Where it all got started

A Chapter by Steven W

When Michael first finds out that he is being put in foster care and gets his first taste of God.

Just like any other twelve year old, Michael was focused on many of things twelve year old males focus on: Sports, girls, and trying not to mess up in school and having the principal call his parents. However, outside of school, life was a completely different situation. Michael grew up living with his mother in a section 8 single family apartment in a suburb of Richmond, VA. His parents were always argumentative, and his father moved out at an early age. Even though he saw him on a regular basis, the relationship has always been a roller coaster ride. Same thing can be said about his mother, even though the relationship between him and his father was better than him and his mother.

Suffering from a stroke from at an early age along with other medical problems, Micheal’s father never really got the most out of life. Always wanting the best for his son, it was always difficult to show just how much he cared and loved him, probably because in some senses, he didn't know how. He lived with Michael and his mom until he was 8 when the arguments between his parents because too much and he moved out. Michael felt heartbroken because during this time, he felt like he was the reason all this happened, because it always seemed like most of the time the arguments would be about Michael need school supplies, or Michael needed food, Michael this, Michael that. It seemed like the few times the arguments were not surrounded him were times when one or the other needed something, usually gas money or cigarettes. But the one think Michael always admired was the fact that he always did what he could with what he got.

The relationship with his mom seems to have been more on the down side than up. They were always arguing, and she didn't seem to care whether or not he was doing well in school, or if he even went. A lot of times these arguments got physical, and things such as shoes, books, and plates were thrown at each other. Needless to say, many hours were spent in family therapy. When all this was mixed in with the fact that he was living in government assisted housing with welfare and food stamps, it wasn't quite the pleasant and joyful life that a 12 year old boy would imagine. With that said, Michael was always the butt of everybody's jokes, from the fact that the clothes that he wore was brought from K Mart instead of American Eagle, and that he was a little overweight and was not able to keep clean and fresh on a constant basis. The thoughts of him being useless and not good for anything really got him looking at himself as a waste and at times thought that he'd be better off dead, even though he would never have the gall to actually make an attempt to kill himself.

With all this going on in his life, Michael was a shy but polite boy. Never the smartest person in the class, but he was by far not stupid and always had a thoughtful opinion about something, although he was always too afraid to voice it due to the fact that he did not want to be joked at again. His dream was aviation and railroading, always wanted to be a pilot or a locomotive engineer. He had dreams that would reach the stars and was passionate about what he believed in, granted at that point it wasn't much. Michael hasn't quite figured out who he was as a man, which is pretty typical for a 12 year old boy. Always looking to be accepted, he hanged around all groups: Jocks, goths, outcasts, the popular ones...being liked by most but accepted by none. This seemed to be way it would be for most of his life.

Michael didn't know what he dreaded more: Home or school. He didn't have to worry about being picked on at home, but yet at the same time, he always knew he would get breakfast and lunch at school. At the same time, he would rather get picked on all day at school then come home to a place that has no power and dry cereal is all there is to eat. It was a real loose/loose situation in which he had no say or opinion in the matter. During this time, the relationship between him and his mother really started to deteriorate. Granted, the relationship was shaky from the start, but the arguments and conflicts between the two got more loud and more violent. There were many times where it even got physical, from throwing various objects from pens and notebooks to shoes and books, to actual slapping and punching. At this point in either person's life, the words “anger management” was a foreign phrase.

It was during this time where Micheal’s life would change forever.....

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