I was around 11 years old when I came to the cognizant realization that I did not want to be like my biological parents...and that I did not want to remain in the ghetto for my entire life. By the time I was 11 and getting ready to enter into the sixth grade, I had attended nine schools. Nine.

My parents weren't in the military.

My parents did not move frequently for work.

My parents weren't gypsy-spirits with a sense of adventure.

My parents were drug addicts.

Every house we lived in either had no heat or no air conditioning...or both. Food was scarce most of the time. I can think back to times where I was happy to get a sandwich that was nothing more than a piece of bread with Miracle Whip spread on it. On a good week, we had cheese product (not real cheese). My biological father would often pass out from too many pills. My biological mother was often raging and high.

My brother is five years older than me. He was out of the house right after he turned 18. I was 12. I learned early in life to just stay out of the way or to just be out of the house as much as possible.

I was one of the only white girls not just in my neighborhood...but in the entire school during junior high. Despite my parents constant attempts to tell me how I would never amount to anything (they made bets with neighbors on which young girl in the neighborhood would get pregnant first), I came to the realization around the time that sixth grade started that there simply had to be a better life.

I participated in everything I could at school that was free. I was in orchestra. I was on the debate team. I stayed late to work on science and technology projects. I recorded literature for one of the English teachers. I did anything I could to stay out of the environment of the home and the hood.

Was I perfect? No. In fact, I was in many fights during junior high because of either the actions of my older brother at the high school (it's brutal to live in gang territory) or because I was being bullied. Despite the many mistakes I made in junior high, I kept my eye on the prize. Eventually, junior high was over and I made it to high school. Eventually, high school was over and I had the offer of scholarships (that I didn't take).

I can tell you from personal experience that if you want to break a cycle, you can. Age doesn't matter. Race doesn't matter. Working online evens the playing field. If you're a good writer, then you're a good writer. It doesn't matter nearly as much if you have a criminal record when you're self employed. It doesn't matter if you're a minority. To clients, you're just a person that can get the job done that they don't have to hold out taxes on or cover with benefits.

Attending bad schools really doesn't matter, either. All you need is a desire to learn. I went to some of the worst schools and the most dangerous schools in the state. I've seen people get shot and stabbed within the confines of a school that had metal detectors. None of that matters. What matters is if you want to learn. Do you want to learn? Do you have the desire to change your life? You can do it.

If you're ready to start making a change for the better, you can pick up my book for only .99 cents for Kindle or in PDF. You can start researching businesses. You can begin to change your life. Nothing is stopping you but you. You are your own problem....and you are your own solution.