Disadvantaged (underprivileged) children face a range of challenges and barriers to succeeding in the education system and life more generally. Data from the UK and other countries show, to a varying degree, the impact that growing up in a low-income family has on your life chances.
Most parents want the best for their children and believe in the benefits of getting a good education. However, many parents simply lack the resources or knowledge of the system to match the ambition they have for their children.
I’ve written about how to get top grades coming from a low-income family, but in this blog I want to reflect on my ‘disadvantaged’ background and draw out the advantages that have helped me to get to where I am today.
Drive
Undoubtedly, the biggest advantage that will stay with you throughout life is the hunger and motivation gained from growing up without much money. This hunger drives many to illegal activities, but channelled in the right way it can help you succeed in all aspects of your life.
My experience is that people from disadvantaged backgrounds have a strong drive to succeed. Maybe it’s all those nights dreaming of a better life, or time spent window shopping those expensive things you can’t afford!
Never lose this hunger. Use it to fuel your ambition and progress in life, by learning, growing and becoming a better version of yourself every day.
Resilience
You will face tough challenges throughout your journey and will need to dig deep to overcome them. Growing up I faced racism, aggression, a challenging home environment at times, anxiety and more. Although I don’t wish these on anyone, when I look at where I am now it’s clear that the resilience I developed from these experiences is now one of my advantages.
As an example, having fist fights were part of growing up in my area. At the time I thought these difficult situations were normal. It’s not until I moved to an affluent neighbourhood for University that I realised the young children growing up here will probably never have a fist fight in their entire life!
But there is something deeply character building in these experiences. Awkward conversations and micro aggressions you may face in a professional context will seem like nothing compared to someone trying to punch you in the face! These tough experiences have made later challenges easier for me to overcome.
Being pro-active
When you have no successful role models, no bank of mum and dad, and no family network, being pro-active is key to making things happen.
Most of my opportunities have come through being pro-active – researching opportunities, reaching out to people, creating connections, being curious, asking for help or work experience etc.
Developing this positive behaviour early on has helped me progress in my life and career by having mentors, asking for help and feedback, networking with colleagues and so on. I may never have started The Education Journey if my disadvantaged background hadn’t trained me to be pro-active.
Creativity
When your options are limited by lack of resources, you have to find creative ways to solve your problems. Most people from disadvantaged background don’t even realise that they are being creative, but all around the world we see creativity and innovation driven by people trying to find solutions to problems with no money.
Thinking of clever ways to maximise the layout of my tiny room and finding small space solutions probably gave me the skills I needed to work with architects to redesign my own property and make the best use of the space.
Being happy with less
The happiest people I know are not the wealthiest. You will find many people and communities that find happiness in things that aren’t expensive.
I was happy with the friends around me, hanging out listening to music, playing sports and the usual things that are mostly free. We never went on fancy holidays, did paid extra-curricular activities, had expensive clothes, went to expensive restaurants etc.
When I had enough money to buy nicer things, live in nice properties and go on nice holidays, I saw these things as additions to my life rather than given. My benchmark of happiness was in the things around me I already had – love of learning, sports, family and friends.
I was able to grind really hard in the early part of my career to save money without it impacting me too much, as this grind wasn’t new to me. I can imagine this being more difficult when you come from an affluent family as you are used to a certain standard of living.
The one thing worth reflecting on is that I grew up largely without social media, so I wasn’t constantly bombarded with images of material things and a luxury lifestyle. I can see how this negatively impacts young people (and adults for that matter).
So, there you have it. My reflections on the advantages of growing up in in a disadvantaged family. I encourage you to always reflect on the positive aspects of your current situation no matter what it may be.
Are there advantages that come to mind when you reflect on the difficult parts of your journey?
P.S.
Aside from these specific advantages, there are many other things I am thankful for:
Health – I was extremely fortunate to have great health and fitness growing up and this is something money can’t buy. Playing football with your friends for hours on end was free!
Food – I was fortunate enough to always have food in the fridge and a healthy dinner every night. Some children are not as fortunate and even in the UK food poverty is becoming a serious issue.
Having parents who cared – as mentioned my home environment wasn’t always the best, but my parents would do the best they could for me and they have certainly had a very positive impact on my life.
Good schools and teachers – something we take for granted, but having a good school to go to everyday with great teachers is a blessing.
And many more…