Undergraduate / Family history, culture or environment influenced you, how? - 'family and money' [2]

My environment has affected my life quite a lot throughout the years. Things haven't always been that easy, but as a family we have learned to have faith and patience. Life is never a smooth ride. For instance, my father left my mother, my two younger brothers and I almost nine years ago. It was very tough for my mother who was taking care of three children, an eight year old, a six year old and a three year old, and at the same time working a full time job. Money was definitely tight but we learned to manage. We started to go to church and that helped out a lot. Going to church taught us how to have faith in God and have patience with Him. My father's leaving did affect me a lot, but it did teach me to be independent and rely on no one but myself. Also his leaving has made me want to prove to myself that I can succeed in anything that i set my mind to. I study hard in order to get good grades, I volunteer in the community whenever I can and i do anything in order to get good scores on both the ACT and SAT and all to be able to get as many scholarships as I can and get intoan amazing university.