Want more inspiration? Watch the other videos in our Kids with character series to see the power of honesty, gratitude, and generosity in action. Then, check out our full collection of helpful parenting information about building character.
Video transcript
“I have nine brothers and sisters. I live between two homes. My mom has type 2 diabetes. She has arthritis. She spends a lot of time at home in bed. When I was in elementary school, my mom became disabled and was not as functional, she stopped working. I chose to stay at home a lot and she was ok with that. A lot of my older siblings did the same thing. I had a truant record. I would say I missed half a year of school. It made me feel like I was not smart enough to be in school because the times I did go, I realized I didn鈥檛 understand anything because I wasn鈥檛 in the classroom. The police, my old principal, and my teacher, came to our door and they were like if I did not go to school, I could be put on probation. When they began talking about things like maybe my mom鈥檚 not fit to care for us. I knew I was going to school all the time. So I woke up and got myself together and went to school. And I became a scholar and not just a student.
It was unique for me to be a learner, to be someone who tries in school. I saw things happening in my siblings鈥� lives that always led either to a temporary downfall or to a downfall that they couldn鈥檛 come up from, at least not for a very long time. And I saw I didn鈥檛 want to be there.
Anything in my way, I have tried to move it. There鈥檚 a second where I have little meltdowns like – oh my goodness, I can鈥檛 do this. And I panic a little bit internally but then that lasts like ten seconds and I鈥檓 back on it. I appreciate school and I love the power of learning. Grit is having courage to do your impossible or to do what you think it鈥檚 hard. And do it anyway even if it鈥檚 not the most pleasant thing you鈥檙e going through.
You can push yourself to achieve that A plus in precalculus or to get an A in trigonometry. You can do that. I am going to UC Berkeley. I got the black and gold scholarship for UC Berkeley. I am really proud of myself. I am completely covered for my first year.”
