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In Reply to: Great news about your children posted by Acheick on July 22, 2002 at 18:03:41:
The two oldest got their GED's while going through the juvenile or penal system! The youngest was accepted at High School For the Performing Arts here in Houston and attended the 9th grade and then dropped out. He had an art teacher that helped him put a portfolio together, I was able to help with film and development for slides, which wasn't a lot, but for me it was, because I lived in a car for awhile. He got a scholarship to Otis after getting his GED and sending in the portfolio, as well as getting some grants and student loans and then working some for the school as he lived on campus (dorm).
The oldest began to get his life on track, becoming a manager at a subway sanwiches shop, then later a head waiter at an olive garden. He excelled in what he did, and put money aside and put himself through college for Nursing. Since then he has had other certifications, and has worked in administration as well. Currently he works on a special diseases unit and in ER and administers Chemotherapy to cancer patients as well. He is slowly taking some law courses and doing some business ventures on the side.
The middle one went to prison for a few years and got a GED there, when he got out, he stayed with me while he was on parole. We lived across from an events place that does major events for the city. I took his paintings to a photographers studio and had a professional portfolio made. And I bought him some art supplies. (At this time I had some money.) He got a job at the events place which led to lots of exposure nationally and he has done art work (murals, sculptures, etc.) for major events (i.e. the opening of Mt. Everest IMAX movie here, for Minute Maid, Olympics exhibition, and so on.) Then he joined an interior designer that taught him about faux finishes and wall paintings. He has done contract work of muraling in Trump Towers and Land Commissioners Home, for businesses, etc. as well as individual portraits and so on. He has a small studio/Gallery in town.
So they did alot themselves. But for awhile, it looked very very grim! That's why I said "broke the curse" because when they were getting into all sorts of trouble, I had the family curse seeming to come true. Well, ha-ha. Not so!
I think part of what happened is that they lived so wild and got so much out of their systems at such an early age, and realized that they didn't want to end up like that. And they saw up close and personal the negative consequences of stuff they did and I was unable to bail them out, and they saw what was happening to their friends that didn't move on out of the trouble phase. I think we were all growing up together as I was quite the adolescent myself (emotionally) in my thirties! But we're all alive and kicking!
