Ways My Background Has Shaped Me Today

Hardly ever was I well-off financially. My Dad and Mom divorced when I was 9 and there was plenty of financial hardship from it. I have been poor for a long time because of it and there have been times when my Mom helped out financially the most and while that is no longer the case since I'm independent and am on SSI and Food Stamps, she does help out sometime with costs while on a teacher's salary. Having a background as someone who despite working 8 hours or so a week at a paid job, going to school with parents paying, working at home to gain skills to be independent, and volunteering in the community, I am on government funding and will be until I get a Public Relations job. My family gives me some economic privilege and while my Dad helps out with the cell phone and internet and milk, I get help from my Mom for other things too to enable me to be the best person I can be. So I owe my Mom a great deal of gratitude for me this day and every day. I also owe the group home I lived at a great deal of gratitude. My supervisors there were completely incredible in how, through somewhat tough love, got me to be the loving, kind, caring person I am today, and while I have baggage that will keep me in counseling for a while (maybe a long while), the group home got rid of some of that baggage, helped me with independence skills, helped me realize that affection isn't a bad thing but sometimes isn't good, helped me with cooking, helped me with daily tasks, and so many other things now, as someone on the waiver program takes for granted. I also feel like 2 other things, one related to my autism and one unrelated, has helped shape me to be who I am today. The autism one first: I had this person in Community Connections as a mentor who was hard to deal with sometimes because of his temper and because he was tough on me. I later came to the realization that he was tough on me because he wanted to succeed and that is why, when he was disappointed, his temper showed sometimes. He wanted me to not make excuses and to try my hardest and deal with everything as well as I could. He also wanted me to show appreciation for what I got. He was a good guy and a god-send when I moved the first time and he is still a true friend, cheering me on via texting. And since most people reading this know that I'm Christian, the other thing is my bisexuality, which I will explain in a few sentences: I had known that something was different since I was in 6th grade which started off with comments and I, years later dated a few men. Since it's much easier to deny it and be closeted about it, I decided to not acknowledge it until about a couple years ago at a New Years Party. Since then, I've been a lot more open about it being who I am and lost friends and, for the most part, a church home over it. But I have gained respect over it through other people and it is something that, for sure shapes my life. Having a lot of privilege is something that went out the door when I was born and I realize that. God's plan? Maybe, maybe not, no use dwelling on that. How I was created? Absolutely. And God is singing at the successes I've had despite all of this background struggle and triumph with lots of school success and even in the struggles of being bullied and teased and having hurt things said to me every day in high school and sometimes by people in college that I think I respect, it helps me realize that without those experiences, I wouldn't be stronger and I wouldn't be me.