By MARK BEINSON LUTCHA
When did I become poor? It’s a question I often ask myself as I fathom what I’m supposed to do to become rich. However, I always end up with a sad reality.
It didn’t take long for me to become poor. I just came out of my mother’s womb and next thing I knew, I was told that it’s difficult to become rich. It’s not magic. It’s what we call birth lottery.
Maybe this thinking of what defines poverty is caused by human greed. Maybe it’s what unfortunate people have to deal with and it’s something they’re made to believe in.
I thought of it and realized it’s unfair. I end up saddened by the idea because in the world of sharing thoughts and opinions, being poor makes it hard to be heard.
Is my lack of power caused by poverty alone? Not really. It is also because I am powerless. Or at least, that’s what I’m told of. However, I do agree that even if you’re poor, efforts and hard work always bear something good.
I was born poor but through education, I was empowered and informed that I can change my circumstances. Yet, when I found work, I became more apathetic. Some people think that I am ambitious and discontented. It might be true because the more I dream, the more that people judge me.
I am poor and money matters to me. But truth be told, I’m not after money itself. I want to become rich because I want to buy hope.
I am hopeless not because I have less but because hope is something I cannot buy. I’m powerless and apathetic. This is what hopelessness looks like. Only a few can be rich and I am not part of that few. I belong to the hopeless and poor.
In the end, I am poor because hope is a luxury that the apathetic and powerless cannot buy. However, I acknowledge and understand where I’m coming from and that’s a good start — good enough for me breath richly.
AUTHOR’S BIO
Mark Beinson Lutcha is a student at Mindanao State University-Main Campus. He is a debater and an undisciplined random passionate writer. He writes poems, novels, and short stories in secret and doesn’t tell people about it.
