As someone from a poorer (not poor, we live in the UK and nobody is poor here) background, I can relate to some of this. But a lot of it is way off the mark. As I read further it sounded more and more like a woe is me piece.
> I knew I was the only poor person at my tech startup because nobody else ate the Hot Cheetos that were stocked in our free snack kitchen
> I knew I was the only poor person at my tech startup because I couldn’t restrain myself from eating and drinking myself into an absolute sickness anytime they threw a party and expressed no limits on our consumption
That's not being poor. That's being fat.
> Payday was marked in all caps on my calendar, every biweekly occurrence, forever.
That's not being poor. That's being bad with money.
> I knew I was the only poor person at my tech startup because I wouldn’t dream of Ubering in.
That's not being poor. That's being good with money.
> I gave back the Macbook. I kept the headphones.
That's not being poor. That's being a thief.
Overall I think coming from a poorer background is great for happiness. My girlfriend is from a similar background. We really enjoy small things that other people would take for granted. We've surpassed the quality of life we had growing up easily, so everything else is a bonus. If I were to write an article like this, it would be because I felt sorry for the "not poor" people, not to make people feel sorry for me.
> I knew I was the only poor person at my tech startup because nobody else ate the Hot Cheetos that were stocked in our free snack kitchen > I knew I was the only poor person at my tech startup because I couldn’t restrain myself from eating and drinking myself into an absolute sickness anytime they threw a party and expressed no limits on our consumption
That's not being poor. That's being fat.
> Payday was marked in all caps on my calendar, every biweekly occurrence, forever.
That's not being poor. That's being bad with money.
> I knew I was the only poor person at my tech startup because I wouldn’t dream of Ubering in.
That's not being poor. That's being good with money.
> I gave back the Macbook. I kept the headphones.
That's not being poor. That's being a thief.
Overall I think coming from a poorer background is great for happiness. My girlfriend is from a similar background. We really enjoy small things that other people would take for granted. We've surpassed the quality of life we had growing up easily, so everything else is a bonus. If I were to write an article like this, it would be because I felt sorry for the "not poor" people, not to make people feel sorry for me.