Former Poor Kids Share Things They Never Had That Their Friends Took For Granted

January 21, 2020, 3:57 pm

When it comes to class, different situations can seem like entirely different worlds. Many of us grew up to learn that household items we took for granted were seen as luxuries by some of the kids we sat next to in school, and other kids had things we thought were luxuries that they never appreciated. In that vein, Engine Books founder Victoria Barrett asked Twitter users who grew up poor to share examples of these items.

Barrett, who seems to have experienced childhood poverty herself, shared some of her own examples.

According to the National Center for Children in Poverty, 21 percent of all children in the U.S., totaling 15 million kids, live below the poverty line. Additionally, based on research into how much families actually need to earn in order to afford basic expenses, they estimate that 43 percent of all America’s children live in what they consider to be low-income households.

It can be hard for people who have never experienced much financial stress to understand how hard it is on both parents and children. The divide between the rich and poor in this country has gotten so bad that some of the rich think that a million dollars isn’t a lot of money while people in poverty can’t afford band-aids.

Barrett’s post caught on quickly, with thousands of people sharing their own examples. In fact, Twitter apparently labeled the writer as a bot for trying to like so many of the responses.

She also retweeted many of the heart-breaking replies, as well as praise from people saying that the thread will open your eyes. Whether you need a shot of empathy or to feel validated, it’s not a bad idea to look through some of these:

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*First Published: January 21, 2020, 3:57 pm