Why I Grow Up In A Single-Parent Home

Stephanie Gonzalez is a 16 year old teenager who grew up and was raised in Chicago by only her mother and older brother. Stephanie has had to persevere through several challenges and obstacles in her life due to the fact that her father left her when she was only an infant. Stephanie was willing to speak out about how her culture needs to relook at the way they view single-parent households in society and how she was deeply affected by the way she grew up (Gonzalez). The percentage of children living with single parents increased substantially in the United States during the second half of the 20th century. Only nine percent of children lived with single parents in the 1960s, while this statistic increased dramatically to 28 percent in 2012. Growing

My mother worked four jobs at once to make financial ends meet, while always stressing the importance of education and financial independence to my brother and myself. My grandmother only achieved a second grade education due to the financial constraints on her family at a young age, but still in the end managed to make certain that of her children and grandchildren had what was needed to flourish and become successful, educated members of the community. The tenacity and history of these two women I still carry with me today. Their struggles have inspired to me to only want more from life, but also serve as a positive role model for the younger members of my community. I observed from other family members how an education can open a multitude of doors and opportunities. I want to make the biggest and most significant on my community and on my family as possible, and the only foreseeable path is to achieve a college education to gain the necessary skills, knowledge and connections needed to flourish and implement positive

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.

Besides graduating from college, being accepted into the Counseling program at NOVA Southeastern University was the greatest day of my life. I was on my way to a much greater success by working on my Master. Paying for college out of pocket was a struggle, but I understand that success comes with great sacrifices. However, I wouldn’t really call paying out of pocket for school a sacrifice, but rather an investment in my future and my family. My first semester went marvelous. I was motivated and enthusiastic about the courses. I must admit graduate school is much harder than I imagine, but I manage to make time for studying and ended making A’s in both of my classes, which I didn’t expect less than that. When the summer semester I arrived, I was as excited and motivated as my very first semester, aiming to make nothing less than an A grades. However, unexpectedly my world seemed to have turned upside down in a matter of time. My mother and I decided to take a week to go

Being born of 2 immigrant parents, who work menial jobs and have no education has always had its weight on me. Neither one of my parents are high school graduates and no one in my family has obtained a collegiate education. I have been able to experience first hand how difficult a life with no education is. I recall other students sharing how their parents provided aid with their homework and read to them, knowing I did not get to experience that made me gloomy. I had no other choice but to learn everything on my own and then attempt to teach my parents. This peculiar lifestyle has pushed me harder in academics and has given me a genuine appreciation for the value of an education.

Everybody loves a good success story. When the underdog, usually a lower class high school age student, defies the odds and comes out on top, beating his circumstances to get where nobody thinks he should go, everyone goes crazy for it. So crazy that Hollywood gets in on the act, with movie productions such as The Blind Side, Life of A King, and Slum Dog Millionaire. Sadly, these stories are not commonplace, in fact, they are very few and far between. More often than not, students from lower class families struggle to get by, as a result putting school to the back burner. Less than 75% of students in lower income households graduate high school, and even fewer go onto college (http://nces.ed.gov). From this group, excuses began to come out, the main reason underlies them all; they have become a product of their circumstance. The position they were in restrained them, forcing only one path, a

I was born and raised in an isolated rural area where traditional agriculture is the main source of income of inhabitants, while the surrounding communities have the same life style. At that time, most of the families have no propensity to allow their children to get an education. Fortunately, my family is one of those few that allow their children to get an education; this path is still kept in the same trend by our family.

Today, several of my childhood friends are dead, in prison, or addicted to drugs. I knew friends, who were talented, but never attended college since they felt compelled to provide for their families. Children from low-income families have this mindset—that is supported by the tenets implying we will not amount to anything surpassing our existing conditions compared to individuals from prosperous backgrounds. I realized I had to reach beyond the limits of my circumstances so I could pursue my

As a young child, I learned that education would be beneficial to not only myself but also all humankind. Growing up in a Northeast Florida housing project my father and mother did the best they could to raise nine children. My father worked seven days a week in the service industry as a waiter and bartender while my mother worked as a domestic employee in the homes of more affluent people in the south. My father had an eleventh grade education and my mother had not passed the tenth grade before she bore her first child. Neither parent completed high school but they had dreams of their children far exceeding their educational accomplishments. I was child eight of the nine and I knew early on that I did not want to live

I have committed myself to pursuing my undergraduate degree because I am completely aware of the importance of education. I am also a proud first generation college student determined to succeed, undeterred by my circumstances as an adolescent. I didn’t have a typical childhood. My mother was an alcoholic who also struggled severely with drug addiction. Unfortunately, her dependence led her into a cycle of domestic violence, jail, and many failed treatment attempts. Her choices preceded her absence for the majority of my life. From my knowledge, she didn’t even attain a high school diploma. My father was always present in my life. He raised my brother and me without the help of a significant other. He always emphasized education so he put me through private schooling.

I will never forget that day, the day I casually walked downstairs to find my parents sitting face to face at the kitchen table with both arms crossed and a serious look on their faces. I slowly walk towards my dad who is reaching out to give me a hug, looking at me with his sorrowful eyes, tells me that he will be moving out. At the time, I remember feeling confused, but I did not feel so emotionally affected because I was only just 5 years old. Being raised in a single parent household has been a challenge in my life and has impacted me through financial problems, social situations, and maturity.

As a family of six I was raised on section 8, barely surviving on welfare. I shared beds and clothes with dreams of making it out of poverty, but with little guidance I was at risk of continuing this lifestyle for generations to come. My mother was always at work and my father was absent, which made me skip childhood and mature in order to become independent. I was never that child who had their mother sitting at the table telling them how to do their homework, but rather a child who stood on the table all day and night trying to teach myself. I knew from an early age that I wanted more in life than used clothes and a bike as transportation. I had the dream of attending college and becoming a doctor in philosophy.

Parenting styles have had many controversial issues over the decades. The way people raised their children back in the 50’s and 60’s are completely different from today society. Back then they believe in the nuclear family, which is a family with a mom, dad, and children. They believe staying together at all cost. If something was breaking or broken you fixed it. At times you wonder if they stayed for love, money, or just for the sake of the children. Now and days it is not the same. Families are broken up for many reasons. Rather it be by death, the other parent wanting out (such as divorce). But in the end there is always a single parent left to take care of the kids in most situations. When something like this happens a negative connotation is brought to the single parent. This paper would show the effects of being raised by a single parent. Just like everything in life there is a good and bad side to everything. So in this paper you should learn the negative and positive effect of being raised by a single parent. The problem of the matter is that society tends to write off the child of single parents. Stating that they are lead down this road of destruction and grouping the entire single parent raised children without seeing the other side. Not saying that being raised by a single parent does not come with it hardships, but the fact is that there is still hope for those children and they can do very well. By always stating the negative it leaves the

I grow up in a small town in Lindsay California. I was born in the Lindsay Hospital in 1988. I had many challenges, growing up in a single parent home, but I make me the person I am today. I don’t think my parent action had anything to do with my decisions or what way of life I chose.

Growing up, I was born to a working lower-class family, where my parents did their best to make end meets. My parents struggle to enroll us in school by working any jobs they could find. Both of my parents had to hold multiple jobs, whether it was