Fighting the Statistics

What I am passionate about is cooking. I have always loved it since I was a kid, I just never thought to make it a career until now.  My future involves going to college to attend the culinary careers program after I’m finished High School. After I graduate from college I am moving to Vancouver to start my restaurant and the rest of my life. I am scared and I think everyone is when they graduate. I’m scared because it’s a whole new school, people and experiences. I am scared because it will be a brand new city that will take me a while to adjust to.  I guess I’m just scared of the unknown because while I have everything planned out, I just don’t know what the future holds for me.  There is for sure one thing I am scared of and continue to fight every day of my life, being a statistic.  Being an aboriginal youth in this city makes me stick out.  Being educated, well dressed in foster care and being raised by a ``white`` woman makes me stick out 100 times more. There have been times where I thought of dropping out like I've seen some of my aboriginal friends do.  Instead I've studied as much as I can trying to get good grades, making it on the honour roll, winning awards and graduating from high school.  I will continue to fight being a statistic even after I graduate. I will fight it because cooking is what I`m passionate about, so instead of giving up I will continue to get an education, get a job, and start my business. Because I was given a second chance at life I have been given the courage to keep fighting, proving everyone and the statistics wrong.

-By Seleena Eagle Speaker

 http://www.pc.gov.au/research/ongoing/overcoming-indigenous-disadvantage/key-indicators-2011/key-indicators-2011-factsheet-youth.pdf
This is a link to research on indigenous youth.  These studies show the struggles that indigenous youth face on a daily basis and these are the statistics I am fighting.