I thought I was poor.

I thought I was poor until I realized rich isn’t always about money.

I come from a very big family, and honestly, I’m proud of that. We used to live deep in the forest where we had to walk about 45 minutes just to reach the main road. Shops were far away too, especially since we didn’t have a car at that time. When I was in school, I had to wake up as early as 4am every morning just to catch public transport and arrive at school by 7am.

So growing up, I thought I was poor. I thought if your house was near the school, you were rich. If your parents had their own car and could send you to school, you were rich.

I was young and naive. I was raised with the mindset that being rich was only measured by how much money you had. But as time went by, I grew up and moved out. That’s when I slowly realized something.

I was actually rich all along.

When I was a child, I was taken care of very well. My mum prepared everything for her children. We had food on the table every single day. We were never starving.

The place I grew up in was surrounded by nature. My parents planted many kinds of vegetables. We had chickens, so there were always fresh eggs. We had plenty of fruit trees. We rarely ate processed food. We even had our own well, electricity, and a home filled with people who loved each other.

What I’m trying to say is, despite constantly thinking we were poor, I actually had everything I needed.

And now that I’m older, I realize how privileged I truly was.

I remember seeing some of my schoolmates eating cereal for breakfast, and at that time, I thought cereal was a “rich people” kind of food.

Little did I know, I was already rich enough to have rice, vegetables, fresh eggs, and fruits on the table every single day.

I was rich because I had a big supportive family. We were always there for each other no matter what happened. We were taught independence from a young age, but we were also taught love, sharing, and togetherness.

I still remember when my dad came home from work sometimes carrying only one small packet of chips. He would ask us to share it with everyone in the house.

Back then, I didn’t realize moments like that were their own kind of richness.

I think society taught many of us that richness is only measured by money. And yes, money is important. But I’m glad I grew up and realized that money isn’t everything.

I was rich because I had loving parents, a family that cared for one another, food on the table, education, and a place to call home.

Those are the things I wish I understood earlier.

But maybe now, I get to teach my daughter differently.

Because these days, rich to me means being able to cook healthy meals for my family. Rich means having good health so I can be there for them longer. Rich means spending time together, thinking kindly, encouraging one another, and creating a warm home filled with love.

And honestly, I think that kind of richness is one of the biggest glitters in life.

d.g✨