When people find out that I don’t live with my parents they ask all kinds of questions: “Why are your parents in Mexico?” and “Why do you live with your uncle?”
Redemption is forgiveness and the second part is actually moving forward and starting to bring the positive things into light. The accountability and responsibility is looking inside your pain. Then the redemption part is when you start taking the lessons from that pain.
In my case I feel like I have these responsibilities not only because I am a woman but also because I am the oldest. I manage to keep my grades high with struggles but I do feel like I’m taking on a role of a mother and my mom has the role of a dad.
Photo: some rights reserved wolfpetersonby Ana LlimetEditor’s Note: This story was originally published in We’Ced Youth Magazine Issue #2
I was in 3rd grade and I had just gotten out of the restroom when a group of girls approached me. Read More
Shortly after, my father relapsed and I lost contact with both him and my brother. Through another family member, I was informed that my brother was taken into the custody of his older sister. Child Protective Services (CPS) eventually decided the home he went to was unsafe and placed him in foster care.
Slowly but surely, I started to get better in school. I got in less and less trouble, I stopped fighting and became an A and B student and I started playing sports like basketball. I started to look for ways to get involved in my community and that’s how I found out about BHC.
Adoption is a great alternative for a mother or family that wants to provide a better and brighter future for their child. After my recent experience I’ve not only learned about the positive outcomes of adoption, but also to observe the good and bad when it comes to particular topics. I’ve learned that it only takes one person to change a mindset.
I committed to set myself free. I wanted to think for myself and be influenced and dominated by no one but me. It took forever to break each and every one of those chains that had me tied down in the dark- ness, immobilized. It was the toughest situation I have ever been in.
The more I learned English the less and less I could communicate with my parents. I was losing the ability to communicate with my parents. Even though we were living in Merced where there is a big presence of Mexican culture and people, I was losing the Mexican heritage in me.
I often hear people saying negative things about pit bulls. They’re too aggressive. They’re born to fight. It’s not safe to have them around children. My first question to these people is, have you ever been around or owned a pit bull? The times I’ve actually been able to ask people this, most of them say no.
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