Beating the Odds

Throughout my life I have seen and interacted with many different people from many different social economic statuses. My dad has many people he works with that are upper class. I went to school with many people who came from families that were middle class. I lived in the Metro Detroit area for 18 months and was surrounded by so much diversity.

Are we all that much different from one another?

Where I grew up in California there were many immigrants, some legal, some not. Many of them worked in the fields to earn a living. It was long hours, and usually both parents worked. I never really considered the sacrifices that were made until I became friends with Michael.

His parents were immigrants and worked in the fields to provide for their family. Michael was an amazing student. He worked hard and earned a lot of respect from his peers. We all knew that he would achieve big goals and dreams that he had when he left high school.

Life was not always a walk in the park for him though. He too would work in the fields in the summers with his family. He saw many of his friends be killed because of gang violence. He experienced loss and pain, but that never changed what he wanted to accomplish. If anything, it made him work harder, appreciate more, and achieve what people saw as impossible.

He graduated second in our class. I walked with him at graduation and was so grateful for the chance that we had to become good friends. He motivated all of us to be better, to achieve our dreams, and to never forget what got us there.

I have so much respect for him. He got into many different colleges, good colleges. He ended up deciding to go to a community college in the Fresno area. He graduated with a 4.0 and was off to UCLA to get his bachelor’s degree. He will be graduating soon and has accomplished what people may have thought as the impossible. He has received award after award, scholarship after scholarship, and he continues to make all of us proud.

I am sure there were times that Michael felt alone. He may have wondered what the point was. Despite all of the hardships or doubts he may have experienced; he is proving to all of us that our class isn’t always where we will stay for the rest of our lives.

Do we encourage those with big dreams, or look down on them because they may live in poverty? Do we give them the benefit of the doubt, and encourage them to keep going?

Michael is changing the lives of his family members and his future family. I know he is grateful for all that his family has done to support him and his dreams.

His decision to get an education, and to get it from a prestigious school will change his future for generations to come. He has beat all the odds. Do we encourage others to do this?

I feel privileged to grow up in an area where I get to see people beat the odds. Michael may have grown up in poverty, but he is changing that. He will achieve great things. He may not be a millionaire, or become famous, but I know he will change lives for the better. I know he will influence those who have big dreams, to never give up on them.

That’s what our society needs. We need to not focus on social economic status, but we need to focus on potential. If we do I know great things can happen for us, our families, and society in a whole.