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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Ltrain, post: 910493, member: 24795&quot;]This thread exploded.&nbsp; With that said, let me speak my part...</p><p><br /></p><p>We&#039;re all born as men (or women) and, for the most part, we are all born equal.&nbsp; The situation we are born into can greatly vary, however.&nbsp; In spite of that, you are what you make yourself.&nbsp; To use my mother as an example, she was born into a military family as the fifth child.&nbsp; Her dad left in the middle of the night when she was three, and her mom was pregnant with twins, #6 and #7 in the family.&nbsp; My mom grew up destitute, couldn&#039;t even get a dime to go buy ice cream with the rest of her class.&nbsp; Despite these conditions, my mom worked hard, and made the most of every opportunity presented to her.&nbsp; Today, she&#039;s 51 years old, and makes north of 100k a year.</p><p><br /></p><p>In contrast, the oldest brother was fired from his job, and now lives off his pension.&nbsp; He&#039;s going through a divorce that is going to bankrupt him.&nbsp; Kid #2 makes about $30k a year.&nbsp; #3 doesn&#039;t work, her body was ravaged by drug abuse.&nbsp; #5 is a union laborer who makes around $45k.&nbsp; The twins are the most interesting example.&nbsp; Both dropped out of HS and got GED&#039;s, then got training for computers.&nbsp; Today, one makes very good money ($200k+) and has a great job, and the other is in and out of jail.</p><p><br /></p><p>Another contrast... I was born when my parents didn&#039;t make much money, but my family is pretty well off today. Despite that, I allowed my laziness to erode my potential.&nbsp; I didn&#039;t work hard, I took my financial well-being as a guarantee instead of something I&#039;d have to work for, and I didn&#039;t take my education seriously.&nbsp; I attended community college for 4 years and racked up a substantial debt... all to avoid finding a FT job or losing my health benefits.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>Granted, I have a solid job today, but it&#039;s not a fun job, nor does the money pay as much as most of my friends make.&nbsp; It&#039;s retail management, horrible, horrible hours.&nbsp; If I could go back to when I was 16 and start over, I would.&nbsp; But I can&#039;t, and I don&#039;t hold that against anybody but myself.&nbsp; I was never screwed over, never stopped from doing anything and odds are, neither were you.&nbsp; Even then, I&#039;m still happy, because I have great friends, a supportive family, and a loving girlfriend.&nbsp; I understand the mistakes I made, and I work to rectify them every day.&nbsp; Don&#039;t be mad at other people because you&#039;ve fallen short of your expectations for yourself.&nbsp; It&#039;s never too late in life to turn things around.</p><p><br /></p><p>In summation, don&#039;t live life angry.&nbsp; Find the source of your anger and channel that energy into self improvement.&nbsp; I&#039;m 23 years old and broke, while my friends are buying houses and brand new cars, and I&#039;m still happy.&nbsp; It&#039;s not how much money you have, or how much you can afford to spend on coins that matters in this world.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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