Managing Lifes Choices

Growing up in a family of 8 brothers and sisters being raised by a single mother, life was a struggle each and every day. My father was around for 11 years of my life. He spent much of his youth picking crops in the field, shearing sheep, in prison and as an alcoholic. Despite his sorted history, his character was beyond immeasurable. The life lessons he taught me helped guide me despite losing him to alcoholism at age 11. My father was my world.

Being raised by a single mother who worked as a bilingual school teacher and taugh ESL at night, I was able to make a lot of mistakes. Many of those mistakes I was able to rebound from, others I had to learn the hard way. As a sophmore, I dropped out of high school because I wasn't being challenged enough, rather than reach out to my teachers, I simply quit. At age 18, I found a flaw in the internal controls of an employer and rather than report it, I exploited it. I found myself facing 2nd degree felony charges and a possible 2yrs in State prison. 

It wasn't until I decided to attend college and refocus that energy and intelligence that I began making the right choices for my future. Today I hold a Bachelors and Masters in Accounting and am a CPA. I work for a private company, own my firm. I own my own home, debt free and have a beautiful family of 3 boys.

Along the way I learned many of the speakers who came to our school never experienced the challenges I did and their message wasn't as impactful. They just couldn't relate. I knew then I needed to find a way to be that person whose message could be heard and make an impact. 

My story isn't unique, I've just been fortunate to be able to share it with you today. There are many others in our communities that have faced challenges and accomplished amazing things in their life. Those are the stories that need to be heard and inspire each other.