“I’ve always been surrounded by bad influences in my life and I saw all of the consequences.””
Adilene’s childhood and teen years were rife with instability. Physically, she moved from home to home and school to school. Emotionally, she felt she had to be a different person when she was surrounded by her family and interacting with her peers.
For many years, despite having friends and participating in a number of clubs and extracurricular activities, she felt “all alone.”
“I've always been surrounded by bad influences in my life,” she shares with STEP. “And I saw all of the consequences. My uncle [was an addict and] died of liver issues. My mom, being a single mother, experienced her own share of trauma with love and relationships. I prayed for her. I emotionally supported her when she cried. But when it came to me — when it was I who needed support and encouragement — no one was really there.”
That’s why when Adilene was only 12-years-old, she realized that who she would become was solely up to her.
At the end of seventh grade, Adilene remembers reflecting on the chaos that surrounded her and thinking, ‘I'm going to become the best version of myself.’”
She threw herself into school. She ran for president. She co-founded an anime art club. She joined the dance team.
“I wanted to be someone that others could look up to,” she recalls. “I quickly learned that my thoughts, actions, and emotions could change my reality. That I had control over who I wanted to be and how I wanted to be treated. I realized that, to create the change I want to see, I had to think more positively.”
Looking back now, Adilene realizes that she was dealing with depression. “At home, everybody was drinking and partying all the time. And my mom, well, she was disabled. She couldn’t really walk. So I had to take care of her and do a lot of the housework. Home [was synonymous] with stress and discomfort.”
But through it all — the trailer park homes, the alcoholism, the death of loved ones, and the loneliness — Adilene continued to find solace at school.
“It was my safe place,” she says. “I found peace and privacy there. I could take my studying seriously.” And she discovered a love for cross country running.
“It kept me going. I felt like I was doing something really good for myself. That, despite what was happening at home, I was moving on with life. I was running toward a different future. And even when things were hard, I picked myself up. I kept running. I kept going.”
And soon enough, she ran straight through the (figurative) STEP doors.
“As soon as I learned about the STEP program, I thought, ‘I’m going to do that,’” Adilene shares. “I wanted to go to Alaska and, more importantly, I wanted to go to college… It was an opportunity to make my dreams come true and show my family that anything is possible. And that even though bad things happen, you can always work hard and create something beautiful… It's like that saying: ‘If life gives you lemons, just make lemonade.’”
At STEP, Adilene found all the help she knew she needed and more.
“I learned what the college application process consisted of to go out of state (even though I ultimately stayed in Arizona!). They helped me feel more confident in my writing abilities and taught me that taking care of my mental health is paramount. Thanks to STEP, I know how to find strength in who I am and what I’ve been through. Those experiences can power me through college and beyond. I have the resilience to reach for my dreams and learn from my mistakes.”
Now, Adilene — a freshman at Arizona State University, planning to major in nursing — is in full lemonade-making mode.
“I’ve met some amazing friends. I’m doing ballroom dancing and am in love [with it]. And I’m still learning from my personal life experiences,” she says. “I feel like that's what I’m meant to do. To learn. You have to just go through life and accept everything that comes your way and make the best out of it.”
