"My biggest challenge was graduating from high school. In 5th and 6th grade, I was ready to give up. People in school treated me bad, my teachers treated me bad, and since I have a learning disability, people tried to take advantage of me. My grandmother is the one who kept me going. She always gave me encouraging words. She said, 'Keep going, keep your head up, you can make it.' She let me know she loved me and would always be there. She gave me the support that some people don't ever have. I didn't want to be a dropout, so I kept at it and graduated from high school in 2007. I felt like I was a big person then, like I had achieved something, like I was on clouds in the sky."