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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Lifestyle

I feel I have let my family down because I can't help my siblings financially

Composite: Private Lives.
Composite: Private Lives. Composite: Getty/Guardian Design Team

I left my native country to study in England when I was 17. Back then, my family was quite well off and invested a lot in my education. I am for ever grateful for that. While finishing my masters, I met the love of my life. We are now in our 20s, happily married with a child, but we live simply, within our means. The situation, however, changed dramatically for my family; my parents went bankrupt and my grandmother was diagnosed with terminal cancer. I realise that my younger sister and brother might never get the opportunities I had in life. We do not have the finances to help them and we live on opposite sides of the planet. I care deeply and I cannot shake the feeling of guilt. I feel like I made myself happy but failed them somehow.

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