During my adolescent years, my grandmother passed on, my parents decided to divorce, and to top it off, my mother decided to move my siblings and I across the country to live near her family in Florida. The traumatic life change was especially difficult for me for I was never given an opportunity to mourn these changes. As the eldest, I was forced to undertake the role of mother, father, caregiver, and parental guardian for my younger siblings for four years. Unfortunately, my adolescence and education were placed on the back burner, as I had to be home schooled to care for my family.
My desire to interact with people and understand the philosophical side of life stemmed from my early childhood exposures to people outside of my community. My parents always entertained a controversial group of friends, which gave me the opportunity to interact with many individuals whose culture and religious beliefs were different from ours. I was fascinated by who these individuals were, what made them "forbidden," and how they began to differ from us. The influx of questions I had to ask never ceased as I matured, only increasing in amount when I left my ultra orthodox community at 19, to begin a life different from what I've always known. .
Quickly, I learned that I was, in many ways, different from all my peers. Along my new journey, I met an intellectual individual who encouraged me to take a variety of classes at my local community college. In doing so, my thirst for knowledge and life experiences only grew. Ideas that were once forbidden in my religion now allowed me to open my eyes beyond what I was once taught. Although the classes were intriguing, college provided its own setbacks, such as me learning alongside recent high school graduates, and juggling a full time job with family care. Regardless of the people around me I stuck to my thirst for knowledge. My motivation was this one gentleman who came to this country not speaking a word of English, but achieved a 4.