I was raised by parents who had money, or so I thought at the time.
When I became a teeanger, everything changed.
It turns out my parents had never really had money, they had lived on credit and spent beyond their means. We had to move from a big house to a small apartment, and sell both of our cars. Times were tight for a while, but in retrospect it was very good for me, because it helped me adapt to the problems in life. I remember when we first moved my mom was so upset because they could no longer afford her gym membership. I was confused, because mom acted like going to the gym was the only way to stay in shape or have exercise. As I got older I came to understand that my mother was one of those people who went to the gym to socialize, not to enhance her health. I would be surprised if she ever took one of their workout classes, she would instead hang around the smoothie bar, or the sauna. Mom couldn’t afford a gym membership anymore, but on top of that she also felt ashamed about not having money. By proxy this made me feel like I should be ashamed, too. That was a long time ago, and I have had a gym membership for several years now. I also use the gym as a place to socialize just like she used to, but I socialize and talk to people while I am lifting weights or doing advanced yoga stretches.