Living on One Dollar A Day

Living on a dollar a day is a classical documentary which shows how people suffer around the world. The theme of poverty is clearly depicted throughout the documentary, henceforth making us to think about how we spend our money (Muhammad, 2013). Surviving beyond poverty lines is not an easy task as it requires proper budgeting. In addition, poverty deprives us the things we value the most, thus being forced to live without them. For instance, the characters in the documentary were forced to battle with hunger, which was against their wish.

Living in poverty as seen in the documentary, is similar to being forced to adapt in situations which most people cannot survive in. The idea of enjoying nice moments with friends and family is something which the poor tend to miss. In most cases, money earned cannot be able to sustain the family thus, lacking social amenities. For example, in the documentary, the four friends were forced to familiarize themselves with ways of spending less (Muhammad, 2013). They had to spend money on essential things, rather than on what did not matter the most.

                I was raised in poor family, where getting meals was a problem. My dad was a factory worker, and his salary was not able to feed the whole family. We were forced to eat a single meal a day, as a means of saving, hence using the rest of the money on other necessities. The thought of going to the movie, swimming, or even travelling to other parts of the world had never been on my mind. This made me feel as if I was living in some type of emotional jail. Whatever I wanted to have, I could not afford it, since my parents were not able to purchase it.  

                The scenarios in the documentary portray a life which requires one to think outside the box, and come up with survival tricks. In a world where money runs the economy, it is not easy to live in less than a dollar a day. In most instances, as a child, I would think critically, and come up with ways of saving the little money I received from my relatives. In do doing, I would be able to purchase whatever I wanted after a long period of time. Saving money little by little was not an easy task, because the pain of being hungry could not allow you to save money.

                The biopic also reminded me of how I used to purchase cheap foodstuffs by the roadside, hence saving the rest of the money I had (Muhammad, 2013). Moreover, my parents preferred cooking at home, instead of purchasing food from the hotel. Eating a single meal at home also had its own challenges, since one could not think critically, thus leading to poor performance in class. As a student, underperforming in class lead to psychological problems, thereby affecting the choices I made.

                In conclusion, living in abject poverty, does not only affect one negatively, but it also makes you to come up with ideas of making money. As a matter of fact, one becomes determined on achieving a certain goal due to less distractions. On the other hand, the idea of lacking basic amenities may also impact one’s life, thus making it impossible to achieve your goals.   

Reference

Muhammad, Y, B. (2013). Living on One Dollar. IMDB. Retrieved from: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2625598/plotsummary?ref_=tt_ov_pl