How you are going to end up in life is not set in stone!

Keith E., GA

Entering Adulthood

As a young man, I had no training in how to manage money or establish credit. Heck, at 22, I did not really understand how credit worked. What I did have was debt, and a lot of it, considering I was not making any real money yet. I had a car loan, school loans, doctors’ bills, rent, utilities, gas, and food expenses. I remember being scared out of my mind. I grew up poor. I mean, there were times when we did not have enough to eat other than macaroni and cheese, and something called Spam. I often started a new school year wearing clothes my parents had found at Goodwill. I was usually given one pair of tennis shoes to wear for the entire year, and that was all I had. They had to last. Some years, the soles became so worn that they separated from the uppers and flopped when I walked. Here is the lesson I learned: It absolutely does not matter where you come from or how poor you are. In the United States, you can rise above it. You have to decide to do it. You have to make it a goal and refuse to let anything or anyone stop you. These stories are being placed in this library to help you and others who need to hear them. You can rise up. You can succeed without hurting other people and without doing anything illegal. You simply need to focus on the destination and understand that the road will include many stops and plenty of wrong turns. When you discover that you are headed in the wrong direction, turn around and take another road. Keep going until you find the one that is meant for you.