Nancy Stoops M.A., M.F.T Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist

By Nancy Stoops

I met a young man that has just been in this country for one year.  He came here to get an education.  He is fifteen-years-old and a freshman at a local high school.  He came with his mother from China and his father stayed back in China to make a living to pay for his wife and his son living here.  He teared up as he spoke about not seeing his dad and grandparents often enough.  He spoke of how he wants to make his mom and dad proud, but there were tremendous expectations on him.  He has a long day of high school, then more school and tutoring after school.  He also has art lessons.

I was very impressed with him and his wisdom at fifteen.  He told me he doesn’t play video games and doesn’t use drugs.  He’s very disciplined and told me he loves watching funny movies to relax.  He struggles on tests because English is his second language, but the school is giving him some help.  He is determined to succeed for himself and his family.  He understands the sacrifices they are making so that he can get the education he is so very deserving of.  He wants his family to be proud of him.

His parents have done an amazing job with their only child.  He doesn’t use his struggles as a reason to fail.  At fifteen, his priorities are such as they should be.  He was happy and grateful for the opportunity bestowed upon him.   As I listened to him, I felt so hopeful for the future.  If there are more teens like him, I believe our world will be good in the future when my grandchildren are coming of age!

This article was written by Nancy Stoops M.A., M.F.T.  Nancy is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist.  She has a private practice in Diamond Bar and is currently accepting new clients; she is also a motivational speaker who can inspire your employees or group members.  Nancy runs free family support groups, a group on loss for seniors, and groups on how to manage anger.    For more information about any of these services feel free to contact her at (909229-0727.  You may e-mail Nancy at nancyjstoops@verizon.net.  You may purchase Nancy’s books Live Heal and Grow and Midnight the Therapy Dog at Amazon.com.