High School Conviction

Growing up I have always been a single child. I was born in North Carolina and when I was three we were kicked out of the house and moved to Florida. We lived from house to house every year because we couldn’t pay rent. When my mother’s back began to bother her the doctors said she had MS. Soon after that my parents were divorced. I have always looked back and said to myself that I will not live like my parents I want to go to college and love my husband. I don’t want to struggle. Since the divorce I have developed characteristics that will make me successful.

At the age of 16 I had my son Ezikel, he is now six years old and is a wild, exciting, creative young boy he is my biggest blessing. When I found out I was going to have a child at such a young age I had one thing on my mind and that was “I refuse to be a statistic” I went on to find a high school for teen moms; Florence Crittenton High School, I was determined to graduate high school and move on to college. I completed High School in 2011 and got a scholarship I went to CCD but I felt it wasn’t quick enough for me , I felt as if I had to rush and get a career to support me and my son. I then went to working dead end jobs I felt like a failure, this is not what I planned on for my post high school life, I felt ashamed and I had let my son down.

Living in a low-income family, my life was constantly being turned upside down. Whether it was living without hot water, electricity, or even a home at times I’ve had to work through it all in pursuit of my dreams. Coming home to a situation in complete disarray was a standard for my household, and when something wasn’t burning down in a fire, then life just didn’t seem real. Being pushed around has meant going the “extra mile” to succeed in life. This has meant taking a four-mile bike ride to the Santa Clara library to finish typing up a research paper for my English class or even boiling pots of water to have a lukewarm bath. While these skills are not necessarily the most difficult, they have molded me into being a person who won’t allow setbacks to stop me from achieving my

The love for my family is still there even through all the judgmental things, they only wanted the best for me. Twenty-three more than independent is what family can call memory now. In my opinion, having children at a young age motivates you more in life than you can think of. The first few months of moving always thinking if a tire was to blow out on this highway who could I call? The negativity in my head almost got to me. Seven months later I’m still here, still loving the city, but no longer crying. God got me and hasn’t brought me this far to fail. Back in school and so happy with myself, all in all what I’m saying is never doubt what you can do. Going through tough times and can make you or break you. Surprising my entire and went all the way out the box to do what everyone said I

My entire life has been nothing but a disappointment. When I was a child, and my mother was “entertaining” another stranger, I would go out and explore the housing division we lived in. I tried to find my happy place; a place where I truly mattered to someone past a welfare check. While I was out on my excursions, I would come across a particular group of older kids.

It was a warm, sunny day in the middle of June. I held my little boy’s hand tightly as we walked through the exit of my high school. In my other hand, I felt the smooth, heavy leather case that housed my high school diploma. I had done it. I had graduated on time, same as my childless classmates. As an adolescent mother, I had beaten the towering odds that were relentlessly stacked against me. I tear rolled down my cheek as my son and I made our way back to the group home in which we lived. No one was there to greet us, or to celebrate this incredible accomplishment, but I was proud of myself, and at that moment, that had to be enough. This was a turning point in my life; I knew that I could achieve whatever I put my mind to, and if only I had known back then how right I was. From that moment on, and from every life experience thereafter, I knew I was meant to assist others in finding their strength, as well as finding the courage and motivation to achieve their goals.

My resilience and determination make me a viable candidate for any obstacle that I may face. I have experienced numerous hardships throughout my life. I have faced poverty, I have held my only known relative as they died, I have been molested by a neighbor 40 years older than me who swore to protect me and give me shelter. I have been abused by a mother I did not know I had until after the death of my father.Yet, I am no less than I have ever been. I understand that the difficulties I have faced have given me something. I have learned to be thankful, to persevere, to stand up, and to settle for no less than I am worth. I will face any obstacle with courage and dignity and I will let nothing bar me from bettering myself or others. I am determined

In the grand scheme of my life thus far, my childhood has transitioned to adulthood in a rather gradual manner. There are few truly significant events that I have experienced. However, of those few, two outlie my previously stated gradience. At approximately the same time in my life, I began to drive and I acquired a minimum wage occupation.

I knew at that moment that my life was about to take a drastic change and I would be pushed to the limit. I knew that this would be a very hard road. I was still in high school, I was on the basketball team and I was pregnant. That was a hard pill to swallow. This is when I began to look towards the future. I had goals and things that I wanted to accomplish in my life and just like that I could see it all disappear. But I found that with prayer, my goals could still be accomplished. I might be harder and might take me longer than I had anticipated, but I found myself determined to make it work. “Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one's youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate” (Psalm 127: 3-5). Even though the having pre-marital sex is not idyllic, that baby is still considered a child of

Growing up in a single parent household as the oldest of my mother’s three children I learned many things about hardship. I truly believe those things helped to shape me into the woman I am today. Early in my life my parents filed for divorce; adjusting to that new lifestyle made me more flexible, and I learned from my mother’s strength never to let bad things get the best of me. In the second grade I was diagnosed with Dyslexia; working through that made me stronger in the sense that I’ve always had to work twice as hard. Values and techniques I learned back then I still use today to achieve my goals. Because of my family’s financial issues I started working at the age of 16 although, it was hard it helped me to learn responsibility, and time-management. I was truly blessed to have had many

Little did I know that on my first day of a new middle school my mom would have a heart attack and pass away five days later. The shock of losing my mom was compounded by being thrown into adulthood at twelve. Since my dad worked late, I was transformed from the blissful child who couldn’t bake sugar cookies to being obligated to cook dinner every night. I had never touched the washing machine, toilet plunger, or lawn mower, but that changed quickly. In many ways had to replace my childhood with being a parent to myself. By struggling these past five years, I’ve realized that life hasn’t been easy, but it’s allowed me to be ready for the future.

Although I have only been alive for a short time, my life experiences have been intriguing. My earliest childhood memories emphasize my alcoholic father hurling verbal and physical abuse, as well as his eventual incarceration. As I grew, I felt smothered by my extended family’s criticisms. My family’s low income has always persisted as a major challenge, so I seldom felt I could explore my own interests. Meanwhile, social anxiety and jealousy from peers pricked at my skin every day. Despite all of the hardships I face, I still find and seek success, and I believe that I will help bring the betterment of the world. I wish that more people would understand me as a person of potential and success rather than tragedy.

When I was a little girl my parents stressed the importance of education. I was very focused and motivated by their encouragement to always do my best. I was a high achiever and maintained good grades academically. When I became a teenager I rebelled from my parents and made decisions that weren’t the best at the time. I became pregnant at 16 and chose to raise my daughter. I knew by becoming a mom succeeding academically would be a challenge. I was motivated by my goal to show my daughter that education was important no matter the obstacles in the way. I first made it my main goal to finish high school and help my significant other finish high school as well. We were both very determined and we both graduated out of high school early by taking

I was born and raised in Cleveland by a single mother with five brothers. I went to a high school were there's not a lot of credit given and makes it hard for people to see how bright the students are. Yes, sometimes I fell off track, but my grades were great for the most part. Once I seen how people didn't recognize our little accomplishment and that made me strive harder to change people perspectives. Duke university was looking at me to come and join their school. What stopped me ? Well low income, seeing my mother struggle there was no way for her to help me all the way. Even though she will give me the clothes off her body just to keep me warm. I had a job , but wasn't paid enough. I wanted to help my mother too. My mother worked hard for me my brothers. I wasn't brought into this world golden spoon fed. My mom worked hard and long to make ends meet for me and my brothers. I'm not trying to tell you these things to feel sorry. I'm telling you that no matter what my background is, what goes on around me,and how many times I stop I will continue. My mission in life is to accomplish my short term goal to successfully defeat my long term goal to show my younger brother a role model is a legend. That legend will be me. You'll know a legend when you see one ,but it takes long and hard to become

The nights I went hungry to make sure my siblings were fed only fueled my desire to break the barriers that were associated with the poor socioeconomic status that I came from. Graduating high school was not expected of me, let alone attending college. This only motivated me to defy the odds and achieve what had never been done in my family before. I refused to let my finances or lack thereof limit me from being the first person in my family to attend college. I worked full time throughout my college career, and although shortly interrupted due to financial hardships, I overcame these obstacles and became the first person in my family to earn a