Personal Narrative: My Generational Cycle Of Poverty

As the wind cut through my gloves I watched my mother frantically struggle to break open our apartment door. I stood shivering beside her staring at the tears run down her cheek. She turned to my sister and me with a broken smile and said: “Let’s play Eskimos tonight”. This was a game I was all too familiar with throughout my childhood, as we climbed into the back of our heatless car I truly realized the extent of our socioeconomic status. As the daughter of an abusive drug addict father and physically and mentally ill mother, my mother’s whole life was about surviving. She taught me early on that we as poor black women had to live by a different set of rules. It was instilled in me that we would not receive help or sympathy like other women
At 18, I set my sights on college which I fantasised as my way out of a generational cycle of poverty. I moved to New York City in an attempt to shed the shame of being poor I grew accustomed to as a child. As I attempted to start a new life in a new city my financial plights continued to surround me. I began to realize my background varied immensely from that of my peers who spoke of trust funds and stock options. Indeed, at times my coursework was overshadowed by my obligation to keep my family financially afloat; however, the survival instincts that my mother implanted in me compelled me to persevere. I knew that I could not let my socioeconomic status stunt my academic growth. I was able to circumvent my poverty and navigate in a world of higher education that was completely foreign to me. While working in an all-girl high school I was able to mentor other young girls who were also strained by their family’s socioeconomic status and encourage them to combat the limits their atmosphere set for them.
Although I had to overcome many obstacles associated with my socioeconomic status I credit these challenges for building my resolve to succeed. I often look at my experience living in the car as a testament to my family’s resilience and adaptability. As an adult, I am I able to navigate in a diverse setting through years of experience adapting to new situations. I have never allowed my financial