Let me tell you a story about two of my friends, Adam and Benjamin (not their real names).
Adam grew up under some difficult circumstances. His parents filed for bankruptcy when he was just five years old and divorced shortly thereafter. In the years that followed, Adam’s life was a bit turbulent. He would bounce around between different schools and different condominiums where he lived with his mother, sister, and whoever his mother was dating at the time. Though his living situation at home wasn’t unbearable, there wasn’t much money to go around. His lowest point was living in a cockroach-infested condo where he would regularly steal napkins from fast food restaurants to save money for his family.
Eventually, Adam moved out of that cockroach-infested condo and into a real house when he was in middle school. And though this was a step up for Adam’s living situation, it was a step down for his schooling situation. The high school Adam would eventually attend was in the top 100 for most dropouts in the state. Nevertheless, Adam studied hard, got good grades, and got into a great college.
Now let’s turn our attention to my friend Benjamin. Benjamin grew up with a nice middle class lifestyle. Though his parents also divorced when he was young, Benjamin’s father and extended family were heavily involved in his life. In fact, his mother and father got along so well that they would sometimes attend each others’ family functions alongside Benjamin. As a result of this, Benjamin had a great childhood with lots of love and emotional support.
And while Benjamin’s family didn’t have a ton of money, there were moments of financial prosperity. For example, when Benjamin was in high school he lived in a three story house, had a big screen TV,
