I Learned My Values And Character Traits

As a senior at Red Cloud High School, I’m a member of National Honor Society, captain of the cheer squad, lifeguard, swimming instructor, and part-time employee at the local grocery store. I’ve come to learn from a young age that money doesn’t grow on trees. When growing up, it was just my mother and I. While living on her single parent income, I learned money doesn’t grow on trees. My mother worked a minimum wage job, facing financial struggles at times. Her willpower drove her to get the job she has today. My mother married, and I have a little brother now. As his big sister, I always wanted to be someone he could look up to. At the age of fifteen I became a lifeguard at the community pool. The next year I took classes to be a certified Water Safety Instructor, so I could teach swimming lessons to local children. That same year I applied at the local grocery store, to have a job during the school year.

I am the product of divorced parents, who struggled with substance abuse, but that does not define me. My childhood consisted of poverty-stricken environments; however, I refused to let that dictate the outcome of my life. At the age of ten, I had to assume the role of a fatherly figure to my three siblings, so I missed out on the conventional childhood most would have had. I grew up in east Bakersfield where substance abuse, gangs and criminal acts of violence were a pervasive occurrence, and I resiliently avoided the peer pressures to conform to their way of life. From the ages of 11 to 15, I would work for my grandfather at the local swap meet on the weekends so that I could help my mother make ends meet. I received my worker 's permit at the age of 15, which elevated my ability to help my mother financially as now I earned a set wage. I worked the maximum hours allowed as a minor while balancing my academics and extracurricular school activities at school. Although faced with much adversity early on in life, I managed to be a scholar triathlete in high school and was accepted to California State University, Bakersfield after graduating from Foothill High. I was determined and excited to be the first college graduate in my family, as I understood the economic importance of this achievement. Sadly, after my freshman year of attending the university, I had to put my educational endeavors on hold to assist my mother and siblings further financially.

Having been raised in a single parent household from a young age, I developed a strong work ethic. Watching my mother struggle at times raising my brother and me has helped me to see how essential it is to have a college education to achieve my ultimate goal in life, which is to become a psychiatrist and assist those in struggles similar to the ones I’ve faced.

I landed my first job at the age of 15, the same year I passed the Accuplacer Placement test and enrolled at Edmonds Community College as a full-time Running Start student. I am the youngest of five children and although my parents needed the financial help, getting a job and education at such a young age was ultimately my choice. Aside from growing up with four older brothers, my parents put me into the school system one year early. As the youngest at school and home, I grew an insatiable need to prove myself. I chose to work hard early in life because I wasn’t going to let my circumstance define me.

Never thinking that she would own up to much but always hoping that she would accomplish more than hoped Larissa Brown worked hard all throughout high school then held down a steady full-time job while going to college. Larissa didn’t know what she wanted to do for a living she simply stated “I was unsure of what career path I wanted to take my last year of college.” She continued to say, “I was still debating whether or not I wanted to go the medical route or be a teacher….my [chemistry] professor was very passionate about the material she was teaching. Her passion and determination inspired me to want to do the same thing for younger generations.” My sister had only two specific goals in her life after college and those were to move out of our mom’s house and get a good paying job teaching kids science. So working for that career she gained a lot of responsibility which “played a great role in my coming of age process. She went on to say, “I gained the most responsibility my last year of college when I was working 40 hours a week managing two yogurt shops and taking 16 credit hours at ASU. All of these new responsibilities did help me become a responsible adult and have the ability to live on my own. I was officially ready to be responsible for me, 100%.” Larissa grew the most during her college years and she said that high school was when she developed her own persona and college was when she developed

When divorce and poverty strike a household, statistics show that a student’s potential can take the hit, but these events actually taught me to leap over any kind of hurdle I face. At the same time, my parent’s divorce and the Great Recession ate up our limited savings, and I was told my future dreams were no longer realistic, so college would be out of the question. Disappointed, I kept my nose to the grindstone to prove my parents wrong, and I found that my career is only limited by my work ethic, and I could succeed no matter what I was told I could do. My work inside and outside of the classroom made me an honored student at Howell High School and a volunteer recognized by the state of Michigan’s recreation department. Just as these plans

I grew up in a single-parent, low-income home outside of Santa Rosa, California. The idea of college wasn’t introduced to me until long after I had already become just another statistic. I dropped out of high school when I was 17, in the midst of a teenage rebellion, thinking I already knew everything and didn’t need anyone’s help. I left home, got a job at a fast food restaurant, and stayed with friends off and on until I realized that maybe I didn’t know everything quite yet. After a severe reality check, I found a sense of responsibility that encouraged me to get my G.E.D and find a great job. I was very determined to take everything I learned as a child and use it as a what-not-to-do guide. By the time I was 19, I bought my first house and quickly realized I could either set limitations with excuses or achieve goals with endurance. The

Writing the personal narrative and seeing my views on how I have impacted a few communities has encouraged me to reflect on how my parents have impacted how I interact within Macon’s community. Moving away from home and coming here has not had a significant impact on my life like I thought it would have. As a freshman and a sophomore, I was not as active as I would have liked to been in my college career. I did not really have a good understanding of why I was attending college, and being introverted made it difficult for me to settle in the new community that I was in. I preferred staying in my room and was not involved in the activities on campus or in the Macon community. This changed when I began to work as a tutor. I became more interactive

I come from a family where hard work and dedication runs through our veins like ants out of an infringed ant hill. From birth, both my mother and father have instilled in me the importance of getting a sound education while maintaining a positive relationship with my family, my peers, and with God. It was under the leadership and guidance of my parents that I untapped my thrill for learning and sought to go beyond any stereotypes or labels I was given. Overall, I consider myself to be an academically sound individual. Throughout my career as a student at Monroe High School, I have made an effort to exhibit a sustained, unrelenting work ethic.

I took the course load our advisors strictly discouraged, and any free time I had become dedicated to my volunteer work in assisted living homes and nonprofit organizations, and my work as a tutor for those that just could not fit the tutor schedule provided by the university. I earned perfect grades and hundreds of hours of community service experience. Yet, for all my achievements, I would have never made it this far without the support of my family, who dealt with my three AM freakouts over projects. My instructors, who listened to my theoretical rants and gave me an opportunity to expand my practical knowledge and the students that I have tutored over the last five semesters who allowed me to refine that

During my senior year in high school, I experienced the unfortunate event of my parents splitting. My father stayed in Washington to attend my graduation ceremony, but announced to my family that shortly after he would be moving to Las Vegas. I intended to immediately work towards a degree in mechanical engineering, a career I’ve had my eyes set on since I was a child, but there was an essential role I needed to fill. As a result of my father’s absence, my mother worked two eight hour jobs as a waitress, leaving my younger brother void of any parental figure. Graduating high school was a bittersweet milestone, having known that I am one step closer to pursuing my career, but faced with the harsh reality that the time wasn’t right.

As I found relevant help for homework, fixed computer problems, and figured out ways to get a ride to school functions, I grew into my own independence and resourcefulness while discovering the balance between relying on myself and asking others for help. The attitude towards my parent’s absence at school events changed from resentful to accepting and appreciative. My tone when told my friends and teachers whenever they asked if my parents were coming to a band concert or turned from an eye-rolling, angry “They’re working” to a simple “They’re working.” This shift of the meaning “working” happened when I started helping out at our distant family’s restaurant at age 15. Seeing first hand my mom’s happy smile despite demanding customers and my dad’s hard work regardless of his neck and back pains have shown me the effort and sweat it takes to earn one dollar. My gratitude for my parents continues to soar as I see the sacrifices they make for me and my siblings to have a good education in order to have a path that is different than theirs. However, the experience of working alongside my parents has also shown me that making money for a living is important, but family time is still

Life challenges us and we, intuitively, will try to make decisions facing the obstacles in the least possible burden. After completing my associate degree as an honor student at Houston Community College in May 2014, my family took priority over my studies and I had to work full time instead of going to school. After my father was diagnosed with arteriosclerosis I started working full time as research assistants in a biochemistry lab at Rice University and attending graduate level courses till fall 2015.

Until age nine, my family and I resided in a poverty-stricken neighborhood of Long Beach, California where gangs and criminal activity pervaded the streets. My father was the sole provider working as a cook, and my mother, formerly a caretaker for the elderly, became a full-time homemaker when I was born. Though my father was not home much, his strong work ethic and tenacity to improve our living conditions was admirable, as it enabled him to provide for us and help support family in Mexico. Since my mother did not drive, our limited income and transportation precluded them from supporting extracurricular activities. I did, however, excel in academics.

Growing up I was raised by a single mother, and not just any mother, she was and still is a fiercely independent woman who managed to work a full time teaching job, be the Science department head coordinator, make me dinner every night, and still find the time to come to every game, performance, award, or Girl Scout meeting I have ever had. It has been proven that the biggest influences in a child’s life are their home environment, so in my opinion, it is no tremendous shock that my independent, scholarly, and wise mom, raised a similarly independent, scholarly, and wise daughter. Due to my mom’s strong influence in my life I have grown up to become a strong leader in several things I enjoy, like my high school marching band, and I have also worked very diligently in order to maintain my ninety-seven high school GPA.