--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We did live in dire poverty. And one of…" description: "\"“We did live in dire poverty. And one of the things that I hated was poverty. Some people hate spiders. Some people hate snakes. I hated poverty. I cou..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f78/anonymous-1_books_we-did-live-in-dire-poverty-and-one-of-t_3196330.jpg" --- # We did live in dire poverty. And one of the things that I… ![“We did live in dire poverty. And one of the things that I hated was poverty. Some people hate spiders. Some people hate snakes. I hated poverty. I couldn't stand it. My mother couldn't stand the fact that we were doing poorly in school, and she prayed and she asked God to give her wisdom. What…” quote by Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f78/anonymous-1_books_we-did-live-in-dire-poverty-and-one-of-t_3196330.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f78/anonymous-1_books_we-did-live-in-dire-poverty-and-one-of-t_3196330.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f78/anonymous-1_books_we-did-live-in-dire-poverty-and-one-of-t_3196330.jpg) > ““We did live in dire poverty. And one of the things that I hated was poverty. Some people hate spiders. Some people hate snakes. I hated poverty. I couldn't stand it. My mother couldn't stand the fact that we were doing poorly in school, and she prayed and she asked God to give her wisdom. What could she do to get her young sons to understand the importance of developing their minds so that they control their own lives? God gave her the wisdom. At least in her opinion. My brother and I didn't think it was that wise. Turn off the TV, let us watch only two or three TV programs during the week. And with all that spare time read two books a piece from the Detroit Public Libraries and submit to her written book reports, which she couldn't read but we didn't know that. I just hated this. My friends were out having a good time. Her friends would criticize her. My mother didn't care. But after a while I actually began to enjoy reading those books. Because we were very poor, but between the covers of those books I could go anywhere. I could be anybody. I could do anything. I began to read about people of great accomplishment. And as I read those stories, I began to see a connecting thread. I began to see that the person who has the most to do with you, and what happens to you in life, is you. You make decisions. You decide how much energy you want to put behind that decision. And I came to understand that I had control of my own destiny. And at that point I didn't hate poverty anymore, because I knew it was only temporary. I knew I could change that. It was incredibly liberating for me. Made all the difference.”” [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Reading provided an escape from poverty, fostering self‑empowerment and the belief that personal effort shapes destiny. **In simple terms:** Books opened worlds and gave control over life. Key Takeaway Use reading to expand horizons and agency. Themes education poverty self‑determination Mood inspired reflective Type motivational philosophical When to use this quote - self‑improvement - education programs - personal development Key Concepts literature as empowerment personal agency Questions to Reflect On - How can education be paired with structural support? - What other resources can complement reading? A Different Perspective Reading alone may not change systemic poverty. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Spare time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spare-time/) ## Related quotes > [It's very interesting, if you look at a study that was done by the Brookings Institute back in 2009, they determined that if Americans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-santorum/it-s-very-interesting-if-you-look-at-a-study-that-was-done-by-the/) [Rick Santorum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-santorum/) > [I just hated poverty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-carson/i-just-hated-poverty/) [Benjamin Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-carson/) > [My anger pushed me. 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That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You'll seldom experience regret for anything that you've done. It is what you haven't done that will torment you. The message, therefore, is clear.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-ll-seldom-experience-regret-for-anything-that-you-ve-done-it-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Scrabble - The game is available in Braille. That’s a nice fact. This makes me feel better about humanity for some reason. 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Krebs > [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. 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Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/) Markus Herz > [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) [Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“We did live in dire poverty. And one of the things that I hated was poverty. Some people hate spiders. Some people hate snakes. I hated poverty. I couldn't stand it. My mother couldn't stand the fact that we were doing poorly in school, and she prayed and she asked God to give her wisdom. What could she do to get her young sons to understand the importance of developing their minds so that they control their own lives? God gave her the wisdom. At least in her opinion. My brother and I didn't think it was that wise. Turn off the TV, let us watch only two or three TV programs during the week. And with all that spare time read two books a piece from the Detroit Public Libraries and submit to her written book reports, which she couldn't read but we didn't know that. I just hated this. My friends were out having a good time. Her friends would criticize her. My mother didn't care. But after a while I actually began to enjoy reading those books. Because we were very poor, but between the covers of those books I could go anywhere. I could be anybody. I could do anything. I began to read about people of great accomplishment. And as I read those stories, I began to see a connecting thread. I began to see that the person who has the most to do with you, and what happens to you in life, is you. You make decisions. You decide how much energy you want to put behind that decision. And I came to understand that I had control of my own destiny. And at that point I didn't hate poverty anymore, because I knew it was only temporary. I knew I could change that. It was incredibly liberating for me. Made all the difference.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Anonymous" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-did-live-in-dire-poverty-and-one-of-the-things-that-i-hated-was/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Books" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-did-live-in-dire-poverty-and-one-of-the-things-that-i-hated-was/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f78/anonymous-1_books_we-did-live-in-dire-poverty-and-one-of-t_3196330.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f78/anonymous-1_books_we-did-live-in-dire-poverty-and-one-of-t_3196330.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f78/anonymous-1_books_we-did-live-in-dire-poverty-and-one-of-t_3196330.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We did live in dire poverty. And one of the things that I hated was poverty. Some people hate spiders. 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