Fernando Flor, Nikki Rowe High School

Quitting. Defined as letting go or resigning, yet never done by force or obligation. Never in my life did I think I would have to stop doing something I loved because of being financially unstable.

My mother, being a single parent who gave up everything she had for an opportunity for her sons, never asked me to stop playing football.

When my father stopped paying child support this summer, I was drawn into an uncomfortable scenario, one which would force me to either commit myself to the employment sector, or remain doing my day-to-day activities with no loss whatsoever.

I knew I would have to work to help my mother out, since she was already struggling to get my bother to attend college. However, in my mind I was still a kid, one who refrained from any form of financial responsibility. I thought I was not ready. My innocent mind never experienced losing something because of lack of money.

But that night I did it, I quit and never looked back again.

I remember my brother telling me, "We do what we have to do, so that later on in life we can do what we want to do."

That moment I realized jut how important this decision was. It's quite heartbreaking to see a teenager give up a dream to aid his family financially. But in hindsight, my mother had done it her entire life; her dreams and goals were all gone just to benefit her children.

Life will always throw obstacles to me. I have come to realize that it is not necessarily about however you end up in life, or who you become. Because in the end, how we survive is what makes us who we are.

Moving from Mexico City, struggling to learn English, being underprivileged, growing up without a father, and now involving myself in the employment sector. All of these are not deficits but rather assets in my life which have steered me toward my current path. Because of these "hardships" success now lays at my fingertips.