http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la...,1882109.story

I read this story (link, above) about a girl who grew up homeless and everybody told her she didn't have a chance and was crazy to think she could go to college or achieve her goals. It's a really neat story, and I'm glad that she did overcome those obstacles and will be going to Harvard this Fall. I know that she worked very hard to give herself that chance, and I have thought about using this story to show the kids that I work with that they can overcome their obstacles and give themselves a chance.

But part of me is tempted to compare my life to her life, and observe that her obstacles were (are still) so huge in comparison to mine. Some are similar, such as frequent moves and not being noticed much. But I at least had a place to sleep and enough to eat, and my parents always assumed that I would go to college (they just were determined that leaving home wasn't an option). I'm embarassed that this girl was able to turn her life around and take control at 18, and it took me so much longer to even start to consider that I could have choices in life. Maybe I should have gotten it together much earlier too. I feel dumb that I didn't.

I mentioned this story, and my feelings about it, to T today. And she said that this girl's obstacles were not necessarily bigger than mine, and that invisible obstacles can be harder to climb.

I also compare to people who were abused more than I was, or others with obvious hardships. And I think that I shouldn't complain. My parents pretty much were just emotionally unavailable, and brainwashed me into thinking I was doomed to failure at anything except whatever they might have wanted me to do. They insisted that I didn't have choices, and would follow their patterns and be like them. And I didn't want to, so I stopped existing to them for several years (I was replaced by their imaginary model of who they thought I should be, so they didn't miss the real me).

Anyway, the story is neat, and I hope you find it inspirational. And I'm wondering if anyone else reacts to it as I did, and what thoughts you have about obercoming obstacles.