Growing up with Domestic Violence, and Learning to Live with the Scars

Malcolm Rivera, 17, lives in Lamont, California. He wrote this story about growing up in a family with domestic violence for South Kern Sol, a youth-led community news organization founded by New America Media to serve residents of the unincorporated communities of southern Kern County, in the San Joaquin Valley. There's a link in the story to an article in the Bakersfield Californian written about how Malcolm is NOT following in his father's footsteps.

I used to live the American Dream. You know the one I’m talking about. The picturesque scene everyone envisions in their mind: the big house with the big yard, complete with all the amenities that you might expect to find inside.

And of course there was my perfect family. Dad went to work every day to bring home the bacon. Mom stayed at home taking care of me and doing general housework. As for myself, I attended private school and impressed my teachers on a fairly regular basis.

But as it would turn out, my American Dream was just that. A dream. A fake. A phony. A lie.

http://newamericamedia.org/2013/08/growing-up-with-domestic-violence-and-learning-to-live-with-the-scars.php