Introduction to Brandie

My name is Brandie. I am twenty-six years old. I have four children, ages 9, 5, 4, and 3. Three rambunctious boys and one beautiful little girl. I am currently a single parent that has been unemployed for the last year or so. I was born and raised in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Fifteen months ago, I put my now ex-husband in prison for domestic violence. I thought my life could only move onward and upward. I was more motivated than ever to do what I needed to do in order to take care of my children. I went out everyday looking for a job. I was walking up to five miles a day. I was rejected every time. My bills started to pile up and I started to get discouraged.
One day, I was told by an old man in a bookstore that being ignorant and having no job experience in this economy was the funniest thing he had ever heard. He laughed in my face. You see, I never finished high school. I got pregnant at sixteen with my first child and dropped out. My mother left and moved to Michigan, and I was alone, sixteen, homeless, and with a three month old baby. I met my husband when I was 20. I was not allowed to work. (One of my husband’s controlling rules.) So here I was, no education and no job experience. The doors kept closing in my face and I didn’t know what to do.
I heard about the Pathways program through a neighbor went through the classes. I decided that’s what I would do. I would get my education and a great job. I wouldn’t need welfare, and I wouldn’t need to rely on my family so much. In Pathways, I will be done with my GED and my Office Information Systems Specialist certificate in four months. I will get a great job and I will have the life my children and I deserve.
My life is already so much more than it was. There is something to look forward to, to reach for. There isn’t anyone telling me how worthless I am. Only my fellow classmates who stand behind me as we all reach our goals together.