A determined 18-year-old homeless girl, Destiny Jackson has fought his way to earn acceptance from 17 universities in the United States despite facing the challenges of being homeless.
Destiny is a teenager from Philadelphia who has had several challenges including abuse and homelessness but she pushed through to earn into 56 colleges and universities in the United States.
She told GMA that she ran away from an abusive home in Philadelphia when she was just 13 years old. Destiny said she took it upon herself to leave home which made her experience homelessness, squatting, and bouncing around foster care and group homes.
Destiny added that she also had to learn to manage her health early on because she was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at the age of 3. Realizing the lack of stability at home, she knew she had to assume the responsibility that would otherwise be reserved for a legal guardian.
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”There wasn’t one consistent person responsible for my diabetes except me because one day I could be here, the next day I could be there. The only constant person is always me so I thought it was my responsibility my duty to be able to have control over my diabetes,” she said.
She stated that she would often attend her diabetic appointments alone, but learned how to manage the disease through the help of her doctors and workers at the homeless shelter.
Destiny mentioned that her health condition and age made it difficult for her to find foster families willing to take her in.
“I did struggle with finding homes because a lot of people do not want someone who’s Type 1 diabetic. But then I was a teenager as well. It wasn’t good,” she said. Destiny said she made sure not to allow her challenges to affect her academics rather she made it a motivation.
“I did not want to allow anything to get the best of me. I always wanted to go to college. I always knew that I wanted to do something with my life. No matter what happened, I needed to keep my eye on the prize,” she said.
Destiny said she applied to numerous colleges through various college fairs and online applications hoping that as long as she got into one, she would be all right. Fortunately, when the acceptance letter started coming, she was accepted into 56 colleges.
She earned acceptances from prestigious universities across the United States including the University of Pennsylvania, the University of California Los Angeles, and Howard University.
However, her top choice was Spelman College in Atlanta because of its history of raising illustrious women. “Spelman has an illustrious history of women in leadership, dedicated, strong-minded, and educated women and I believe that is me,” she said.
She said she plans to double major in political science on a pre-law track and communication and media studies at Spelman College.
“There’s always men who are within these leadership positions. So me seeing Kamala Harris, not only being the vice president of the United States, but also her being a Black woman, I think that that is beyond an accomplishment. That gives me a lot of confidence to know that okay, if she can do it, why can’t I?” she said.
While at Spelman, Destiny said she also plans to pursue acting, as the arts were one of her main coping mechanisms. She said that she “loves to sing and act” and wants to have her own radio show before she goes on to become president of the United States.
Advising others with similar situations, Destiny said they have the power to shape their own lives and achieve their goals. Rather than letting others dictate their path, they should take control and create their own story.Â
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