As my 18^th birthday approaches I start reminiscing on my life and how I've been molded. I think about how being an only child in a single parent household was like. I definitely think living in 3 different states in less than 8 years and going to 23 different schools affected me. I've had many struggles in my life, and it wouldn of been really easy and justifiable to just quit on life. People always think its weird how I haven't ended up in the streets or in therapy. But, at the tender age of 13 I felt that the Lord was calling me to move to Worcester, Mass from where I was living Miami, Florida. That summer me and my mother packed our stuff and moved into my grandmother's basement, then my mother's aunt's living room. Eventually we ended up in our own apartment where me and my mother shared a bedroom, where we eventually got evicted and ended up in my uncles basement. The combination of my mother's divorce with my step dad plus her problem with alcohol, ended many of her promising jobs. I would cry myself to sleep when I would awake in the middle of the night and my mother not be there. This was all a combination for disaster. My 8^th grade year was the most unbearable. I would be constantly in the principal's office, and often spend my days in in-school or out of school suspensions. I ended up being transferred to another middle school, and the beginning of my walk with Jesus. I was already a regular member at the local Spanish church. It was the January of 2003 when I started at my new school. Making new friends, finding my new classes, remembering my new locker combination, what lunch line was the shortest, was all something I was used to way to much in my life.

 My youth group soon was fundraising for a local youth conference called YEC. I had never heard of it but was excited to get out of my house for three days. Let me paint a picture for you, I was 13 years old, hated my new school, when I came home I was constantly arguing with my mother, was grounded because of my transfer, my mother was always partying, I was deeply depressed, the only thing I looked forward to was taking a shower, where I could take out my anger and pain: by cutting my wrists. This 3 day retreat was a vacation out of hell, literally. This retreat single handedly changed my life. When I got back home everything was completely different. The same problems where still there, but I knew I wasn't alone anymore, I had Jesus. My passion for Jesus grew rapidly and my love for spreading grew. I am still remembered by my fellow classmates that year for standing in the halls when classes changed and telling everyone that Jesus loved them. Just as my walk with God increased the problem grew worse. I had read somewhere in the bible (Philippians 4:13) that I could do anything in Christ that strengthened me , and that's the promise I held on with dear life to. As the years past my commitment to God increase, which led to becoming a student leader at my church and starting the first ever Bible club in my high schools history. Its amazing to see what God has been doing in my life and where he took me out from... Be encouraged.