by Leslie Keck

Created on: January 24, 2009   Last Updated: November 28, 2010

I quit school as soon as I turned 16 years old, because like the typical teenager..who needs it right? Well, we all do. I didn't realize it at the time, but it was the biggest mistake I'd ever made. At my house, if you quit school, you had to go to work, because you weren't going to sit around and watch T.V. or play games all day.

My dad had owned a carpet cleaning business, so I went to work with him, lugging the equipment in and out of people's houses. I didn't mind it because I got to meet a lot of different people, but at 17 years old I found myself pregnant. I got married to my child's father at 6 months pregnant, and my son was born 3 days after I turned 18. 3 months later I left my husband because he started being abusive after we had gotten married, and 3 years later I was divorced and pregnant again.

I gave birth to my daughter shortly after I turned 21. About a year later, I found myself on my own with two kids, no job and no education. I gave birth to my 3rd child, a son, at 27 years old. I remained with the father of my last child, going on 15 years.

Throughout the years I had jobs here and there, like phone work, cashier in retail, etc. but they never lasted for long, whether it was because of daycare issues, no babysitter or the pay wasn't worth being away from my kids all day. At the age of 24, I ended up being diagnosed with a panic and anxiety disorder, that stopped me from doing all of the things I used to enjoy. Even a walk to the store sent me into a panic attack. It got really tough to deal with at times, and with no support from my partner, that made it even harder.

When I turned 33, they opened up an adult education school in my area, I was so excited, but at the same time wondered if I would be able to do it with my anxiety and panic. I swallowed hard and went and enrolled in adult education to get my grade 12.

It was a little hard at first, trying to deal with my anxiety and raise 3 kids and go to school, but after awhile and some trial and error trying to figure out the best way to run things at home so I was able to continue going to school. I managed to pull it off and succeed at getting my grade 12.

When I got my diploma, I was so happy and I was very glad I had made the decision to go back to school. It is possible for anyone to go back and finish their schooling. Now a days, it's more important than ever to stay in school.

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