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Life is What You Make It

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Life is What You Make It
At this very moment, there are three sisters sitting on a street corner somewhere, begging for food, all because their parents have abandoned them. There is a teenage boy in the city who is running away from home because his dad hits him and he has had enough. There is a five-year-old girl standing in the kitchen of her two-bedroom house, making mac n cheese. She wonders why mommy is in prison and daddy never comes home. A childhood spent lost, alone, abused, and neglected could be the beginning of the path to a life of failure. Being deprived of one’s most basic needs such as food, shelter, and security can ruin someone’s whole entire life... but only if they let it. It is hard to overcome a painful childhood. It is hard to rise above the sorrow. It is extremely difficult to become successful after such a childhood, but it is possible if one has enough emotional strength and determination to make their life better (Kendall-Tackett). So, how does it feel to be unable to depend on anyone? Jeannette Walls knows. She grew up being relocated from town to town, with no sense of security or belonging. Her father was an alcoholic, and her mother was an eccentric, impulsive woman. They frequently neglected her and her siblings, and drug them along on their wild escapades. The parents were there when they could somehow benefit from their children, but never when the kids desperately needed them. After Jeannette and her family settled down in a bad neighborhood in the town of Welch, she moved to New York City and eventually found somewhere where she was happy. Her parents, however, ended up homeless and living entirely off of other people’s resources. (Walls) Children learn a lot from their parents. Studies show that children coming from broken homes are five times more likely to have mental health issues (Fagan). In addition, children of divorce are much more likely to get divorced later in their life (Hughes). 25% of alcoholics are also the children of alcoholics.


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