Black like me White like me: (The complexities of a life lived in chocolate & vanilla)

"The baby's cute . . . why don't you adopt her?"
"If her own mother doesn't want her, why would I?"
This conversation took place between two nurses in the
delivery room right aft er I was born to a 16-year old
unmarried mother. This was a precursor of the kind of
struggle my life would be unti l I stood up and shouted, "I
AM SOMEBODY!" Why did it take me so long???
I don't want you to think I am harping on the bad things
that happened in my life. Despite everything, I am an
incredibly positi ve person, who has taken a licking and
kept right on ti cking! My saving grace is mentoring, and
standing up for those who just need someone to stand up
for them. Maybe one of these days, I will be more able to
stand up for myself. I'm getti ng there. This is just my life,
honey, simply the way it is. I am telling you my story. This
is a story about success, and giving back to a community
that mostly kicked me in the teeth.