I AM FROM

Originally posted on  February 24, 2020

I earned a certificate as a medical administrative assistant from Summit Academy OIC in Minneapolis, MN from July to November 2019. This vocational school promoted the values of Leadership, Transformation, Tenacity, Legacy, Respect, and Results. Summit Academy believes and teaches the best social service program in the world is a job. This school provides financial aid including scholarships to ensure that students don’t have to pay for any part of their vocational education. I did not have to pay a dime to attend. I often recommend this school to many people.

Besides providing me with a certificate, this school provided me with confidence and community. Each class of students formed a tight-knit camaraderie of sorts. I have always been quite academically inclined and I finished at the top of my class with an overall class average of 98%. This program was an amazing opportunity for me. One of my favorite classes was Business English. We had a daily assignment to write a journal page based on different themes, and the following was one of my assignments.

I AM FROM By Carrie Dawn (7-10-2019)

I am from lilacs and marigolds

Touch football and ponytail softball

Riding bikes to the lake

Kick-the-can and Anti-I-over.

***

I am from bringing baby sisters for show-and-tell

Kammy and Kim, another black sheep

A childhood crush and a secret valentine

Special teachers who gave me belonging.

***

I am from lefse and rhubarb

Family Thanksgiving and Christmas trips

And a house full of cousins

A rope swing and tree house falling apart.

***

I am from learning crochet and playing

With rubber stamps at the post office with Grandma

Both grandpas’ garages full of clutter

Spying on grownups through the floor grate under the bed.

***

I am from sadness, ridicule, and loneliness

Never good enough

Daddy’s been drinking again

Fighting and yelling and bare-bottomed spankings.

***

I am from the anger in Mom’s eyes

“You’re sick in the head”

The unloved child

“Watch out or you’ll end up like Carrie.”

***

I am from overcoming and strength

Resiliency and tenacity

Proving her wrong

Finding my way all on my own.

***

I am from survival.