Adilene Martinez

I’m Adilene and I’m a nineteen year old first generation. I come from immigrant parents who raised me in East Los Angeles before moving to Rosemead in first grade. My parents separated when I was nine years old. As a result, my mother was left to care for me and my two older brothers. My brothers were troubled teens and they surrounded themselves with the wrong people. They were constantly in and out of Juvenile Hall. It went on like that until they were old enough to do some real time. For a stay at home hustler raising her kids in this kind of environment it created a lot of stress. One of my brother’s was in a gang but thankfully he got away from that life. Unfortunately, before we could get away from all this, my other brother was caught in the crossfire in another gang shooting and got hit. I remember the day this happened, I heard the phone ring from outside and the next thing I knew my mother flew out the door and started running. My middle brother took after her with me in his arms to the scene of the crime. My brother lived but the bullet remains in his shoulder because it landed in a very risky place that could’ve possibly left my brother's arm paralyzed if surgery didn’t go well. 

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My early childhood was a bit chaotic. Ultimately my parents who were still together at the time made the decision to move. Not long after we moved to Rosemead, my dad left and that created a huge dent in our relationship that I wouldn’t realize until later on. After he left, my mom had to step it up and provide for us. She would sell food in addition to other things such as Tupperware. The trauma that I endured as a kid made me troubled for a period of time and I had to seek therapy. When I got to high school everything changed, I got majority A’s, took several AP classes as well as participated in three sports. I was staying busy all year round, off season I would focus on school and on season I would do school and practice. All that came to an end during the summer going into my senior year. I was going to summer practices and I already secured a spot on the varsity volleyball team when I had to quit. During that summer my mother was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic and lung cancer. At some point I planned to put school on hold but unfortunately my mom didn’t last long enough for that to happen. Shortly after the pandemic I was in a very dark place because I was grieving and I was alone. I didn’t have the one person that made me complete and made me feel whole no matter how broken I was. My friendships started changing and the communication cut off. I felt like I hit a huge bump in the road and I genuinely didn’t know if I could get back from it. 

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Fortunately my mindset changed and I was optimistic. I started meeting with a career counselor to discuss potential career options and my ideas aligned with some of what In the Making does. The plan was to apply and see what it’s like to run your own organization. It was the perfect opportunity to get exposure and decide whether this path is for me or not. I started in April of 2021 and in the short amount of time that I've been here I learned a lot and I continue to learn. I’ve made so many new friends who I adore. I’ve crossed paths with girls I went to Headstart with who I thought I'd never see again. My perspective changed a lot especially because this places an emphasis on the importance of mental health and it allows you to reach your higher self. It gives you confidence and constantly reminds you of how powerful and important you are because you are what’s going to change the world. Everyone is so supportive of each other. No matter what your journey is, this place will help you start it. In the making helped me reevaluate what my purpose is and what is important to me in this life.