Happenstance

I have never been afraid of “uncharted territory” and trying different experiences. Growing up in an economically disadvantaged community with very few opportunities prepares you for uncertainty. For most of the people who surrounded me, getting by was just the goal. Most of the females that I knew in high school were having children, and dropping out. My family had many “old time” notions, a woman’s “accomplishment” in life was to have kids. They were not big on education; the expectation was that you were lucky to get some local low-paying job. If needed to get by, maybe apply for government assistance. Poverty does that to people; it stifles ambition, so does a lack of education. I wanted more, and I knew that education was the only way it was going to happen for me. By attending adult night school for extra credits, while still enrolled in regular high school, I graduated at sixteen years of age. I wanted out that badly. After graduation, with no su