Very important essay, and thank you for writing this. I found myself relating to a lot of it. I grew up comfortably "upper"-blue-collar, but I really fell into poverty after leaving a prestigious graduate program in my mid-20s. I remember being harassed in the process of trying to even GET public assistance and how uncomfortable that was. Then the shame about trying to purchase healthy food on my benefits card — because I knew that poor people are supposed to be eating shit. (I still have some complexes revolving around daring to eat healthy or enjoyable food to this day — and I didn't have them before I was on public assistance.) I had some nice things because I hadn't always been poor, and I had family who, while they had financial constraints of their own, made gifts to me on credit cards. Meanwhile, despite having an iPhone or makeup or presentable clothes, I still panicked about how I'd be able to afford my rent or even a f*cking box of tampons in any given month... even though I also had 3 jobs and a side gig while I was on welfare.

I don't want to ramble. I could go on and on. But conservatives are so utterly clueless about what it's really like to be in this position. And they'll only learn if more people share their stories. So thank you for sharing yours. I wish you well and I wish you plenty.