I was running around my nearest city at age 14, looking for work. I got in fights at bus stops, got mugged once*, slept on benches when I missed a ride a couple of times.

Sheltered, yes, ignorant, no. I know what being hungry is like, I remember how weird it was to wear brand-new clothes.

I'm not complaining, it was all perfectly normal to me at the time, but I'm not talking down at the poors, I'm talking about who I am.

*Mugged once and then learned how not to get mugged. People tried after that, didn't go well.