Forum Post: What woke you up?

Every one here has had a life changing moment that has brought them to the realization that something is wrong with our country. We all had that moment where something happened to us or to those around us where we knew something was not right with our system of government. My question is what woke you up? What happened to you or to the people around you that made you realize that things are not as they should be? What brought you to OWS?

My moment came early in my life, when I was in middle school. I was having trouble sleeping one night so I got out of bed and started to walk to the living room of the apartment my mother, brother and I where living in at the time so I could watch t.v. As I walked down the hallway towards the living room kitchen area I heard my mother crying. I found her sitting at the dinning room table with her head head buried in her hands crying. She was trying to figure out how see can pay all of the bills and still put food on the table.

As we all know that is a reality for many single parents and even families with both parents working. What makes it different for my family is, four months prior to this my mother had just finished a round of chemo and radiation therapy to force her Leukemia back into remission. During her treatment she missed few days of work and when she was too weak or sick to go to the office, she worked from home. The day I found her crying she had found out that the health insurance she had through her employer was treating this round of chemo and radiation therapy as treatment for a per-existing condition, therefor denying her coverage for it.

My mother did not make enough money to pay all of the bills and make too much money to qualify for food stamps. Due to the fact that she was working a full time and part time job. So, I asked her if I could get a job to help her out. I was 13 going on 14 at the time. After my mother, her boss and myself had a long discussion about allowing me to work where my mother was working full time at the time, they gave me a job. She was working at a company called The SteelWorks Corp that manufactures and sells everything from brass tubes to carpet grippers. I worked in the warehouse after school for a year and two summer vacations. Mostly cleaning sweeping and other odd jobs. I did keep up with my school work and did graduate on time.

The night I found my mother crying and the events that came after that night changed my life forever. I came to the realization that something is wrong and that feeling has stuck with me ever since. That's what woke me up and that's why I'm here.