Why do I relate to Sherman Alexie

After reading Sherman Alexie’s story The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me, I realized I had a lot in common with him. Growing up poor and never expected to go anywhere in life is something that both Alexie and I experienced. According to Spokeman.com they state that growing up poor you are less likely to go to college, and more likely to get in trouble with the law and end up pregnant earlier in life. Sherman Alexie and I both overcame a lot in our lives. For him it was to leave the reservation and become educated. For me it was to not live my life the same way my parents did when I was growing up.

I, like Sherman Alexie grew up in a poor family. This is the first reason that I feel like I can relate to Alexie. Growing up my mother did not work at all. My father was the sole provider as a laborer. He was a roofer so he only had income in the summer time. Winters where a horrible time for us. During that time we lived on government assistance. This was very embarrassing for me growing up. I never wanted anyone to find out that we were poor. Unlike Alexie, were everyone lived on the reservation so they were all in the same circumstances. School for me was a nightmare. I changed schools just about every year. This made it very difficult for me to make any friends and stay up to date with my education. They would either be further ahead or behind were I was. I was teased quite often. I remember one time in particular. It was my seventh grade year and I was going to a school that had a lot of upper class kids there. My mom bought me a new pair of jeans, and I only got clothes once a year unless it was a gift. I ended up wearing the jeans two days in a row and a boy that always picked on me called me a “scrub” in front of everyone. I told my mom that I didn’t feel good for about a week before she asked why I really didn’t want to go back to school. I ended up going to a different school the next year anyways.

Another way that I can relate to Sherman Alexie is he states that    “A smart Indian is a dangerous person.” (13)  Not that me being smart or successful is dangerous. It’s more that I was looked down on by my family. My father is a 9^th grade drop out. My mother finished high school and graduated dental hygienist school. She worked for about a year and then she became a stay at home mom. She was not the soccer mom that everyone thinks of when they think of a stay at home mom. She never attended school events nor did any house work. She spent most of her time in bed. I have three siblings and none of which graduated for a normal high school. I was completing high school with great grades and working full time and my father kicked me out at 17 years old. He said that I didn’t do enough around the house. Now at 24 years old I have realized that my father was jealous and upset that I didn’t need him to support me. I was doing better than he ever did in his 50 years of life. My family always considered me to be stuck up. I was never stuck up I just knew what I wanted in life and I was determined to get there. I wanted a great life for my children. I didn’t want my kids to have to go thru what I did growing up. I knew at the time that I had to get thru high school and be a hard worker to do this.

The last way that I compare myself to Sherman is our determined minds. Alexie didn’t care that he wasn’t supposed to be smart or leave his reservation to further his education. I am also a very determined person. I knew early in life that I wanted to do something in my life. When I found out I was pregnant at 17, just a few months after my father kicked me out. I thought I was starting my adult life off just like parents. I didn’t want to be just another statistic. According to familyfirstaid.org only 1/3 of teen moms receive a high school diploma and only 1.5% of them get a college degree by the age 30. Also 80% of teen moms end up on welfare. I told myself as soon as I got pregnant that I was going to finish high school. I graduated with a 4.0 G.P.A. I did have to make the very difficult decision to put college on hold. I had an obligation to work full time to take care of my son so I didn’t get on welfare. I told myself that I still had time to beat the last statistic of getting a college degree before 30. Even though I didn’t have a college degree I was determined to get a great job. Every job that I have had I excelled at and ended up getting higher positions and better pay.

In conclusion I have had my bumps in the road but I have made it over all of them. Just like Sherman Alexie pushed forward and became a very successful man. I also plan on doing to same thing. Just remember you can do anything you set your mind to, no matter what anyone says.