My Personal Crisis

I didn’t tell many people what was going on at home because I was ashamed of it. On the weekends I would try to go spend the night with one of my grandmothers to get away from my alcoholic father. I rarely invited friends over because I did not know if he was going to get drunk that night or not. Avoiding this potential embarrassment makes me feel like I missed out on having a normal childhood.

A time I had to overcome adversity in my life was when I became injured during the middle of cheer tryouts. At the time I was very passionate about competitive cheer, and my goal was to make the junior five team. When I got to tryouts everyone was tumbling, stunting and doing the dance routine. My adrenaline was pumping as I went to warm up my tumbling and throw a roundoff, back handspring, layout. I was determined to accomplish this for tryouts and impress my coach, but I was still very nervous. As I was running into the roundoff back handspring, I knew something was bound to go wrong. The next thing I knew I was in the middle of the air and suddenly landed on my knees, with my ankle twisted under me. My face got bright

My story isn't quite special really, although I have lived under some unique circumstances. My mother was a single parent raising my little sister and I until she married my Stepdad in 2007. I was five at the time and had no father figure until then. From that time on he became my dad. Our new family moved twice before living in a small city where we stayed for 6 years. This is where I made close friends, achieved academic excellence, went to church regularly, life was great or so I thought. What seemed to be our perfect life was turned upside down as hard times fell upon us. I was now the oldest of five younger siblings, my mom wasn't healthy, and my dad had to struggle to keep things going.

The actual separation of my parents was not the exact reason I became depressed, the actual reason being that everything else changed as well as my family situation. I had to adapt to a new lifestyle, both socially and economically.

I have overcome lots of obstacles in my life. They weren't the easiest to overcome, but I did it. There is one obstacle I had to go through which made me a strong individual mentally and physically. I lived in New Jersey for my entire life. I grew up there, I had all of my family and friends in Jersey. I was sure my future was going to rely in Jersey. During 7th grade, I got the news that we were going to move to North Carolina. I was thrilled to move to another state. As each day passed, I thought how I would have to start in a new school and make new friends. Every time it struck me knowing that I would have to start a new life. I was nervous not knowing what would happen to my future. I wanted to stay in New Jersey because I was scared of

Another critical moment in my life that changed me forever occurred in August of 2001. At the peak of hurricane season, Louisiana was terribly affected by Hurricane Katrina. Katrina devastated millions of people across the south. For the first time in my life I got to experience what it felt like to be homeless. I had lost everything! And even though it was not much, it still mattered. There were several moments when I prayed and wished that my father could be there. No child, my age should have to go through with what I did. In hopes to find assistance, my mother left me and my siblings with my grandmother for a few months. These months were terrifying. I remember crying several nights

Most of my early life was rough. We moved a lot, and my parents fought and got a divorce, and my sister and I were always pushed and pulled from one parent to the next. After the divorce and even some before, my father was

As a kid I only got to see my dad on the weekends and those were the best days I had, I never understood why I couldn't live with my father full time because my mom never lived a stable life. My mother wasn’t as bad as it seems, she always made sure we had food and somewhere to stay even if it wasn't the greatest, even living with my mom my dad still paid for almost everything I had. When I was about 8 years old I lived in Mccomb and it was my dads weekend and I was so excited to get off of school and go see him, When I got home I was shocked to find everything packed up and my mom told me to get in the car, I was so upset to find out that me, my two brother, and her and her boyfriend were off to Florida. The whole trip to Florida I balled my eyes out and all I remember was that I kept saying that I wanted to live with my dad and that I hated my mom, I wondered how she could just up and leave without telling my

I spent most of my days watching television and eaten chips. I saw my mom and dad at night and my brother during the day, not one else. I rarely went out with my parents on weekends and spent most of my time alone. I even spent a New Years Eve alone, well with my dog. This time alone was not one with lots of self reflection. It caused depression and lots of social anxiety.

During 7th grade, I went through an emotional obstacle. My father had to leave for a year for his job, and this had a huge toll on my family. However, I overcame this obstacle with the support of my family and with faith. I kept the idea in my mind that he would be proud

I grew up in California where both of my parents were involved with gangs and drugs by the time they were in middle school. They grew up like this, getting involved with the wrong people, getting into fights for dumb reasons, even getting in trouble with the authorities. Of course, that was normal for them because they were surrounded by it through friends and family. They continued to live that life style even when they met each other at the ages of 18 and 23. They didn't like each other at first, but they eventually started dating. My mom ended up getting pregnant later that year and tried to take a break from all of it, but my dad didn't stop and that caused some tension and arguing between them.

My mother worked for the casino and I saw her struggle in her job. She would come home sometimes in pain because of her foot. She and I would barely spend time together because she was always tired. I got bored in school and got involved with the wrong crowd. Next thing you know I was in trouble with the law most of the time and don't even go home for a week cause I was out with my friends.

family made me confine myself in a bubble. Even though I lived in a community,

I grew up in a single parent household, and was a part of one until recently when my mom decided to remarry my now step dad. Growing up in this type of household has affected me in more ways than one would like to believe. It has affected the way my family is seen by others, how we speak to one another, and has had a large impact on my education. It has also given me a bigger stressor than simply living and growing in a single parent household with my mom; it gave me separation anxiety because of how we ended up in this

My parents separated when I was 16. I dropped out of school in the 11th grade. I stayed home to take care of my five younger brothers and sisters 14 yr-18 mos because my mother and father moved out and left us alone.