"My name is Fernando M and I currently attend Hanna Boys Center in Sonoma, California. Before coming here I was labeled a troubled young man.
I came from a bad neighborhood in Los Angeles. I never had a stable household because my mom was always being hit and abused by my dad. My dad was always in jail so I was raised by all women. My mom raised both me and my two sisters. She had her ups and downs with money, but still managed to put food on the table. My mom used to clean houses for a living. My grandparents used to try and help even though they were in the same position financially. I never knew how my mom did it. I respect her so much. After all she has been through, she still manages to keep a smile on her face. My mom always told me not to be like my dad. I swore to myself I never would.
My neighborhood was pretty crazy and I was always looking over my shoulder. There was a lot of gang activity and at least a murder or two each month. It felt like the older I got the more drama there was. I had bullets flying at me and guys trying to fight me for me being on the wrong side of the street. In elementary school I was an honor student and got good grades—but my grades began to slip in the fifth grade because I was getting bullied. I was bullied verbally and physically because of my weight. I began to doubt my self-confidence and started to do poorly in school. I never wanted to raise my hand because I was afraid of being teased.
[For more of this story, written by Fernando M., go to https://www.hannacenter.org/Bl...ernando-s-Story.aspx]
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