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When I started this blog, I wanted it to be a place where I can share everything that I love, while Inspiring others in the process. I wanted it to be a place where every girl/woman could come and find beauty, fashion inspiration and advice, tips and even get personal. I didn’t want my blog to be just another beauty/fashion blog simply promoting clothes and beauty products. Throughout High School, I have met some of the most amazing people who I call my friends, and what drew me to them was the fact that, they all had a story, including myself and despite our situations we have succeeded tremendously. I’ve always wanted to tell our story on how we rise above statistics and want to inspire others to do the same. I’m not quite confident with my journalistic skills, so I asked one of my friends to write it and off course ordained all the credits to her. So here it is….
A friend of mine once told me “Living above the statistics is doing everything possible to make your own way for yourself and not letting where you come from define you”. In my opinion, more true words have never been spoken. She is the living embodiment of defied statistics and stereotypes. She is mixed race, born to unmarried parents with her father not in her life. She’s lived in low-income housing the entirety of here life with a disabled mother, but she did not let any of those things stop her. She went on to graduate from high school, second in her class. She became a nurse at the age of 18, she goes to private college paid for solely by scholarships and grants, all while managing to work a full-time and part-time job. She would’ve let statistics set her path for her, but instead she decided to go out into the world and set her own.
Everyday kids of all ages and races are told they will never amount to be more than numbers, the numbers that create these statistics, the numbers no one cares about. Every person makes their own destiny, and can wake up every morning and decide whether they want to defy the odds stacked against them or just do what the statistics say they will. In my life I have met many a people determined to prove these statistics wrong. One black young lady proved the stats wrong when she graduated high school despite being born to teenage parents, she also has her own blog, and is opening doors for young girls everywhere. All of this from her choice to be more than a statistic. One young man of low socioeconomic status decided that he would not be held back by their statistics, he went on to graduate high school at age 16, top ten in his class. He was accepted to the number one university in the state of Florida, and has had the opportunity to travel to places such as London and Paris. He currently is the founder of a mentorship and community outreach foundation, and he is only 18 years of age.
Statistics and stereotypes only affect an individual as much as they are allowed to. Although it is not easy to make a lie out of numbers, it is possible. The three aforementioned young individuals are my closest friends, and everyday they inspire me to do better and push myself just a little harder. Sometimes these statistics can prove as motivation to succeed in life, when you have nothing to lose the only thing you can do is make gains. In a country that capitalizes on the poor remaining poor and the rich remaining rich, living to defy statistics changes that. No longer will you be seen as just a number, you will be the change. You are not one simple drop in the ocean, but a tsunami in a kiddy pool. Every time one person decides they can and will be greater than the statistics, they take power from those numbers and in turn use it to inspire others.
What do you think it means to live above statistics? lets chat in the comments ITS FREE!
