I was sitting next to my mother and father on our couch when he had to deliver the news I had hoped would only manifest itself as a worst case scenario in the deepest parts of the back of my mind. Not only had my mother finally been diagnosed with a dementia that will leave her inept and unable to speak towards the end of her life, she had been fired from her job- my three person family’s main source of income- , and had also lost the ability to drive. This was in 2013. Throughout my life, I have had to be strong in circumstances that most people would never even give a thought of happening to them. In the early stages of her mental illness, I was very small and my family didn’t know that anything was wrong; but I did. She would verbally and …show more content…
This is something they are still coming to terms with two years later - and some still don’t validate my side. Since then to now, I’ve had to be the person in my family that finds the solutions to problems. I’ve had to keep my grades up while balancing keeping the minimal food that we had in the house, along with my belongings safe from her - because once it’s gone you’ll never find it again. Also, an important challenge that makes me feel strong is that I have always tried to keep a positive outlook on my life and stay happy, which in itself is a battle. These experiences surrounding the hardship in my life are crucial to the person I am today because in the process of trying and failing, I’ve developed a thick skin, and I now know how far I can push myself to reach my goals successfully. I’m proud at my strength in being able to do this because at seventeen, I have essentially learned how to provide for myself and that has taught me life lessons that will be integral to how I live my adult life. From this hardship I have also learned to take great value in my heath and be thankful for what I have because nothing is ever set in stone. I am a strong person, it’s taken me awhile to realize this, and it’s the most important realization I’ve