The old "bad childhood" excuse is about the most ridiculous thing that ever got trotted out into public. I work with a guy that was born in prison. He spent his first 18 years of life in foster care. Some of the families starved him, abused him and degraded him. His last family of four years was good to him and built a safe environment for him to grow. He joined the Marine Corps at 17. He served for 18 years until a helicopter crash in Iraq broke his back and he suffered a traumatic brain injury. He spent a year in a hospital bed and had to wear a diaper for another year. He was medically discharged from the Marines with 30% disability and not allowed to reach 20 years to retire. He receives $1200 a month in disability and still has full VA benefits because they are still trying to fix his TBI that has left him with deficiencies. He holds no grudges against the Marine Corps, even though I think he was screwed. He refuses to hire a lawyer to have them reconsider his disability because he says that some of his brothers are missing limbs, are paralyzed or are far more damaged. He goes to the gym everyday. He volunteers at the local orphanage and donates money, clothes, school supplies and time. He has a wife and a child and works full time plus is a licensed exterminator and does it on weekends to generate extra money. He is a stand up guy that I trust with my life. All this with a childhood much worse than mine. So to folks with the excuse of a bad childhood, it holds no water with me.