Personal Narrative: Growing Up In DSS

Growing up in DSS I was forced to learn responsibility at a young age. I always jumped from home to home. After being discharged from DSS I found myself going to JROTC. I've been in the program 3 years, going on my 4th. I realized that leaderships is what I like, and what I'd like to keep doing. I want to be able to combine my current leadership skills with the lessons I've learned from the challenges I've overcome, to grow and be of something greater than my past. A big part of my life was raising myself basically in DSS. Having to jump from home to home and learning to adapt to different environments, and personalities. My first semi stable environment being Epworth's children's home, where I stayed for about 3 years. I was surrounded by people who made money pretending to care about me, though behind closed doors they didn't care what happened to us. There I was bullied, neglected and abused, but I also got to witness a lot of

During the workouts , people my age would need help and i even helped them after practice. Last year being a veteran out there, I mentored quite a few of the younger athletes. Id say the biggest contributor to my current leadership skills is JROTC. JROTC has given me a chance to enhance my leadership skills and opportunities to develop others. I was placed in JROTC my freshman year, and get to see how the program worked. My first year i was given a minor roles like calling roll and announcements. My second year I obtained the sgt 1st class rank by working hard, where I began assisting in teaching lectures and leading PT. In my most recent year in JROTC. I earned the officer rank captain, I was more often the class leader, I worked in the S-4 shop and served as the platoon leader whiled in a formal