If This Gets Out

by Sophie Gonzales

I knew someone once who got a break every Saturday and Sunday.” “Not possible. How did they stay productive?” “They said their worth as a person wasn’t tied to their professional output.”

Back then, every big buy felt scandalous, and they still kind of do. That’s the thing about being poor, it never really leaves you. I still weigh the worth of every dollar, even though I don’t need to do that anymore. My first impulse is to get the cheapest thing available because it’s just the same. I remember wanting new clothes or a video game or even something from a coffee shop but having them be off-limits because they cost too much. Even if I did get them, guilt always followed.