Personal Story
excitement, sadness, grievances, or even anger. Our love
did not fade away with the passage of time. Finally, my
mother gave up and we got married before graduation.
Since then, my life had completely gone out of her control.
Now, I followed him to America as he found a Post-doc
position in FSU (Florida State University). For me, I did not
prepare well for a new life in this country. Maybe I can
have a child, which is what I am doing now. So far, my
mother doesn’t expect that I will return to my hometown,
but I will go back to China at least, so that we can see each
other more easily. I am not sure about the life ahead. You
see, my life today is out of my mother’s plan, even though
she made efforts to keep me. The future is not ours to see.
Whatever will be, will be.
Jing Chen is in Matt Gowens’ ESOL class at the Leon County Schools
Adult Community Education (ACE). She is from China.
Anything Is Possible
Even though I have a disability, nothing is going to stop
me from doing what I want. My wheelchair is not part of
me; it is just something I use to get around. I can get a job
and work just like everyone else. I just have to do things
differently. I worked as a volunteer at Shands Hospital for
15 years. They saw me for the person that I am on the inside
and gave me a chance. My message to anyone out there
with a disability is “Once you put your mind to it, anything
is possible.”
Johnetta Mack is a student in the Florida State College at Jacksonville
Learning for Living Program at New Heights of Northeast Florida. Her
instructor is Carolyn Parker.
Moving Forward
My name is Alexei but everybody calls me Alex. I am
from Havana, Cuba. My mother was a policewoman and my
father was a military man. Thus, I grew up with discipline
and organization. When I was small, I always liked many
sports. So, I got involved with baseball, tae-kwon-do,
softball, volleyball, and track. At school, I was a good
student. I went to a military high school. When I finished, I