Going from a family of high school dropouts to speaking five languages.

I had no parents. My father died when I was two years old, and my mother was never around. My family consisted of four brothers and one sister. We lived with my grandmother, my uncle, his girlfriend, and his thee children.

I had always been the “mature one”, so I was the one who took care of my brothers and sister, did the cleaning, and many other things. Times were really hard and life was not easy.

Although I didn’t realize it, things were about to change. When I was in the 5^th grade, we moved to Enid, Oklahoma. The principal of the elementary school got to know my family and signed my older brother and me up for after-school tutoring at a local church on Wednesdays. I met my tutor, Gail Wynne. It was awkward at first because I have never really been a social light. I thought she was nice (a vague word because I’ve always been the vague type). It took a little getting used to her because she was a stranger and “don’t talk to strangers” was a sort of motto when I was ten.

I warmed up by the end of the year and went back to do it again by sixth grade. By this time, Gail started mentioning college and started asking me what I wanted to be. I never gave it any thought. I was used to just knowing what was going on at the moment. Taking care of the family was all that mattered to me. I never looked into the future so I could never make up my mind because everything seemed far-fetched.

She suggested that I sign up for Oklahoma’s Promise, a scholarship program for college, when I was in the eighth grade, which I really never considered using until recently. I thought of being a doctor, but totally changed my mind because it really was not that interesting once I gave it some thought. I picked up on languages thinking maybe I could major in them. I had already taken French, Spanish, German, English, and the classes were easy to pick up. I look forward to Chinese next year, so now I have pretty much made up my mind unless it changes this next year.

So that is where I am now. Getting there was not so easy because I had always been a depressed person because of past history. It felt like I did not matter, and all I was good for was watching kids while my grandmother was at work. It seemed like there was no point. It was the frame of mind that said, “No one in my family finished high school, so I don’t have to.”

Gail changed my perspective by the small things she did like complementing me on my grades, telling me I did a good job on my spelling, or said that I had a great chance at being something more than what my parents had been. I knew I did not want the life they had been leading, and having Gail there telling me that she could show me the way to better places was all that I needed to keep striving for something.

Words are just words and can be forgotten without action. I learned that at an early age. Gail said and stuck around to help me keep a reason to remain reaching for a better future.

To be honest, I probably would have dropped the whole thing when I was fourteen if she had not been there encouraging me to keep going with monthly lunches because things were more than a little stressful. The lunches were like monthly reports over my grades so she could help me get the help I needed in whatever subject I needed.

I feel honored and content that someone here is looking out for me and cares enough to look out for my future.

Now, I tutor at the church, hoping that I can be an inspiration to some kid who has the same frame of mind as I did.

Clea’rissa 
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