A homeless teen named Anya Sifuentes who worked different jobs to sponsor her school feels through high school has defied the odds as she was awarded a scholarship to study for her bachelor’s degree at the University of Ozarks in the United States
Anya is a high school Athlete from Arkansas who lost her home under no circumstances according to KFSM-TV. She mentioned that she had closed from school and got home only to find out that she could not enter her house.
“It was late September that things just started getting strange. On October 1, I went home right after I went to school and realized that I couldn’t get in my home anymore,” she said.
Anya stated that not only was she prevented from going inside her house again, but her mother made the situation more difficult. She added that her mother abandoned her with her two siblings and a nephew
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“My mom started really acting weird and you could tell that she was late on all of her bills and she wasn’t acting the same anymore. My mom said ‘I’m not gonna stay with y’all.’ I thought, ‘Why?’”Anya said.
‘To think that we’d be separated I did not like the feeling I knew it wasn’t going to be the same anymore,” she added.
Anya said she went from a normal high school girl to a provider for her family. She stated that she had to pick up jobs, find a new apartment, and start paying bills while still attending school and track practice.
“It just slaps you in the face knowing that you’re an adult now. You can’t play around now. You can’t just slack off one day because it will hit you later,” she said.
Ananya shared that despite her difficulties in comprehending the reasons behind the outcome of her life, she was not sure if she could find the strength. However, she was able to endure and persevere.
“I set a goal in my mind. I have a goal to be happy, even though all this is going on and my family doesn’t seem like a family anymore,” she said.“I’m depressed and I’m stressed and money is overwhelming right now. I thought to myself, ‘God is the only thing that’s going to get me through all this pain,” she said.
Anya mentioned that God and running track helped her get through the difficult times. “Like they say, ‘running away from your problems’ that’s what I did. literally ran away from my problems. Even if it meant like 10 miles,” she said.
She mentioned that she discovered a sense of freedom through running, which led her to engage in it more frequently. Anya was not merely running, she mastered the art and velocity of her runs, to the extent that college recruiters began to notice her.
The college recruiters offered Anya a scholarship to run at the University of the Ozarks, Arkansas in the United States which she accepted. Reflecting on her struggles, Anya said she is glad to have persevered through her challengesnges.
“I just look back and think, ‘This is who you are. You’re someone strong. You don’t give up easily. Even though times get rough, you have to keep going. Even though you fall down, you have to keep going,” she said.
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