P E R S E V E R A N C E A N D

D E T E R M I N A T I O N

AAWSOMEMAGAZINE

OCTOBER 2019 ISSUE 10 VOLUME 12

 M O V I N G
M O U N T A I N S

A LIFE CHANGING EXPERIENCE

AS TOLD BYJAYDEN BLUE

I NEVER THOUGHT THE

MOUNTAINS CAN CHANGE
THE WAY I SAW LIFE.

We are born into this world with a clean

slate just like the plains, but they
eventually change and shift over time
becoming mountains. The We are born
into this world with a clean slate just like
the plains, but they eventually change
and shift over time becoming mountains.
The mom of Jayden is named Kristina,
and the Uncle is Mike. They werent
fortunate, their family was poor. They
lived in Chicago. At times they had to go
to the food pantry for food and when
food would run out they would eat out of
the dumpsters behind Burger King. They
were beaten by their Mom and Stepdad
for as little as not doing a good job at
cleaning and their father had left them
when they were young. Jaydens Mom was
kicked out when she was 16.
The dad, Jessie, grew up in a family of
nine. His mom worked long hours to care
for her kids. They lived in the projects in
Chicago.
 E X P L O R I N G
OUR JOURNEY THROUGHOUT 25 CITIES
A
Jaydenss mom and dad met each
other at Dinos Foods where she
worked during her senior year of
high school.
They dated for three in a half years
and then they had me. Kristina was
in labor with Jayden for 52 hours.
Jayden was born on September 28,
2002. He was eight pounds and one
ounce, and he had to stay in the
hospital for one extra day because
of jaundice. "Not being able to bring
you home with me right away was
one of the most difficult things I
had to do but knowing you would be
home the next day was comforting"
Kristina said when asked about how
it felt going home without Jayden.
They had moved from apartment to
apartment several times. Jaydens
mom invested in him so much, she
paid for Jayden to go to Lakeshore
school a private school, put him in
private speech therapy since Jayden
had trouble. He had a hearing
problem from frequent ear
infections, which influenced his
speech. Jayden didn't say his first
word until he was fourteen months
old.
E U R O P E
Jaydens Mom and Dad also had
two more children, Kristian and
Lyndon. When Lyndon was three
months old, they decided to
move to Iowa to get him and his
brothers a better neighborhood
and a better education.
They had moved into an
apartment complex right next to
West high. Jayden had started to
form his own personality. Back
then he classified himself as a
nerd, a teacher's pet, and
athletic. An odd combination but
to him it was alright to be ahead
of the ball. He and his team won
the first-second grade spelling
bee and later on tied first place
with another team in fourth
grade. Life was great for Jayden
he had so many friends and was
good at football. He was the best
catcher and fastest runner out of
all the kids. Even though back
then he had no idea how to
properly catch a football and just
let the ball hit his chest. Life at
Horn elementary was not always
perfect. In second grade he
started to get bullied by three
white students.
 Once they pushed him down the hill during recess. Him and his mom took it to the
principal. The principal talked to the parents of the children and told them what had
happened and forced the children to apologize to him but it was not sincere. A
couple of weeks later one of his friends asked if he could borrow a coat, Jayden
lended his coat to him and the same boys called his friend dirty because he
borrowed a coat from someone who was black.
At the end of the year Jayden and his family moved to the east side of Iowa
City. "This is why I refuse to go to West high and put in a transfer request to be a
part of City High which got approved, so i'm pumped that I can still be with my
friends." Jayden attended Lucas Elementary and made new friends. Now he attends
South East Junior High where he participates in sports, band, jazz band, and wishes
to be something in the STEM area.
Despite my parents upbringing, they were able to succeed with perseverance and
determination. Which in turn taught me that no matter what obstacles I may face in
life, with perseverance and determination I can overcome them."