“Exceptional hardships, challenges, or opportunities” make me think of about a million things that have happened throughout my short eighteen years of life. However, I think the biggest challenge I have had to face is growing up in a single parent household. I never thought much of living in a single parent home; it was a norm to me, even though I always knew that a father figure was missing. Although, most of my friends had both parents at home, living in San Antonio, Texas with close to five hundred thousand households that have only one parent present, single parent households are not far fetched.
This has always been a motivating factor for me in more ways than one. However, I think the most important is that I knew at an early age that I wanted to be successful because I have seen my mother struggle to make ends meet for all of my life. I was rarely able to go the movies with friends; I did not get new clothes every year; I never received the toys I asked for. My mother has had to stretch a very small income across the rent, the bills, her needs, and mine. For as long as I can remember, I have worried about whether or not her income was going to stretch too far one month, and because of this, I got a job at the age of sixteen. Although balancing work and school has been difficult, I manage to make it work because I know that it takes a lot of stress off my mother. Through this, not only have I learned the value of a dollar, but also I’ve learned that an impeccable work ethic is going to get me far in life. I devote as much time as I can to my studies, while still balancing Cross Country and Track, and doing my best to be a picture perfect employee.
Although growing up in a single parent household has been challenging for the majority of my life, my mother’s unfortunate circumstances are not an excuse for me. I don’t believe in saying “I can’t” simply because I don’t always have the means that I need. Getting a job was a way for me to provide for myself...