Karli Woodcock
In eighth grade, I decided to attend a high school that was in a privileged, wealthy area thirty minutes from my home in order to better my education. I spent a good deal of my first two years of high school feeling as though I was less than my peers. I did not wear the nicest brands of clothes or live in the biggest house compared to my peers, and I also was extremely insecure about my family dynamic. My biological parents were never married. My father married my stepmother and had two children when I was in middle school. My mother married my stepfather and had a baby when I was a freshman in high school. My junior year, both of my parents divorced my stepparents and my life has consisted of constant custody battles since. My father sunk into a depression after his divorce and had to be admitted into rehab for his substance abuse issues. My mother struggled financially and could barely pay our mortgage each month. I let these struggles feed my insecurities.
These obstacles I faced opened the door to change my life. This realization and individual growth occurred when I did my senior Capstone Project. I led a five day summer program for elementary school children in a government subsidized housing community called Hillside Court. I went through life thinking that I had it worse than everybody else, but seeing how these people in this community faced hardships in life just like I did made me realize I wasn’t alone. During my Capstone, I met and played with about thirty different children, but I really connected with this ten year old boy named KJ. I quickly began to learn all about him and his life, and I realized we were not that much different at all. KJ’s family is very poor, he grew up with a single mom, he doesn’t have a good relationship with his father, and he had to step up and be the man of the house.
I often think about that little girl I used to be who was so ashamed of where she came from and of the life she lived. I spent years hiding behind my flaws and wishing I was normal, and I wish I could take it all back. After going into Hillside Court and meeting KJ, I realized that everyone is dealt a different set of cards in life. I’ve learned that it doesn’t matter what cards you are dealt, but what you do with them. I went from a girl who felt so unworthy and out of place to someone who is comfortable in her skin and beyond proud of the person she has become. These struggles that I have faced in my life have allowed me to blossom into a strong, empathetic individual and for that I am extremely grateful. I’ve made it my mission to help others see the beauty through their struggle and the good things that arise from it.