LIFE'S FUNNY AND THAT'S A BEAUTIFUL THING

Late last month, I watched an interview with Robby Hoffman by The New York Times and so much of what she said really resonated with me. I mean, people who don't know me personally would often think I'm way too serious or even a bit snobbish. But those closest to me know I'm always the one joking around to make any situation a bit lighter. Humor became my way of surviving difficult moments in my own journey through life, and a lot of those moments came from growing up poor.

It's true when people say that growing up poor never really leaves you. Even now, I still catch myself doing little things that come from those years—carefully scooping rice so everyone gets an equal share, scraping the last bit of ketchup or peanut butter from the jar and feeling guilty whenever food goes to waste. Those habits were born from a time when every meal mattered.

I wasn't even a coffee drinker growing up. In fact, I couldn't stand it. But when I was 15 or 16, living with my grandmother and uncle, there were days when a cup of coffee was the only thing in the kitchen that could silence my hunger. Looking back, that memory still hurts. But it also reminds me of something beautiful: as human beings, we're capable of enduring far more than we ever imagine. Even in our hardest moments, we find ways to keep going.

As I got older, I realized that my childhood gave me more than hardship. It taught me generosity, empathy, and gratitude towards others and to my self most especially. Sometimes I'm even too generous to other people for my own good, but I'm learning now that kindness also needs healthy boundaries.

For a long time, I hated the fact that I grew up poor. Now, I see it differently. Many of the qualities I value most about myself were shaped by those experiences.

Maybe that's what life is about. We often resent the parts of our story we don't yet understand. But with time, those same parts can become the reason we're able to love, give and appreciate life a little more deeply.

And perhaps that's the funny thing about life: the things that once made us ask, "Why me?" eventually become the reasons we can say, "I'm grateful I kept going."