Portrait of Jeny

"And where are your issues? I'm waiting for your issues," she jokes with Jeny over lunch. "I think I got off very easy. We just have fun."

Jeny is eager to get a job, but Rowe cautions her not to let it "get in the way of being in high school." Jeny's blossomed at Aurora Central High School, where she's doing well in classwork, has joined the dance team and the choir, and spends time with friends.

For school one day, Jeny wears a sweatshirt with Tinkerbell designs over capris and fresh DC kicks. Both of her wrists are wrapped in plastic and rubber bracelets. "Mi Familia Primero" is the message on the red, white and green one.

In the hall she hugs friends; in class she hugs more. She hugs while she's walking and while she's standing. She's got a crush on one boy, and a boy in whom she has no interest has a crush on her, but she hugs both of them the same way. Plus, she can always count on hugs from Carmen when she sees her kid sister. At their new townhouse, Carmen has a bedroom of her own for the very first time — but she still sneaks into Jeny's bedroom at night.

"We stuck together, you know," Carmen explains.

"Solid," Jeny adds.

The two bang fists.

Although Jeny is friendly with everyone, she keeps quiet about the challenges she's faced at home. "I think Central and most schools have some kids who have to deal with things outside of the school day that unfortunately they probably shouldn't have to," says Tyler Smith, who taught Jeny geography last year and is now her social studies teacher. "She's a great kid and does well in class. I don't know all that's happened in her life, but whatever it is, it hasn't affected her school performance at all. She's a great student."

Sam and Rosy are thankful that their kids have turned out so well, despite their own bad behavior. They're thankful that their kids somehow took care of themselves when they weren't there for them. But they swear those days are behind them. "There's no turning back this time," Sam says. "You have to make the right choices. If you make bad decisions, you're going to go down that path for sure. Learn the easy way or learn the hard way — it's up to each individual person."

Jeny made up her mind a long time ago.

"I do not want to end up like my parents," she says. "I am not going to have four kids, one in California, and be on drugs. I'm not going to end up like my parents. I'm telling you, I'm going to have a good job and a nice house." She hopes to be a journalist one day, and has already started writing some of her own story.

"I think God actually came through for us this time," she says.

In my future, I have a lot planned. I really love my dance team and I enjoy it. But really, I want to be a writer. I'm trying hard in high school to make it through, and I'm making it. I want to graduate and go to a good college. I want to make it in life. My parents are my example that I should try harder in life and really think of the decisions that I make. I really would like to visit schools and talk to students and share my experience with people so that they know that they are not the only ones. The end.