--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I was raised by a single mother who…" description: "\"I was raised by a single mother who raised children on minimum wage.\" — Ritchie Torres" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/17f/ritchie-torres-6334_children_i-was-raised-by-a-single-mother-who-rais_2973886.jpg" --- # I was raised by a single mother who raised children on… ![“I was raised by a single mother who raised children on minimum wage.” quote by Ritchie Torres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/17f/ritchie-torres-6334_children_i-was-raised-by-a-single-mother-who-rais_2973886.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/17f/ritchie-torres-6334_children_i-was-raised-by-a-single-mother-who-rais_2973886.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/17f/ritchie-torres-6334_children_i-was-raised-by-a-single-mother-who-rais_2973886.jpg) > “I was raised by a single mother who raised children on minimum wage.” [Ritchie Torres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritchie-torres/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Growing up with a single mother on low wages shapes resilience and perspective on economic hardship. **In simple terms:** A single mother raised me on minimum wage. Key Takeaway Recognize and address systemic poverty. Themes family economic hardship resilience Mood determined empathetic Type sociopolitical personal narrative When to use this quote - policy advocacy - community support - financial education - mental health awareness Key Concepts socioeconomic mobility single parenthood income inequality Questions to Reflect On - How does low income affect child development? - What policies could better support single‑parent families? A Different Perspective Economic constraints limit opportunities without systemic change. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Children Minimum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children-minimum-4591168/) [Minimum wage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/minimum-wage/) [Mother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mother/) [Mother Raised](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mother-raised-256504/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Raised Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/raised-children-405585/) [Single mother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/single-mother/) [Who](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/who/) ## Related quotes > [My father is an engineer, and my mother raised the three children.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasmine-hamdan/my-father-is-an-engineer-and-my-mother-raised-the-three-children/) [Yasmine Hamdan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasmine-hamdan/) > [My mother raised two children on a housing estate, in a place where people said once you got on, you never got off. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-ballas/my-mother-raised-two-children-on-a-housing-estate-in-a-place-where/) [Shirley Ballas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-ballas/) > [My mother raised three children on her own and my dad was a doctor working 16 hours a day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-meloni/my-mother-raised-three-children-on-her-own-and-my-dad-was-a-doctor/) [Christopher Meloni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-meloni/) > [I spent almost all my life in poverty, raised by a single mother who had to raise three children on minimum wage, which in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritchie-torres/i-spent-almost-all-my-life-in-poverty-raised-by-a-single-mother-who/) [Ritchie Torres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritchie-torres/) > [I have led an unusual life. I have buried a father killed at age 50 and two brothers killed in the prime of their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benazir-bhutto/i-have-led-an-unusual-life-i-have-buried-a-father-killed-at-age-50/) [Benazir Bhutto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benazir-bhutto/) > [Children are raised by single parents all the time. Those children - I'd like to claim myself as one, I was raised by a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dustin-lance-black/children-are-raised-by-single-parents-all-the-time-those-children-i-d/) [Dustin Lance Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dustin-lance-black/) > [I have two sons and I have taught them to respect women. 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She never expressed doubts about the way she raised…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynne-withey/if-he-has-none-to-give-him-pain-he-has-none-to-give-him-pleasure-she/) [Lynne Withey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynne-withey/) > [If anything happens to me, I hope that I would've raised my children in a way that they know how to take care of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-roy/if-anything-happens-to-me-i-hope-that-i-would-ve-raised-my-children/) [Rachel Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-roy/) > [People ask me how I've raised three children as a single parent but honestly, parenting has been a breeze.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reham-khan/people-ask-me-how-i-ve-raised-three-children-as-a-single-parent-but/) [Reham Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reham-khan/) > [I should have been thinking more about my family, how I raised my children, how I maintained life's work, so to speak.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-namath/i-should-have-been-thinking-more-about-my-family-how-i-raised-my/) [Joe Namath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-namath/) ## More by Ritchie Torres > [My younger self could not imagine standing on the floor of Congress as a member of Congress voting on legislation that, if enacted, would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritchie-torres/my-younger-self-could-not-imagine-standing-on-the-floor-of-congress/) [Ritchie Torres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritchie-torres/) > [I am both black and Latino - there's no need to artificially barricade one from the other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritchie-torres/i-am-both-black-and-latino-there-s-no-need-to-artificially-barricade/) [Ritchie Torres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritchie-torres/) > [I've had to face housing insecurity and food insecurity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritchie-torres/i-ve-had-to-face-housing-insecurity-and-food-insecurity/) [Ritchie Torres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritchie-torres/) > [Exercising dominion over Puerto Rico, as the U.S. has done for more than a century - without granting Puerto Ricans the full franchise in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritchie-torres/exercising-dominion-over-puerto-rico-as-the-u-s-has-done-for-more/) [Ritchie Torres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritchie-torres/) > [I don't hire ideologues or zealots.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritchie-torres/i-don-t-hire-ideologues-or-zealots/) [Ritchie Torres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritchie-torres/) > [Racial identity is chosen and given. 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It's not going anywhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritchie-torres/with-a-multi-billion-dollar-market-capitalization-crypto-is-here-to/) [Ritchie Torres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritchie-torres/) > [I spent almost all my life in poverty, raised by a single mother who had to raise three children on minimum wage, which in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritchie-torres/i-spent-almost-all-my-life-in-poverty-raised-by-a-single-mother-who/) [Ritchie Torres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritchie-torres/) > [I'm grateful for the blessing and burden of public service; I promised my constituents that I would work my heart out for them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritchie-torres/i-m-grateful-for-the-blessing-and-burden-of-public-service-i-promised/) [Ritchie Torres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritchie-torres/) > [I take an expansive view of infrastructure. For me, infrastructure is more than roads and bridges. It's about the quality of the water we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritchie-torres/i-take-an-expansive-view-of-infrastructure-for-me-infrastructure-is/) [Ritchie Torres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritchie-torres/) > [New York City should and must embrace crypto if it is to remain the financial capital of the world. We no longer live in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritchie-torres/new-york-city-should-and-must-embrace-crypto-if-it-is-to-remain-the/) [Ritchie Torres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritchie-torres/) > [I feel no shame in admitting that I take an antidepressant every day. That enables me to be a productive public servant who's risen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritchie-torres/i-feel-no-shame-in-admitting-that-i-take-an-antidepressant-every-day/) [Ritchie Torres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritchie-torres/) > [There's a sense in which the media narrative diminishes me. I resist the temptation to fit into a preconceived narrative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritchie-torres/there-s-a-sense-in-which-the-media-narrative-diminishes-me-i-resist/) [Ritchie Torres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritchie-torres/) > [My openness about depression is rooted in my lived experience as an LGBTQ person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritchie-torres/my-openness-about-depression-is-rooted-in-my-lived-experience-as-an/) [Ritchie Torres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritchie-torres/) [Explore all 99 Ritchie Torres quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritchie-torres/) ## More Children quotes > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [Behind every successful child is an adult who believed in him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-warren/behind-every-successful-child-is-an-adult-who-believed-in-him/) [Rick Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-warren/) > [I believe in freedom to do what you want if you aren't hurting others, but pictures of obese protesters giving their children big gulps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-defranco/i-believe-in-freedom-to-do-what-you-want-if-you-aren-t-hurting-others/) [Philip DeFranco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-defranco/) > [If the audience likes your work, if they like you, they don't think whether you are married or have children or not. I made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dimple-kapadia/if-the-audience-likes-your-work-if-they-like-you-they-don-t-think/) [Dimple Kapadia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dimple-kapadia/) > [It doesnt seem to me strange that children should like the macabre, the sensational, and the forbidden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-hecht/it-doesnt-seem-to-me-strange-that-children-should-like-the-macabre/) [Anthony Hecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-hecht/) > [Let children support their parents or be imprisoned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-children-support-their-parents-or-be-imprisoned/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Gratitude isn't just a feeling, it's an action. 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You are surrounded by nature - cats, dogs, birds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amala-akkineni/my-school-was-one-of-the-most-beautiful-places-a-child-can-grow-up-in/) [Amala Akkineni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amala-akkineni/) > [A lesser complaint: hair extensions. There are moments on 'All My Children' when half the women actors, young and old, seem to be afflicted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/a-lesser-complaint-hair-extensions-there-are-moments-on-all-my/) [Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/) > [As a child, I had a lot of older gay men taking care of me. There's a trust there. I feel like little girls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-cho/as-a-child-i-had-a-lot-of-older-gay-men-taking-care-of-me-there-s-a/) [Margaret Cho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-cho/) > [If my child had prejudice in his head, I'd be ashamed. 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