Who I Am

I am a 25 year old mother of two boys ages 5 and 6. My husband and I are expecting one on the way! I have been with my husband for the last 10 years and married for about 7 of those years. Having children and marriage started at a very early stage of my life. I was 19. But thankfully, it was one of the best things that could ever have happened. I finally had the chance to find my way out of homemaking to become a full time college student and prepare a future for my family. I was blessed to have graduating become a nurse. Now my next challenge in life, besides welcoming number 3 into our lives and home, is to find my way through college once again to eventually earn a Registered Nurse license.

Life was not always easy as it is never easy for most. My past growing up is not something I dwell on, but positive things most certainly can come from the most negative times in one’s life. I am proud to have grown into who I am today. I have a loving family that provided me with great motivation.

At 3 years of age I began to grow without a father. Daddy took off to never return. My brother and I had a wonderful stepfather for seven years who happily accepted us to raise as his own children. Unfortunately marriages do not last, so we lost the only father we ever knew. Of course there were several other stepfathers along the way. I felt sympathy for my baby brother because I knew there to be a void in his life that needed to be filled. There was no support from a father to his son. Life at home became harder and my grandmother accepted me and that is where I stayed until marriage. Of all the things to be thankful for in my lifetime, my grandmother would definitely be at the top of the list other than my beautiful family. I often wonder what would have happened if not for her. I believe things happen for a reason. We all have our destinies and at any given time we can change for the best or worst.

Growing up in private school was never the easiest task as a small child. Home life and school were two different worlds. I would do anything from eating the teacher’s sandwich in kindergarten to writing on a child’s jacket with a marker in the first grade. The paddle was always my closest friend. Since we were always moving constantly, I was finally able to transfer to a public school while in the fourth grade. I got bullied sometimes around the sixth grade; either from an eighth grader or this big red headed chick that had just moved in the neighborhood. It wasn’t just the fear of having to meet at the same bus stop every morning with the red head and any given moment she’s in my face; the worst of it all was not having a parent do anything about it. So finally I had enough courage to talk with my grandmother and that’s where it all began to change for the best.

Having gone through so much in life, it provided a guide for my future. I never had any intentions of dropping out of school and making babies. Thankfully I had enough intuition to pursue college. There were only 8 of us out of originally 30 students who graduated from the nursing program. It was the most challenging time in life other than giving birth. But I will never regret any second of it.

I try my best everyday to not take life for granted. Sometimes life is moving at such a rapid pace that it can be quite easy to forget what matters most and the things in life that we are most thankful for. I know we tend to remember all we had when it is gone and lost. I try and make the absolute best of my days. My family knows I love them and I thank God for them every single day. They make me who I am today; they are my inspiration in life.