By Serenity
My dad once told me “you ain’t nothing but an East Oakland girl… so don’t call me when you strung out on drugs.” He said more but those are the words that stuck with me and they always will. I never thought my own blood would say such thing. I yelled at him and called him even worst names just to keep from crying. Since those words cut deep I didn’t care anymore because after that he was dead to me. Every memory of my dad and I faded and was replaced with disappointment. After that night I did really feel like nothing. I felt powerless because although I was the loudest one in that screaming match, my voice still wasn’t heard. He expected nothing of me. So I decided to prove him wrong. Now I’m making good grades, attending Youth Radio and I’m in my last year of Girls Inc. I’m going to graduate early and I plan to go to Howard University. This experience taught me to use negativity as motivation to become successful.
