Today I was asked to write about something that truly comes from my heart, and I chose to write about why I want to change my ways, to choose education instead of the streets. Since I was little, I just wanted to learn all the bad instead of the good. Until recently I decided to open my eyes. The reason I chose this path is because a piece of my heart will never feel the same way about life again. The reason I feel like that is because my mom ended up in the hospital, and my mom was in no condition to take care of my brother, my sister, and me. That day when that happened I thought my mom wasn't always going to be there when I screw up or make mistakes. How was I capable of taking care of my younger brother and sister, let alone myself with no education and no job? Thank god for my older brother's kind heart. He took us in his home and made sure we were doing the right thing. Without him I don't know what situation I would be in right now standing before you.

My mother doesn't remember us any more, but every day I hope she would; it's hard living without her but also it's hard living with her. Moving to Massachusetts changed my life by making me feel I have more opportunities to succeed in life. I am currently in a GED program where I feel comfortable, where no one gives me a hard time and I don't give them a hard time. I already made new friends that I have things in common with. My teachers are cool too; they try to help me as much as possible.

The only people that are giving me a hard time are my younger brother and sister because they are not used to getting up at 6:00 in the morning to go to school. They hate when I make them go to sleep early, but they need to understand that education is not a joke. I always tell them, "U might hate me now but u will thank me later." They always tell me "You're not my father u can't tell me what to do." It makes me feel bad to do it to them but you got to do what you got to do.