Food Fellowship: A Story of Resilience

In this blog, a high school student and former Food Fellow shares their experience in the program and hope for the future. We’ve redacted their name for their privacy.

I was always told life isn’t easy, things won’t come to you, and you have to work for them. As a young kid, I always thought the opposite was true: if you were a good enough person things would work out for you and that life would come simpler.

At the age of 14, I found out I was wrong. I learned that you cannot control what happens to you in life, no matter how “good” you are. My mother couldn’t afford to pay the bills and we were stuck in darkness for weeks. She cried in her room all night because she was sad she couldn’t get us the things we asked for - not because she didn’t want to but simply because she couldn’t. Bad things can still happen to good people.

But then something happened last summer that made me hopeful again. I was accepted to the Food Fellowship with The Patachou Foundation, but It was 30 minutes away from my home and I didn’t have a way there and back.

First, I learned to ride the Indy Go bus (I had never taken the bus before), but the nearest bus stop to me was still a mile away from my house.

Thankfully, I worked with some very good people and they got me a bike that I could ride to my stops. Every morning, I woke up at 5:25 a.m. and made it out the house by 6:30 a.m. and caught 2 buses to work and always made it on time by 8 a.m. I continued this routine every day for 6 whole weeks.

Even when it was pouring down rain outside I didn’t let it stop me. I got on my bike and kept telling myself “you can do this, you can do it” and I did just that.

Life gave me a challenge that seemed impossible, but I showed up. This was one of my most proudest moments in my life and I’ll never forget how proud I was of myself for not stopping and giving up regardless of how bad I wanted to.

I know now that I have to be my own motivation by continuously thriving for greatness because I want better for myself and my family. I plan on keeping that same mindset and motivation for the rest of my life. I will not let anything stop me, I will not let myself give up, I will not settle for less.