I was glued to a documentary that dealt with British youth that grew up in the poorest neighbourhoods. They didn’t know their dads, and few had relationships with the mothers. Of the group filmed, one was out on bail, one was pregnant and one lived alone and earned 3 times less than minimum wage as a shelf packer in a supermarket. All were on some kind of government benefit and they were all desperate and bitter. The one thing that set the most ‘successful’ of the 3 apart was her attitude; her desire to succeed despite her struggle to get going. I honestly felt desperate for her. I wanted to help her so much as she expressed a desire to simply cook a meal for herself but she couldn’t afford to put a power cable on her broken stove. To be so close to a break. To want to succeed in life but not getting any momentum. To want so badly to just be a teenager, but plunged into the life of a responsible adult. It made me feel for her.
How many young people are so desperate to just be young but have to take care of their own children? How many young children have to care for their siblings because mom and dad are no longer around? There seems almost no chance of getting out of this cycle. It’s so destructive and it’s so desperate and it all feels so hopeless. Are you poor? Maybe you don’t have enough money to buy what your family needs, and you’re so desperate. You’ll do anything to help them and the burning desire in your heart is to give them a better life, but you can’t. But what if, despite the lack of money to have the luxuries that we often long for, your children feel loved and feel valued. Aren’t they rich, despite being financially lacking, or am I living in another universe; Planet La La Land? Perhaps it’s not possible to flourish emotionally when you survive in a space of continued desperation. Maybe you just have to throw your hands in the air and say that everything is hopeless, and the ‘living’ has to be left to those that can afford it.
I’m a dreamer, but I wasn’t born yesterday. I’ve struggled at too many points in my life for it to even seem fair, but I’ve somehow made it through. I admit very openly that I’ve probably always had things in my favour because of the opportunities my parents had and they could pass that onto me. I might not understand the plight of the majority that exist around me, but there is this niggle inside of me that there must be a way out. There must be an opportunity that someone could be given that would be the leg up that they need to succeed. It won’t happen overnight, and seldom lands in your lap. It will require the personal desire to change, and then that success needs to trickle down to the family, whether with financial aid, or just the proof that it can be done. I sincerely doubt that anyone would say that they want a life of desperation, but those that want to make more of their opportunities will need help. How do you know if you can succeed if no one shows you how or even can convince you that it’s possible.
I’d love to hear what you have to say about this controversial topic. Is there hope, despite what the past has dished out, or is success only for those that have had greater privilege?