Dad explains how the scarcity mindset after growing up poor still keeps him on his toes

Trauma works in mysterious ways for everyone. Despite getting out of the situation, the memories of the stress haunt individuals for a long time. Blake—who goes by @blakeoftoday on TikTok—shared how adults who grow up in poverty, carry within themselves the trauma and lessons of that time, even if their situation has changed. The father explained using his example, how even to this day the behavioral patterns he had to adopt during his childhood affect him in the present. He also gave a sweet shoutout to all mothers, who despite the challenges somehow always manage to bring it all together.

In a series of text overlays, Blake shared his meaningful message. "When I was a kid, I used to do this weird thing, where I would save half of whatever I ate until I got home. Just in case. Just in case what? I don't know," he wrote. This experience is a reminder that even if parents want to shelter kids from the problems they might be facing in running the house, more often than not kids pick up on it. He further shared how as a child he picked up on his "mom paying for groceries with hot checks or fixing whatever sound the car was making by turning up the counting crows in the tape deck." Hence he tried to make it easy for his folks by cutting off on things that he could. Blake used to save half of whatever he ate and bring it back home. It was done in fear that there would be no food back home, and this would help him and others in the family. Fortunately, that never turned out to be the case.

For any kid to feel that much stress about their family is bound to leave an impact. In Blake's case, he still feels a need to have a backup even though he is no longer in those dire straits. "It was close most days and when it wasn't that feeling still didn't go away. It sits inside you, kind of like a worry," he explained. This worry has escalated since he started his family. The experience has changed the way he goes about his fatherhood. He tries to ensure meticulously that his children are protected both financially and mentally throughout their lives. 

Blake goes on to appreciate his mother and by extension all the mothers who "always find a way." No matter how hard mothers have it money-wise they make sure to get it all together just in time for their children. They try their level best to keep it all under control for their kids. He ends with an emotional statement, "The thing about being born rich or rather not poor is that when you are broke, it feels like you are a tourist on a bad trip, a place that you don't belong and the thing about being born the other way around is that as hard as you work to escape it, it's always going to feel like home."

The video touched a lot of hearts with people sharing their own experiences of growing up poor. @dalmonte20 wrote how he still tries to save on food even though he doesn't need to anymore, "Man I live pretty comfortably now, but I am always trying to clean my plate or saving good food containers. Really never leaves you." @star345671 revealed how she had to mature at a very young age because of poverty, "This is so true. I used to lecture my parents about spending money when I was 5 bc I knew we were stretched."

You can follow Blake (@blakeoftoday) on TikTok and Instagram for more such moving lessons about life.