A personality shaped by poverty

“Don’t be fooled by the rocks that I got
I’m still; I’m still Jenny from the block
Used to have a little, now I have a lot
No matter where I go I know where I
Came from."
Does this song sound familiar to you? Correct. It is a song by Jenny lopez , eulogizing her transition from “poverty” to a state of wealth. In her lyrics, she portrays herself as a conqueror over her past, someone who stays grounded despite the enormous wealth surrounding her.  This had me thinking. You know what they say about toughness. When the going gets tough, the tough get going.

In contrast to Jeno’s experience, I remember what happened when I was back in Ghana. While walking in the street of Madina, a woman stood by the roadside dressed in tattered clothes. She had a baby in her hand and she claimed the baby needed money for a serious operation. Having been once poor, I was moved by compassion to offer her some money. The only condition I attached to this was to give the hospital the money, instead of her. For security reasons. However, she refused my help.
Later, I was told by some people living around that she was part of a scam and that I was lucky I didn’t give any money. Why does poverty affect some people positively and others negatively?

  When someone says the word poverty, I call in memory the environment in which I lived, the friends that I made, the resources that I had and my education. Some people believe you are poor if you spent less than a dollar in a day, without considering where you are.  Others define poverty considering one’s country. You may be poor if you compare your standard of living to someone in another country using this. This definition is one extended in the social context wherein people label others poor because they have more money than them. To me, poverty is when you wake up one morning only to discover you don’t have a job, your level education is poor; you don’t have friends or support from your government in any way, and people in your community can’t wait to pound on you even when you are innocent of crimes. That was what I meant when I said I was once poor.

One psychologist, I admire so much when it comes to any subject pertaining to social science or development is Abraham Maslow. Maslow must have discovered a relationship between poverty and self-actualization when he proposed the hierarchy of human needs and this is why I say so. According to Maslow’s theory, our biological needs are the most important needs in our lives. In other words, career goals would mean nothing to a child who has no food to eat. Love would be mean nothing to a woman who needs money to survive. Likewise, education.
Thus, the stain that remains on the cloth of a man once poor is mediocrity. The question about how to survive and still achieve one’s dreams is one that changed my priorities in life. Projecting from Maslow’s theory, I think it would be fair to say the same question still cripples the dreams of many and mocks the ambition of others.
Another effect that cannot be denied is the pattern of thinking formed by the experience of poverty.  Cognitive theory of learning redefines the environment in which one lives as not just a place but an educator in the absence of formal education, a counselor in times of confusion and one’s religion or conscience when making decisions. Perhaps your father trained you to be a model of him. Perhaps you solve issues pertaining to finances using his models. Perhaps you are poor from this. Perhaps an overhaul in thinking can reshape your thinking and liberate you from your pattern of thinking. When do you intend to do this?
Being born in a community whose lies dictate many of my decisions,   I believe poverty affects you even if you grow out of it. The question to ask yourself is not how it affects you but how long you want it to? Tell me, are you a personality shaped by poverty? Or a personality that shapes poverty? You decide.  But whatever the case may be don't be fooled by the rocks that you got. You should be the same person on the block. You use to have a little, now you have a lot. No matter where you go,  better know where you came from.