by Jesus, Sonoma
I have two motivators in my life. One is my mother and two, my older brother. My mother has always worked while pregnant and dealt with my dad while he worked, being an alcoholic and putting my mother through hell.
After my mother had my older brother, she went right back to working. Five years later I was born. My older brother learned and stepped up to take care of me while both dad and mom worked.
Then, 1 ½ years later, my little brother was born. My mom still kept working and my older brother still kept taking care of himself, me, and my younger brother.
My mother still kept working for about eight years until my mom had my youngest brother. She then had chosen to be a full-time mother. Through that whole time my older brother had raised me and my younger brother.
About 1-2 years later my older brother started working when he was barely fifteen because my older brother adopted a work mindset mentality from my mom.
Then after my older brother started working, my mom started working as well but would only do part time jobs and this would go on for years. Then when my older brother was around nineteen, he ended up getting caught up in the system. He was locked up, and because of that, my mother started working full-time, while I stayed taking care of my two little brothers.
My older brother got released around one year later and he got right back to working. For a year my older brother would teach me about work and money and taught me to have a work mentality.
During that year around 2020, when COVID was at its peak, me and my older brother started a car detailing business as a side hustle. All this happened while my older brother was working a regular job. He taught me so much about work.
Then summer came along, and I finally started working and I would work eight hour shifts six days a week while still working on me and my brother’s side business. Then when the summer came to an end, I slowed down on working but didn’t stop while still working on the side business.
I made a dumb choice when it ended with me being in Juvenile Hall.