Your assignment is to prepare and submit a paper on personal knowledge and experience.

Your assignment is to prepare and submit a paper on personal knowledge and experience. I was raised by a single mother who tided us over by working as a cab driver. This meant that most of my growing up years were spent with a real experience on hunger and the realities of the divide between the rich and the indigent. Despite our financial constraints, I managed to send myself through high school, and on occasion, I took on part-time work to be able to complement the meager allowance being provided by my mother. Moreover, as a natural consequence of our impoverished state, I had to learn how to be frugal – a value which I have brought with me till adulthood. Throughout my growing years, I have learned how to live within my means. I had to be able to budget effectively to be able to survive. Seeing all of the misery that goes with being poor has compelled me to finish my education to be able to uplift the pitiful lifestyle that we had. My mother herself has not been educated, and I realize now that this is where poverty is deeply rooted. Ignorance, after all, is not bliss.

On the other hand, my experience of growing up in a poor family and community has also instilled in me values that have helped me go through life more effectively. Since I have experienced how it is to be indigent, I have learned simplicity and frugality. Thus, I never spend on wants, but instead only buy what I need. I still do dream of a life of luxury, but I do realize that this stature does not come instantaneously. Normally, it comes with both ingenuity and hard work. Because I had to surpass many trials in life which mainly involve having a single mother, I have developed emotional maturity earlier than most individuals my age. I have learned to understand why she has chosen to be a single mother and have also learned how to respect that choice. Not all people are alike in the way they think, feel, and behave. and despite these differences, I should learn how to respect their individuality and to respect them as unique people. My community is composed of people from diverse backgrounds, and the wealth in cultural diversity has allowed me to reinforce such respect for individuals.