There is a sense in which being poor is a direct result of an accumulation of choices made over one’s life to date. However these choices are not made in a vacu

There is a sense in which being poor is a direct result of an accumulation of choices made over one’s life to date. However these choices are not made in a vacuum and are often influenced by things beyond one’s control. When I was in Junior kindergarten I didn’t think school was important didn’t pay attention to lessons from the teacher. At one point we were tested on sight words and I knew none of them. I came home and told my mother I was stupid. She thought otherwise, identified that I hadn’t made it a priority and taught me the material in two weeks. I learned to take things seriously going forwards as well. With different parents that life experience could have had very different outcomes with big effects on my life trajectory. I think many decision points are like my junior kindergarten experience and are as influenced by others as myself. Some people refuse to see this and focus on just the accumulation of choices without the factors that go into them.