Teenage Girl With Learning Disability Seeks Government Grant To Help Achieve Goals

by Tiffany Paul
(Waterford, Michigan, USA)

I am seventeen years old, to be eighteen soon. I'm female and I'm single. My mom is bipolar. My little sister has asthma.

My older sister has depression and has two kids. They are two and six months. I plan on going to college and having my own family some day.

Getting my education means a lot to me. Even though I struggle I try to achieve the goals I have set for myself.

Ever since I was a little girl I had the disability of learning. I had speech problems and still was having a hard time talking when I was five years old.

I moved a lot so I couldn't learn much in school. I'm very slow to understand some of the subjects: like math, English and science.

The only subject that I was great at was spelling. I loved to spell to show people that I was at least good at something.

Over the years I have become depressed and talk violently. I used to talk about suicide all the time.

Only a few people believe in me achieving my goals and I don't want people to feel sorry for me because I have gone through a lot.

As a child I have gone through some bad stuff… maybe not as bad as others, but I have been mentally abused.

I watched my mom get abused and taken advantage of when I was little.

I did blame myself. Maybe I could've done something but I know now that I didn't know then and that it wasn't my fault.

I have been trying to get a job so I could help out my dad more but it's hard that I have no transportation.

I did apply for a part-time job but they never call me. I have cleaned for money or babysat once in awhile to earn extra cash.

My dad has been out of a job for a while too so I can't ask for an allowance.

I am looking for grants. I don't want that much money, just a little to pay for my phone bill and stuff that I need.

I will be getting my own apartment soon so it will definitely be hard but I will work something out.