PEOPLE LIKE US by Hashi Mohamed

I was so caught up in this book, I never wanted it to end. Such an extensive exploration of education, social class and mobility in the UK.
The bitter truth is that the chance of succeeding in Britain as well as many other countries really, is down to the following factors: the wealth and profession of your parents, the kind of school you attended, your mental and physical heath and the quality of your early environment in terms of stability and attention.
Hard work and luck are both part of the equation, as well as receiving some support in understanding the unwritten rules of the world you want to join.
Hashi Mohamed’s story is actually an anomaly when talking about social mobility. Way too often, privilege and wealth are concentrated in the hands of the very few.

“Plan new achievements, and set about achieving them. Failure and disappointment simply don’t matter; go ahead with your dreaming, let your enthusiasm run away with you. You were made to rise and soar, and come back to earth with a bump, and rise and soar again. If you accomplish nothing else, you’ll have kept the rot and the rust away.
Let me warn you: it’s the practical people who stay rooted on the earth, who make the money. But it’s the dreamers who touch the stars. Which is the success you plan? Are you to “play safe” for the rest of your life or are you to adventure?
You must make a choice, and make it early; and having made it, you must abide by it.”
- Alfred Wainwright