>From the age of 12 on I was a child of a single-parent. In fact, I was one of 5 children. No money, no goodies. My mom went from working as a waitress to factory work to lumbermill work and bartending simultaneously to sales. Always something, anything, to bring in money for the kids. Once had only a sleeping bag and my own silverware and plate and a couple changes of clothes. Nothing else. No money for the stuff kids want let alone college. Every one of us worked from 15 on (and younger during the summers). Our money went for clothes and lunches and food at home, not college. Yet I managed to spend time in the military and go to college. I attended one year in college while working fulltime and then lost my grant when the administration changed. Took the military road then and attended college during and after. I moved quite frequently and made friends in many states. I had friends of many races and the one thing that made them successful later in life was not their race or
> their economic situation but their attitude. Their attitude from the time they were teens. I have friends who had a low GPA but got into the college of their choice while others with higher than a 4.0 did not. Yet every one who had the drive and self-discipline did well no matter their circumstances.
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>Growing up in a one-parent home doesn't mean poverty and no chance of a future. Even kids whose parents didn't expect them to accomplish much did. Some who had it handed to them accomplished very little. The attitude of the parents and the parenting skills had a lot to do with it, but in the end it all boils down to the attitude of the child. Sometimes in a family of 5 kids the attitude of every child is different.
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Tracy, you are on the money. Attitude trumphs everything. However, I believe, kids who are in a single parent environment start with a disadvantage. Couple that with being raised in the hood, with gang bangers all around, and I'm amazed that any of the kids EVER make it out alive. Your story has been repeated thousands of times, I'm sure, but it also sounds like your mother cared about you, not the next crack rock, or the next govment check.

I can see now why you are the way you are (self reliant).<g> It was that will to succeed that has taken you this far. I heard that when a chicken is hatching, if someone breaks the egg apart and assists the baby chick, it will not be as strong as the ones that have to break their own eggs. Somehow, that just seems right. Sometimes, a disadvantage can be an advantage, can't it?