My comments concerning Marguerite Thibault’s letter in the March 19 issue (“The demise of the middle class”) are not about the middle class, but rather her reasonable clarification of what freedom is all about.

I grew up in even less than the middle class and I know what she was talking about. We found a way to make the grade and in so doing, we found ourselves.

When you have to deal with less than you wish you had, work diligently at even menial jobs and find ways to bring life together. The results provide each person with as valuable an education about ourselves as a college degree.

Thibault did it, I assume, and so did I. There may be help, but if not, one has to bite the bullet and find a way. Otherwise we may end up as wimps. Hard to do, but your belief in yourself is far more valuable than you might believe.

Katy Perry

Hallowell