Poor

There was a time in my life when back to school shopping consisted of a trip to the Salvation Army for "new" clothes. It never occurred to me at the time that this was not where everyone went shopping. Then one day this happened:

I was in 7th grade. A teacher was driving me and another student somewhere on some Student Council related errand.  We were sitting three across in the front seat of her car.  I was in the middle. The other student, also a girl, glanced down at my jeans.  They were bell bottoms with rainbows embroidered  the length of the legs. (Give me a break, it was the late '70s)  There was a spot around the right knee where some of the stitching had come out. 

"Huh." the girl said, "I used to have a pair of jeans just like those.  I out grew them and my mom gave them away."

I was mortified.

For the first time in my life I realized that those clothes we got so cheaply had once belonged to actual people.

If I could have, I would never have worn those jeans again, but that was not a luxury I could afford.

Later, in High School, I was able to go to the mall to buy my clothes like most of my peers.  I still went to the Salvation Army though.  I was looking for old Army jackets and other "cool" clothes to compliment my punk rock style and purple hair. (By now, it was the early 80's)

As an adult, I still occasionally go to the Salvation Army when looking for costume pieces.

There were times in my life where I didn't have much money, but I never felt like I was poor. I couldn't buy the things I wanted and the things we had were not fancy and might be a bit worn, but we were ok.  

I guess to me, "poor" is more a state of mind than a state of money. 

I'm too optimistic and driven to ever be poor.