Have you ever wondered what it was like coming from a low-income family? To struggle financially but somehow managed to overcome every obstacle faced resulting in success along with continued success? Well I know I did; in order to further educate myself on what the life of an African American man whose family immigrated from Somalia to provide a more fulfilling life with plenty of opportunities to become someone great. Although the road to success was not easy, David King made it happen. He went through adversities where at times he did not believe he would be able to make it, within those moments of defeat and failure David arose to the top birthing a seasoned successful 40-year-old man whom shared his amazing story with me. What is admiring about David that I took out of this interview is his ambition to always be one step ahead, as well as to working hard to become a better version of himself. Despite not having the push he felt he needed to become this successful he managed to make it all happen with some help from people he has encountered in his life time. Currently, David is happily married balancing working on his career in Social Work working with the LGBT community more specifically the LGBT youth, while raising three kids and maintaining his home in Long Island. “It is not easy, and at times it can be overwhelming. The best advice I give to the people I come into contact with is to always remember to make time for yourself; that is how I survive, always find a
I’ve spent nearly half of my life living in a largely white suburb in Minnesota. Despite the differences, I have always found a way to blend in with the community, and I have never felt as though my race has been a major burden on me. However, one of the regrets that I have is that I really take my community for granted. Many other Somalis in this state and around my community are refugees that don’t have the same access to education or jobs as we do. Sometimes I thank God for the comfortable situation that my family and I are in. Many minorities in the state and in the country aspire to have a good life with kids and a front yard. But with racial disparity in the way, it’s not always easy having that dream. To me, the best way people of any race can do that is challenge themselves and work to their goals. It took my dad more than a decade in America to finance and study in order to get his bachelors and master’s degrees. While it’s no guarantee that one could work and achieve success in this country, it’s always worth
Several barriers that people encounter are often in the general vicinity of them. Whether it be their family, or the neighborhood they are in, hardships are in an arm’s reach. Charlie Sheen, famous
Growing up I have always been surrounded and guided by numerous impactful men who sought out to inspire and encourage me to reach my full potential. These men are committed to dedicating time and effort back into the community. Their continuous strive towards success and empowerment has inspired me tremendously. In fact,
Growing up in an one bedroom single parent home with eight kids I was an angry child faced with countless obstacles growing up. The things that I have seen and the situations I have been in through growing up I know that I shouldn’t be here today.There are guys that I grew up with who are now either dead, in jail, or still in the streets. By overcoming these things it has molded me into the young man I am today; a person who is determined to be great and determined to leave an impact on people's lives in everything that I do. As I continue to grow, others are seeing the transition that I am making into a black man who while he may be from the projects he is taking actions to become better and
In Hillbilly Elegy, J.D. Vance talks about his rise from the poor, working class Hillbillies of the Rust Belt to the more affluent middle class. In doing so, he talks about the work needed to move up the economic ladder (to a different social class), expressing that it is always possible but very difficult. Vance talks about the struggles he faced within his family and his community, as well as how he overcame them. Vance’s reason to write this book was because he accomplished something ordinary, which does not happen to most children that grow up like him.
A fire rose within to burn social economic barriers that imprisoned me from achieving an education. As a member of a low-income household, I continually witnessed my parents struggling to pay for utilities, rent, and groceries. Although we received government assistance, it never seemed to be enough. My father worked long hours at a dairy factory to provide for our family, but his addiction to alcohol took most of his income. My mother depended on government assistance due to her chronic asthma and arthritis. Not being able to rely on my parents for stability, my six older siblings were forced to drop out of high school to become providers of their own.
Like no other before it, Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers gives insight into a world of success only a select few are able to view firsthand. Gladwell portrays date of birth, economic status, and obstacles that are overcome by luck rather than perseverance as the key ingredients for a recipe of triumph. Time and education seem to be the underlying factors while socio-economic status also plays a sizable role in determining who succeeds and who does not. While I do not consider myself an outlier currently, as so many of my peers and schoolmates enjoy what I enjoy, it is very clear that, given the opportunities afforded to me, it may not be long before I am considered an outlier and achieve success, both on a monetary and mental level.
Do you know what if feels like to live in a household with fourteen other people? Do you know how it feels now knowing if you whether or not you will have a roof over your head while you are sleeping the next day? When you live in this type of known environment, it is hard to do make it out become successful in life. All odds were against a man named Michael Jerome Williams growing up in these same situations and circumstances. Michael Oher was a young homeless boy that was adopted and turned himself around. Childhood for Michael Oher was living in a small home and being one of twelve children. He lived in the worst part of Memphis Tennessee, he never knew his father. He did not receive much care as a child as his mother was an alcoholic and his father spent most of his time in prison. When Michael was in high school his father was killed while in the prison. His mother was addicted to cocaine since Michael was born and he and his siblings began to separate at an early age. Oher failed in first and second standards and had to change many schools. Some were sent to foster homes, some stayed with friends and others lived on the streets. Unfortunately, Michael was in and out of foster homes and ultimately was homeless. He was basically on his own from the beginning of his life. He does not think of himself as being tough just trying to get by, to survive. He had friends who were as determined as he was to get out. He had brothers and sisters who helped keep him
Liz Murray is an influential student because she sets an example for students with struggling homes by pushing herself to live a better life and by going out to speak out and encourage other struggling students to live a better life. While Liz Murray could have done nothing to improve her life, she pushed herself to improve her awful life. For instance, according to reporter Rebecca O’Brien, Liz Murray “completed high school in two years, all while living on the street—rather than with an abusive grandfather who housed her sister—and occasionally spending the night with friends or in the subway”( O’Brien N.P.). This demonstrate that Liz worked hard in school, completing high school in half the time than most people.
Imagine being taunted for having to wear potato-sack dresses because of poverty, or growing up in impoverishment American housing projects. Two of the most famous people had to go through those trails in their life, but made it out VERY successfully. Oprah was raised being taunted for having to wear potato-sack dresses because of her poverty. Oprah now has a television network called OWN. She is a talk-show host, a book club president, an actress, a producer, a magazine owner, a satellite radio station owner, a philanthropist, a lifestyle guru, and a single-handed president picker. The other is an African-American born into impoverished American housing projects, Jay-Z. He is now the current CEO of Roc Nation and his net worth is an estimated $450 million. Even though neither of these people hadn’t come from lovely backgrounds, they had various trials, and tribulations, but they made it through and became some of the most successful people in the world. Growing up in a rough environment can be extremely hard. It can either make or break a person. From home life, to schooling, to jail systems, and the streets being an easy backup. growing up in this environment can be huge deals in the success of young African Americans.
Each person in this world has something they want to accomplish, but wanting to accomplish something is easier said than done. We all face struggles or barriers if you will, that hold us back from our accomplishments, but there are certain qualities or traits that get us where we need to be. A young man named Frankie Jimenez once was an illegal immigrant from Tlaquepaque, Mexico, but he has moved to California with his family in hopes of a better life. He has balanced school and work to support his family and has still managed to get several scholarships that got him into the University of Santa Clara. Although, Frankie is from a low social class, like me, he is hardworking and has a supportive family that has got him where he needed to be.
It does not matter how rich, famous or beautiful you are many of us, in fact, all of us have once in our lives overcome some difficult situations that help shape, make and take us to where we are today. You can’t just BE confident, you can’t just BE angry, you can’t just BE brave, you BECOME these things. And for many of us, like Jake La Motta, we fight like we don’t deserve to live just to
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
Back when my father was just thirteen years old, he entered into high school, ready to move on with his life and have a very successful high school career. Like every other goal that my father has ever set out to reach in his life, there was an obstacle in his way. Mr. Patel continued to explain his lack of success in prior years: “ I was never, ever good in school, most kids in my class were naturally bright, but I was far behind them, eventually by the time I hit the fifth grade I had lost all my motivation to work hard and get good marks in school.” At such a young age my father had faced constant and gruesome failure. There was never a point in his childhood that my father felt he had obtained success. By the time he was in the tenth grade almost everyone looked at him as if he was a complete failure and really did not deserve to be studying at a school. However, his closest family believed in him and my father knew that his future was at stake here and he needed to perform at an elite level in order to live a happy life. Over the next three years, my father’s life consisted of nothing but going to school, sleeping and studying. In three years my father completely changed how society perceived him and how other students looked at him. Not only did he
Born into the opposite of poverty, I’m given not just the chance to flourish, but to excel in unimaginable ways. Already living a life that