25 years old and deep in debt

[Malthus]

Hey, Malthus, I'm curious. How long was it between your undergrad degree and law school?

And I should also say that I'm not discounting that it was a difficult time for you. What I'm saying is that while you may have been less well off than your parents, it doesn't sound like you were ever really poor, as I understand it. You had a home, food, clothing, and necessities, and you had the ability to progress. From my perspective, that's not poor so much as not rich.

In my case, there were days without food unless we were fed by the school or the neighbors (which is why I lived with my neighbors for several years). Clothes came from the church, not a store. And government cheese and milk weren't a "perk", they were a necessity.

I don't consider myself poor now, though I'm by no means wealthy. I have a home, I have food, and I have the necessities to get by. Not a whole lot extra, but certainly not where I was as a child. I am, however, frequently broke.

Four years.

[Eddie Teach]

This ain't the third world, anyone who has to resort to ramen noodles on a regular basis can legitimately claim to be "poor".

[Malthus]

This is one of those times I wish English were my first language.

Try it like this:

"I have been poor," is OK.  "I used to be a poor" or "I was a poor" is misleading.

Does anyone ever say "I used to be a poor"?

In any event, I'm not seeing the significant difference here.

[The Brain]

Gave Teh Malthus Issue a little thought.  "I have been poor," is OK.  "I used to be poor" or "I was poor" is misleading.

This is one of those times I wish English were my first language.

Careful.

[The Brain]

I have been naked. I used to be naked. I was naked.

[Admiral Yi]

In any event, I'm not seeing the significant difference here.

Have been denotes a temporary, passing condition.

[DGuller]

This is one of those times I wish English were my first language.

Try it like this:

"I have been poor," is OK.  "I used to be a poor" or "I was a poor" is misleading.

Still don't see the distinction.

[Malthus]

Malthus,

Without wanting to pile on too much.  There was a period in my childhood when my parents could not afford to buy new clothes for me.  That was a problem because this was a period when I was growing rapidly.  There were no charities that could provide clothes to me because who thinks to donate clothes of that size

Likely for me a local merchant offered a "deal" to my dad.  The merchant gave me my clothes and allowed my dad to pay him back when he got the money - interest free.  That is more in line with what I consider being poor.

When I got my first sholarship money I went to pay back the amount left over (my dad had paid back some but not all of the amount).  The merchant refused the money and wished me luck. 

I was fortunate to have recieved this kindness but obviously not all people recieve these benefits.

That's a wonderful anecdote, but I dunno how having a childhood deprived of clothes is necessary to having an adulthood episode of being poor.

Again, you guys are simply ignoring the possibility of downward social mobility - presumably, according to you, everyone who has educated parents and who gets an undergraduate degree forefits forever any right to later consideration for being poor, because, you know, if they later lack the ability to earn money, it was just their voluntary choice.

That I can't fathom.  Particularly these days, when there are literally millions of folks who cannot, no matter what they do, get decent jobs even with a BA.

[Malthus]

In any event, I'm not seeing the significant difference here.

Have been denotes a temporary, passing condition.

Used to be denotes a condition in the past, just like have been.

Have been does not, to my ear, imply temporary, just that it is past.

[DGuller]

Malthus, I think what people take issue with is the fact that you want your narrative to be "I was poor, but I pulled myself up by my bootstraps to become a Jewish lawyer".  In reality, your narrative should be "I grew up in a well-off highly-educated family, and did not piss away that good fortune".

[The Brain]

Yes and no. He posts on Languish.

[garbon]

I have been naked. I used to be naked. I was naked.

I was a naked.

[Admiral Yi]

Used to be denotes a condition in the past, just like have been.

Have been does not, to my ear, imply temporary, just that it is past.

I used to be shy around girls.  I used to be a practicing Jew.  Both of those strongly suggest to me that you started life in that condition and then the condition ended.

I have been shy around girls.  It happens from time to time.  I have been a practicing Jew.  I briefly dated a religious Jewchick.

[Malthus]

Malthus, I think what people take issue with is the fact that you want your narrative to be "I was poor, but I pulled myself up by my bootstraps to become a Jewish lawyer".  In reality, your narrative should be "I grew up in a well-off highly-educated family, and did not piss away that good fortune".

But I never said anything of the sort.

My narrative was and always has been that I experienced what it was like to be poor, hated it (and feared that I'd be stuck there forever if I didn't do something about it, like half my friends at the time have proven to be), and went to law school to escape that. Also, that this experience has made me cautious with money ever since.

I never made any secret of the fact that my family was highly educated, and in fact in this very thread triggered CC by pointing out that, as an undergrad, I had the distinct advantage of having my undergrad education free because my dad worked at the same university. How does me making a point of that fit with this fictional narrative you've saddled me with? 

It is true that I paid my own way through law school, but at the time, that was easy to do because fees were heavily subsidized by the state.

[Malthus]

Used to be denotes a condition in the past, just like have been.

Have been does not, to my ear, imply temporary, just that it is past.

I used to be shy around girls.  I used to be a practicing Jew.  Both of those strongly suggest to me that you started life in that condition and then the condition ended.

I have been shy around girls.  It happens from time to time.  I have been a practicing Jew.  I briefly dated a religious Jewchick.

Unless you qualify it with other information, I would not distinguish between "I used to be a practicing Jew" and "I have been a practicing Jew".