“I would see my mother maybe once every three or four years.”

“My mom had my sister and I when she was 16. But we never lived with her because she joined the U.S. Navy, and she was always on the go.

When I was younger, I would see my mother maybe once every three or four years. She always said she did what she had to do, so she can support us financially. But I don’t think anything compares to just being there physically. I mean, I never really wanted for anything, but I guess, it was just the time we missed.

I never realized how much it hurt up until this point. And I think it hurt her as well. We don’t have the relationship that a typical mother and daughter have. I see her more as my older sister, than I do as my mother.

I was raised by grandmother, my mom’s mother. Sometimes I feel bad, because looking back, I realize that my grandmother had to deal with a lot of stuff that my mother and father didn’t have to deal with. Anytime we were sick, she was the one that was running with us back and forth to the doctors. I always say, when I make it, she will never have to worry about anything. I love my grandmother.”

– Ariel, senior accounting major from Belzoni, MS on full academic scholarship at JSU.