Poverty is the dirty word that few of us would ever use to describe ourselves.
It's true. There are now 10.1 million Americans who are classified by accepted statistics as the working poor, which of course does not include the masses who are on welfare.
Being poor I could write a book about it. Though I struggle to maintain my dignity and class in spite of circumstances, I could write volumes about poverty. I've struggled with that label the reality of it as a young child and as an adult. I've lived with the consequences of what could be defined as "parting with a part of my self-respect" in order to have the basics.
In fact, I think I should write a book about how to maintain one's self-esteem while being homeless, as an adult and a child in an orphanage. I've been there.
Being poor was once a label for those who didn't work, but today it's classified by a broader range of struggling persons who make minimum wage. An income that's simply not large enough to pay our rent and utilities and still put food on the table.
Being poor is, however, a state of mind.
For years I've been on a level of income classified as below middle class, but I've never seen myself as poor, not even in the midst of economic disaster; not even when I've allowed others to help me..
For through it all I've maintained that image of a writer, of one who was and is making it in spite of, and per-haps because of, the hardships I work with.
If living on an economic level that would fall under the guidelines of poverty is the place I have to be in order to succeed in my avocation, then that is a price that I willingly choose. It's urgent that I choose my priorities wisely to fit my needs.
The cemeteries are full of graves containing the remains of those who blended in with the crowd; those whom Roosevelt referred to as "living in the gray areas of life, knowing neither victory nor defeat."
When one allows only his income to be the focus of his energy, he may lose the luster of life. It takes courage to be yourself, to follow your dream, to even allow yourself to have less in order to have more of what you need most to survive.