re: People who come from a bad childhood situation to be successful in life.

When I was a firefighter back in the day, a guy on my shift grew up dirt poor with 2 alcoholic parents. His mom died when he was 12 or 13 I think. He graduated from high school and when he got home from the ceremony, his dad had 2 suitcases packed with all of his clothes and toiletries sitting on the porch in front of his door. He said there was a note taped to it that basically said that his father had fulfilled his responsibility to him and that it was time for him to be a man and take care of himself.

He crashed at friends houses for a couple months until he could get to boot camp for the army. He went to Afghanistan, did his time and got out. Got hired as a firefighter/EMT. Worked hard, saved money, got married, bought a house, had kids, etc. He ended up buying a house that needed a lot of work to fix and use as a rental for extra income. He liked doing the work so much that he ended up forming a construction company and is doing very well at that to this day. He is also the fire chief of the department we worked together at. He's done amazing things for the department and the city.

He has a wife and 3 kids and could probably retire right now in his early 40s and be fine. The stuff I've learned about his childhood from him and others is truly sad and heartbreaking. But, he didn't let those circumstances be an anchor around his neck and he'd never use it as an excuse for any reason ever. He really is a great dude and I respect the hell out of him.

I have a friend whose mom was a complete psychopath and got pregnant with her during a one night stand. Raised by grandma of the dad. Now she’s a doctor.

There’s literally countless examples of this happening. Those who do not make the personal decision to achieve more than what they grew up in love to rely on society’s built-in excuses for sympathy. Do some have more opportunity than others? Absolutely. Is that an excuse to be a piece of shite? It shouldn’t be but it has become that.