Chapter 3: Pushing Past Trauma

I know that God doesn’t put more on us than we can bear. I say this because my life has been an interesting journey—it has had so many twists and turns—much like that of a roller coaster. I am a gifted girl and proud of it! I hope my story gives the reader the courage to persevere, persist, and succeed.

In 1979, my mother remarried and moved from the city of Atlanta to a suburban neighborhood on the outskirts (20 miles) of Atlanta. Coming from an all-Black school to an all-White school was a culture shock of the worst kind. My siblings and I arrived at the elementary school academically behind, and the school’s administration suggested we be placed into special education classes. We worked really hard to catch up with schoolwork, and of course, my siblings and I proved those administrators and our teachers wrong. The next year, we tested into the gifted program. I went from reading below grade level to reading four to five grades above grade level before I entered high school. My favorite subject in school was math. At home, I was very curious about how things worked, so I would break my toys just to see how they worked.