being poor brought to you by someone who’s perpetually one:

You discover cheap entertainment.

Constantly being short on money allows you to figure out alternative ways to do things. I can’t count the times I’ve looked with envy on my friends’ new stuff and felt a truckload of self-pity dumped on me. Like, I was one of the last people in my class to have a cell phone. I can’t relate to video games talk because we can’t afford to buy those expensive games. So when you can’t afford buying these stuff to entertain yourself, what do you do?

Kill yourself.

Nah. You learn to be creative. I learned that I don’t need anything to entertain myself other than pen and paper. I learned to draw. I learned to write and loved it. Until now. That is why you’re reading this.

I’m sorry.

You invent new recipes.

We’ve had lots of times when we had little to eat. Oh no, it’s nothing like what those children in Africa are having–we’re rich compared to those kids. What I mean is that our choices are really more limited. You can’t have steak, bacon, or fresh fruits every day. And don’t even think you can start “healthy living” because healthy food is damn expensive. There was even a time when all we had was rice and soy sauce and some cooking oil. What do you do when faced with nothing but those three ingredients?

You stuff it in your mouth (it wasn’t really that bad–you should try it).

A gnawing stomach will eat anything. If it isn’t for those three life-saving ingredients, I would’ve eaten my brother that time.

To thee, my brother bestoweth his eternal gratitude.

You’re more likely to be immune to an emerging social disease.

There’s nothing as effective for ego control as being poor.

Okay, there’s also being ugly and being a complete failure, but let’s just settle on being poor now, shall we? So yes, when you’re poor you’re probably also going to be infected with the Sense of Entitlement virus like so many people–but it’s unlikely you’d get a full-blown disease. When you’re poor of course you hope for better things to come to you, but you’re less likely to be bitchy and whiny about it. Being poor, you know that nothing will happen unless you do something. Thus, you’re more likely to take some action and work hard if you want to have something instead of waiting for it to come to your lap like what your grossly rich counterparts are used to.

Or perhaps you’re the kind who’s already so used to being poor that you settle into that lifestyle–into that mindset–and gave up trying to have better things in life or to be better in anything at all.

In which case, you suck.