Keep on Believing

I want to tell you a story… 
It is about a young, spirited
and vibrant girl who wanted nothing more than to be loved and accepted in this
life.  She had lost so much in her first 8 years, a grandfather who adored
her, a father who abandoned her and a stepfather who began to molest her. 
She did not understand how these events would eventually shape her life, nor did
she believe she would ever find a way out of the darkness she lived in day after
day.  The man she came to love as her stepfather tried every means possible
to break her spirit, he told her she would never amount to anything, she would
never succeed, and she would never go to law school.  You see, that young 8
year girl decided she wanted to be an attorney–she didn’t know why at the time,
yet somehow deep within she knew that was her destiny.  So, as you might
guess, the words of this man who claimed to love her, sent arrows piercing into
her heart. But the young girl did not waiver in her belief–she knew he could
not break her will. And in the end… it was he who may have won the smaller
battles but lost the war for on April 1, 2000 that young 8 year old, (now 39),
learned that she had been accepted to law school.  So after 30 years of
fighting the good fight she has won, he could not break her spirit and her dream
remained alive.  More importantly, that young girl could never have known
then what she knows now, that her destiny is to be a attorney, but not just any
attorney, but for all those kids who have been abused and neglected and have no
other voice to combat injustice other than her own.  And I can tell you
that I know this young girl very well because she was me.   Don’t ever
give up on your dream and don’t ever let someone else define who you are because
only you have that right and choice.

Barbara S.