By Shajine,for mer member, Young Women of Color Leadership Council

As an immigrant hailing from Jamaica, the West Indies, I have always seen the United States of America as a country filled with opportunities for everyone to succeed and prosper. As a child, my mother always told me that I could be whatever I wanted to be, and that America would give me the chance to achieve all of my goals. My mother's words pressed deeply into my mind and influenced every decision I made. There was not a strand of doubt in my mind that all doors would open for me to walk through. It was in high school that I began to question the truth behind this belief in America as the "land of opportunity."

As a teenager, my eyes were opened to the world that I lived in. No longer did I see the American dream; instead, I saw Avenue K in Brooklyn, New York. I recognized that the concept of the "melting pot" was anything but real. In its place, I noted that every race and class had its own section of the city and that this segregation was acceptable. In high school, opportunities seemed divided and limited. The results of a lack of support systems for youth were present all around me as my childhood friends dropped out of school and became pregnant.

The reality of my situation hit me incredibly hard. I could not believe kids that I grew up with now had children of their own. It seemed like my peers were stuck in a dead end situation and had no way of getting out. I wondered how I ended up so differently from those around me, and I realized that my mother’s support had an enormous impact on the person I would become. Her lessons of self-respect and self-confidence taught me how to make thoughtful and responsible decisions for my future and myself. This was something my friends seemed to lack.

In an effort to convey my mother's teaching to others who may face similar obstacles, I began working with programs that help youth from low socioeconomic backgrounds to attend college. The Young Women of Color Leadership Council allowed me to work with other sensational women and gives me the opportunity to share experiences and to participate in dialogues about issues concerning youth today. Out of my commitment to educating others, I also worked the National Organization of Concerned Black Men as a health educator for the HIV and AIDS project.