Khadijah Williams: A True Story of Resilience Homeless to Harvard

Khadijah Williams, a young woman from California, spent many nights doing her homework in one of the beds at a local shelter for women and children. She wrote English essays, practiced math problems and studied for exams until the lights went out at 10 p.m.

Khadijah began moving from shelter to shelter with her mother and younger sister when she was 6 years old. When there were no shelters available, Khadijah says she and her family slept in bus stations or on the street. In 12 years, Khadijah attended 12 different schools, but she kept up with her peers by spending day after day at the Los Angeles Public Library.

If you are you looking for a young role model for your children, look no further than Khadijah. Khadijah spent day after day at the Los Angeles Public Library, “It changed my life,” she says. “The library gave me some control over some aspect of my life. Even though I couldn’t really control where I would live or anything, I could control how much I wanted to learn.”

khadijah williams

During Khadijah’s sophomore year in high school, she decided to do whatever it took to stay in one place. From that point on, she woke up every morning at 4:30 a.m. to catch a bus from Los Angeles’ Skid Row to Jefferson High, which was two hours away. “Who wouldn’t want to escape that kind of life in Skid Row or in the shelters to come to this?” she says. “That’s what I focused on.” Khadijah never stopped believing education was her ticket to happiness.

Khadijah found a light at the end of the tunnel because she found more than a home. She won a scholarship to Harvard. She’s now 25, working for the city government in Washington, D.C. and one of her tasks is helping homeless kids.

I’m sure you are wondering about her mother in all of this. “No matter where we lived, no matter how bad our circumstances may have been, my mom was always positive,” she says.

If other children growing up in shelters knew what was out there and what was possible, Khadijah says their perspective would change.

“To any person, homeless or otherwise, who feels like they don’t like the situation they’re in and feels like they can’t do anything about it, they can,” she says. “For a while, that’s all I had—the belief that I could do it. All you need is that belief because you can. I did it.”

[Tweet “All you need is that belief because you can. I did it”]

 

www.huffingtonpost.com
www.huffingtonpost.com

 

You may read this story and think your children will never be a Khadijah. While this is true, we hope that you can teach your children the power of resilience. As adults, we already understand the responsibilities that come with adulthood and we are living with this reality. Our kids don’t understand this.

We hope this story will guide you in bringing up a generation of resilient children. These are the children that will grow up to become problem solvers. And if they ever have to step into a tough situation perhaps Khadijah’s story, will encourage them to handle what is thrown at them with a sense of confidence.

Source: www.oprah.com

Scroll to Top