Elizabeth “Liz” Murray was born in the Bronx, New York to poor and drug-addicted parents, both of whom would later contract HIV. Some of her earliest memories are of her parents spending their welfare payments on cocaine and heroin when she and her sister were starving.
When her father failed to pay the rent on their flat and moved to a homeless shelter, Liz was out on the streets. During this time, her mother succumbed to AIDS. “I saw her die without fulfilling her dreams and I knew that my time was now or maybe never,” she says. She decided go to high school, even though she was still homeless.
After many rejections, she finally opted for an “alternative” high school – graduating in two years. She did a year’s work a term and went to night classes. A teacher saw her gumption and mentored her. She was awarded a New York Times scholarship for needy students and was accepted into Harvard University, matriculating in the fall semester of 2000. In late 2006, her father died of AIDS. His saving grace was that he encouraged her to read – and stole books from libraries to give her a love of literature. Just before he passed away, he wrote Murray a card which read: ‘Lizzy, I left my dreams behind a long time ago. But I know now they’re safe with you.”
Oprah Winfrey gave her a chutzpah award and she met Bill Clinton. She has given speeches at events alongside Tony Blair, Mikhail Gorbachev and the Dalai Lama. She talks to teenagers about resisting the temptations of drugs and gangs.
Regardless of her rough start at life, Murray chose the high road and decided she would not live her life as a victim of circumstances. She rose above her poverty, her pain and her lack of support to become one of America’s most famous international speakers. Her story is an inspiration to other people going through a rough patch in life. It’s a daily reminder that an individual’s destiny rests solely on the individual’s hands, and that possibility isn’t far beyond anyone’s reach.
Source: https://www.americansunglass.com/blogs/news/beyourownicon-liz-murray
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