The day I was born my mother became a statistic-a single African-American female head of household and college dropout. As I watched my mother struggle with her own disappointment and sense of failure while also struggling to raise us, I learned early on that life just doesn't happen. I help make it happen. I just had to choose how it would happen.

My family situation taught me to be proud, strong, and determined no matter what. My mother said she left my father, an abusive drug addict, because somebody would be dead or in jail. I remember crying each time my father argued and fought with my mom. Each time my mother forced a nervous smile and assured me that everything was all right. It was tough having a single mom. There was a time in the car with my new baby brother's father. A friend of his...