Biological mother ‘really doesn’t want me’
Roberto Carrasco grew up near gangs and drugs in the Little Village section of Chicago.
“Growing up with my biological mother wasn’t the most fun time ever. After she and my father split up and he moved down here to live in Texas, we were bouncing around from apartment to apartment. It was pretty crazy. I would never be able to go to sleep when my mom had parties. So as much as I could, I ran away to my grandparents’ house a few blocks away.
“I was 17 the last time I was with my mom before she finally gave me up. I went there one day and found her and one of her other sons on the staircase, arguing. He had a knife, and it looked like he was going to stab her. So I got in the middle and said ‘No.’ She grabbed me by my hair and threw me to the floor, and she started beating me and kicking me in my ribs, spitting on me, calling me names, and telling me I was an accident. She always would say that, I was an accident. She yelled at me to get out.
“That day, I didn’t want to go to my grandparents because I didn’t want them to feel stressed out and scared. So I called one of my friends and went to her apartment. Back then, I never really cried. I always wanted to make things perfect, so I would try to keep smiling. But it was hard.
“My friend was like, ‘What’s wrong?’ I said, ‘I just don’t understand. My mom really doesn’t want me.’ And that’s when I started to cry. The tears just came out.”
— Roberto Carrasco
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