The trials and tribulations I have faced and fought through before and after adoption
have shaped me into a compassionate, creative, and well-rounded woman.
The environment I grew up in before I was adopted consisted of young and unreliable parents and heavily unstable living situations. During this time in my life, I learned very early on to take care of myself and received a bitter taste of the real world. My parents, never home and irresponsible, are the reason why I grew up without necessities. Learning to fend for myself and make do with what little we had, did nothing to change the fact that my siblings and I were malnourished and underdeveloped. Surrounded by the struggle of living a life of barely scraping by, my biological mother took her frustration out on us. She would keep us home from school lest someone see the bruises, causing us to fall behind academically. When I could go to school, I tried to catch up and be studious. Unlike most children that age, I preferred to be at school because I was safe, and I confided in my teachers.
Later in my life, my biological mother married a man who was more abusive and temperamental than her. My mother's ex-husband still lived with us after her recent marriage and worked two j...
