I Don't Want to Die Poor Quotes

“Learn to forgive yourself. You graduated with debt and that had you stepping out into the world without a clean slate. That plus the influences around you may now have caused you to think less of yourself.

Have your low moments, but please don't stew in them the way your OG's have. Remember you only did what you thought was best at the time. You didn't know better. You thought it would be better after you got out. The system, as it is designed now, is set up for your failure. You don't want to sound like one of those sad statistics, but you are in the same boat. Forgive yourself for that. Do what you can and pay what you can and allow yourself a little joy in the meantime.”
― Michael Arceneaux, I Don't Want to Die Poor: Essays

“People may have your absolute best intentions at heart, but dreams often die at the encouragement of those who have long since let theirs die.”
― Michael Arceneaux, I Don't Want to Die Poor: Essays

“I no longer let my friends back home take me anywhere that might end in me running from gunshots. Thankfully, I do enough cardio to be able to run from gunshots, but better safe than sorry. You can get shot anywhere in America, though, so I may have to stop going outside altogether soon.”
― Michael Arceneaux, I Don't Want to Die Poor: Essays

“I made the mistake of going to WebMD to see what my symptoms suggested. At last count, I believe I died four years ago.”
― Michael Arceneaux, I Don't Want to Die Poor: Essays

“Ultimately, the bill was named after former President Obama, and neither he nor any of the Democrats pushed hard enough to pass a bill that Republicans were never planning to support anyway, despite the delightful irony that Obamacare is just Romneycare, which is just Bob Dole’s health care plan from the 1990s. So”
― Michael Arceneaux, I Don't Want to Die Poor: Essays

“I need dumber friends.”
― Michael Arceneaux, I Don't Want to Die Poor: Essays

“I believe it’s important that friends see all sides of their friends, or more pointedly, whatever side benefits their friends at a given moment.”
― Michael Arceneaux, I Don't Want to Die Poor: Essays

“No matter how self-driven I am or how determined I find myself to be to reach my dreams and create better for myself and those I love, ambition and resilience are not enough sustenance. For problems, real and imagined, catch up to you. The trauma you carry and continue to leave unsettled will weigh you down. There's only so much your body and mind can take.”
― Michael Arceneaux, I Don't Want to Die Poor: Essays