With the help of others

I can't complain; the middle class life is a blessing. I have a home, a family, and the income is decent. But, it's not like I haven't experienced the lower class life, been there and I assure you I don't want to go back. Growing up in downtown, surrounded by sketchy neighbourhoods, where most of the crimes happen; then moving to the suburbs, into a safer environment, and a friendly community for me that’s a significant change.

When it came down to both of my parents, it was a constant jump between having enough money and barely any to pay the bills. The stress always built up when one of them was on the edge of maybe losing their job. It was scary, I still remember coming home and seeing my mother’s facial expression, she was blank as a slate. The company she works for was firing some of the employees because they wanted to hire a different group of workers; she had a fair bit of chance that she was going to lose her job. In the end, they didn’t fire her but for awhile after that, she wasn’t receiving the proper pay she was working for. It was difficult, bill after bill; we didn’t have enough money to pay them. That’s when my mom and dad had to ask for help from family and close friends. It was disappointing to my parents that they were put into that situation where they would be asking for others to help them pay off some of the bills. My parents hate depending on others when they know they can provide themselves, but judging by those days, they really needed it.

When we moved to Orleans, it was different for me. The fact that I was actually able to go out without having my parents’ worry about me getting killed or kidnapped was an awesome feeling. But, this time instead of both working parents, I only have one working parent. My dad is unemployed, personal reasons. It does get hard to pay the bills on time since it’s only my mom working. Sometimes, they even break out into arguments and I hate it because it’s always over money. Sure, I might not be rocking the latest brands that are in but that doesn’t mean I can’t afford them. I just gave up on brand names, are they really worth it? To me, I don’t think so. To others it’s a big deal.