Life is full of ups and downs, and can change at the drop of a hat. As a 17 year old nearly graduated High School Senior, I am learning that time and money are two of the mainframes of life's accelerants and challenges. In my life, I have been cared for by a single momma, who told me many times about when she was pregnant with me. She had steady, prestigious job working for our local government, she was married and my father was working as a pipefitter and welder, we had a nice home, two vehicles and life was going exactly as planned. My parents had taken in and had custody of my cousins from my father’s side who were two, and one month old. Two weeks from my mom’s due date, she and my father decided financially they could make it if my mom quit her job to stay home and give adequate care to the three children. So, she did just that. She put her notice in and became an at home mom. Things went well for a while, mom even got pregnant again and had my baby sister. At the birth of my sister, my dad showed up late to the hospital and strung out on some very hard drugs. Soon after he left us with no job, one broken-down car, four children under 7 years old, one being special needs and a newborn, three days old, never to return. This was all in my first four years of life. During this time, my mother took my siblings, and I and moved into The Salvation Army homeless shelter where she soon found employment on site being a shelter monitor. She worked there for two years, saved money and got on her feet, on her own. Momma spent the next 13 years of my life working hard to take care of us. With four children and one adult, it was hard for a while, but we made it. I shared my home and family with three other children until one day, when I was about 8 years old, my cousins who were raised with me as siblings, were removed from our home and life. By 8 years old, I'd lost a father, a brother, and a sister. Their mother had gotten clean and sober and petitioned the court back for custody and won. This was not only an emotional hit to me, but our whole family. Momma never stopped trying to do what was best for us, this is when she made the biggest change for our lives, that brought me to where I am today and what brings me to wanting to be an educator. My momma signed us up for organized sports through our school. Through my 5th grade Teacher Mr. Bryson Michael, and my middle school teachers and coaches, who all still come to watch me compete at the high school level, I was able to make a lasting positive male connection with many role models. My father was an addict, abusive, and abandoned our family. So I had to mirror these coaches and teachers to be the dedicated person I am today. My momma is gainfully employed and takes good care of us, but I do not want to be a man that relies on her to pay for my education when she still has my sister and she has done so much already. So here I stand searching out scholarship to meet what I lack, to be the educator and man that so many before me have been.