The one thing you did get from your parents was that lucky combination of their genes that gave you intelligence, and more importantly, drive. And even with all that, I just can’t imagine how you survived such a babyhood, childhood, and the trauma of being a teenager. Your story is inspirational, and one I know I’ll never forget. I hope you will one day soon be able to sit back a little and enjoy the fruits of you unbelievable perseverance!

Fantastic job! You should be very proud of yourself! I was the first person in my family to earn a masters. My family was poor and neither of my parents graduated from high school, but I would not have been able to get any degree with my mom's support. I cannot imagine getting a degree without any support.

(raises a glass in the lady's direction)

Congratulations! We here are so incredibly proud of you and all you've accomplished. I'm beyond thrilled that a mind as brilliant as yours was able to find a way to thrive in the face of all these immense and difficult challenges. I for one can not wait to see where that inimitable intellect of yours takes you next.

Overcoming adversity. I salute you as I am from a similar background although not nearly as challenging.
May I wish you every success; the fears of your upbringing will drive you to never allow your family to suffer the same.

Beautifully written. Truth has a way of making the story especially from the hand of the afflicted. As long as you never quit or give up, you will never fail. Mental torment and anguish in the eyes of a child can be understood more so than any Psychiatrist could explain. I have two brothers who are PH.d's and cannot stand each other and they tried to destroy me. I walked the fine line of hard work and determination alone. If I ever fell off I thought I would never be able to get back on. Your the Captain on your own ship and the storms you will and did encounter along the way were met with the same survival skills you learned on your own. Your education was very important and you learned more than most because you knew more than they never experienced. You took the bull by the tail and faced the situations. Your scars are many but your understanding and stamina are what most people will never understand.
Beautifully written without an editor, advisor or publicist. From your heart, openly, honest and without any hatred or ill feelings.

Well done... You should be giving motivational talks in schools. You're an inspiration.

Congratulations, you have finally passed the bar of someone who was more abused as a child than was I. Thank you for showing me that I am not the most mistreated person alive.

Inspiring and heart wrenching. Thank you for sharing, you are a fighter and it shows. Life sucks at times and especially when you're not in control. You have bright future ahead of you! Congratulations! ?

Congratulations on your Master's degree! That is a huge accomplishment! You are to be commended for the willpower, energy, sacrifice, and determination it took to get to that level.
Savor the moment and walk in your strength.

Brava, Sister. You are courageous.

Congratulations on your persistence.

Congratulations! I consider you a super hero and am so very happy you are a part of this community. =]

You have a strong inner strength that is inspiring. Thank you! ?

I am glad for your success and proud to know you the little bit that I do.

It breakes my heart to hear what you endured. No child should ever be treated so poorly. It's amazing you lived through the abuse. Thank you for sharing. Your story will be an inspiration to others. Congratulations on surviving and on your achievements. Xoxo. .

Congratulations @Nerd! That is inspiring!! You deserve every success!

"What does not kills us,makes us stronger" You should have a sign made up for other people to see,of your accomplishments.

Poverty is our nation's scourge, and the world's, but here the poor get blamed and the rich get rewarded. It is an awful blight continued by those encouraging dissent among the people through religion, race and ethnicity. I grew up on the poorer side. My first five years were in a house with no running water and inadequate heat in the cold. Honestly, I was too young to know and have more fond memories than my siblings as we had a stream and pond to around. Only after my dad's work improved and my mom worked and we got a house and joined the ranks of the lower middle class (which seems to no longer exist) did I see how the world, especially the U.S. worked. It is a terrible system. I ended up with a graduate degree and joined that system, still hating it, and raising at least three good kids who are pragmatic socialists. Until we overcome the class divide and really help the disadvantaged, more and more people will continue to fall through the cracks. Or should I say the gaping holes.

You. Are. Amazing!

My mother believed in the power of God - believed in it absolutely, thought God would protect her from all of life's troubles if she just had faith. I watched her decline in her latter years, loose all her money and end up in a neighborhood like the one you describe, where gun shots rang out on a regular basis.

I had left home long before that and it was the shame of my life was that I was not able to help her during those years. But the lesson for me was that neither did the God she believed in. Still she died believing in him as strongly as ever, believing that the misery she suffered was somehow his will, perhaps a test of her worthiness or a punishment for her sins.

I never forgot that madness; it still haunts me today.

Congratulations -- both for surviving your childhood and grad school. Cheers to you and best wishes for whatever the future holds!

Congratulations on getting your master's degree. You have had a very rough life. Your story shows that people can rise above adversity if they really want to. No one ever said that the road would be smooth sailing. Hold you head up high.

Bravo. If you don’t change your life, no one else will. I learned the same thing in the same way. I didn’t suffer through lack of care, but I saw multiple forms of abuse. Good for you. Really. I wish there were more people just like you.

You are a testament to the resiliency of the human spirit. You overcame a wretched start and are finishing well. I wish you continued sucesss.