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10 Deven k Life Narrative “Society, it’s a boys’ club still” I was born in Ohio, born and raised there. My mother, my father, my stepmother all raised me. My older sister, she’s seven years older. So there’s a big gap there,andeventhoughtheykindofpushedmeoffonherattimes,Iprettymuch was an only child. Family life was very good. I enjoyed it. Did all the norms, I guess, if you want to label it as normal. You know, we visited the grandparents. Had the big holiday sit-down dinners. My mom was in insurance, and my dad was a banker. . . . My parents did divorce, so every other weekend I spent time with my father and my stepmother. School was great. I really enjoyed grade school, junior high, high school. I absolutely enjoyed it. They kind of knew who I was from my sister, but then they got to draw their own conclusion once I entered their classes and stuff. I would have to say my favorite subject was English. Grammar, composition. I love to write letters. I frequently write home to family and friends. So I just really enjoyed that. I think that was one of my better subjects. Yeah, math was not a real good subject for me. Although I did like American history. I liked learning about, you know, what our forefathers did. My number one joy in my life is my daughter. My number one. She is, oh my God! She is my blessed event. It took me a long time to get her. Other joys, every day is a joyous occasion. It’s just what you do with the day. I mean, as long as you don’t let any, if somebody’s negative, and you don’t let that rub off on you, then the day shall remain positive. In regards to [relationships that have been important], I would say all of my parents. I mean, they have great business ethics, and I think as I got older, I bonded better, and I have an absolutely wonderful relationship with all my parents. My boss, who I’ve worked for for five years. She’s from China. And women in China only get to go to school for up until fourth grade, and then she’s self-taught. And I guess that just inspired me. And she taught me so much about the business world. I’m in property management, and I just, I absolutely love her. She’s just awesome, and she’s an amazing lady. My best friend, who passed away, . . . turned out to be my neighbor at one point in time, and then we ended up working together at a restaurant. And that was the greatest experience. I mean, I just really enjoyed the camaraderie. Violence has been a big part of my life. Domestic abuse. Emotional. Physical , financial, mental. I don’t know, I got like prince charming, and then two weeks later, they’d turn into Satan himself. For lack of better terms, that’s just how it went. So I rode that merry-go-round ride with them, the ups and downs. And you know, “Oh, I can change them and this’ll get better,” but we all know how that works [laughing]. There were six different men in my life [laughing], and unfortunately, when I’d break up with one, it seemed like the one that I had beforehand would call me back. I’ve been on this revolving circle with the same six for like oh, a very long time, but now my daughter’s father, we’ve been together for six years, and we rode that emotional ride for a minute there, too. I would have to say most of that was due to our drug abuse, and how we beat ourselves up, and then we would take the aggression out on each other. I guess I didn’t really know myself, but of course, I would put it on the back burner, you know, and I made these men my world, so to speak. But today, my daughter’s my number one priority. Everything else falls to the side. I had ten miscarriages, and I got shot when I was seven months pregnant with her, so God truly blessed me with this little angel. She is my miracle, and she is my most precious gift from God. So, just everything that I’ve been through with men, I’m just not real men oriented. You know, I guess I...

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