My Environment Don't Dictate Who I Am... I Am Who I Choose To Be

A product of my environment...I am not!

Born and raised in the inner city of Chicago. I was overly exposed to all of the negative influences that permeated my society; gangs, drugs, violence, ignorance, etc . However due to my willingness to overcome these circumstances I found an outlet. I went to YMCA overnight camps, Camp Duncan, Pinewood, Edwards and my favorite Camp Hastings during the summer months where I lived in cabins with numerous girls from different social economic statuses but we all shared one thing, a common age. It was at these camps every summer that I realized there was more to the world than what the Cabrini Green Projects had to offer a bright, beautiful, vivacious little girl. I gained valuable transferable skills, learned to ride horses, row boats, climb rocks, to fish, to swim in lakes and pools, build tents, make smores and play various sports, including teatherball and soccer. More importantly, I learned that it's not where you come from that determines who you will ultimately become.

Regards,
Poor little rich girlz