My Future Story

Though the future is hard to predict, being prepared is always the thing we can do. Our choices must be based on what we truly want in life. If it’s truly our dream and it has a true purpose we must be prepared to push ourselves, stay determined, and be ready to give everything required to grasp it. Stay persistent, fueled, and keep picturing yourself with an incredible

I decided that I was going to go to Craven Community College and work on finishing the classes I needed to get my high school diploma. Unfortunately, that did not happen either. When I was seventeen, my mother unexpectedly passed away. My mother was my best friend and it was a huge loss to me and the rest of my family. I went through a period of grieving which lasted for almost a year. The subject of school was brought up again and I decided to get my GED from Craven. The fall after I received my GED, I started my first semester. I had to deal with anxiety and this feeling I had that I was a failure. I had to remind myself that I suffered in school because of my mental illness, not because I was stupid. I have recently started my third semester at Craven and I have a 4.0 GPA. I still have to deal with anxiety, mood swings, and stepping up as a mother figure to my little sister, but I have never let any of this bring me down. I have not given up and I never will. I use my past experiences as a way of reminding myself have far I have come, and that I am strong enough to take on anything I want to do in the future. That is why I feel like I would be a good candidate for

Later as an adolescent, I was an active member of my high school’s Girls Football team and Volleyball. I attend a post-secondary institution right after high school; I received my Medical Assistance Certification from Star Technical Institute in Whitehall, PA. I pursue my dreams of obtaining the education I had always desired and found a great job in the medical assistance field. Another event, which shifted my life forever, was accepting a marriage proposal at a young age and marrying in 1991. I made it clear from the beginning that my education was very important to me and marriage would not stand in the way of my pursuing post-secondary studies or even completing high school. When I announced my engagement due to my pregnancy I was, determine to complete all my studies to make a better life for my son. I became a mother in February 1991 and continued to work as a Manager for a retail store until my husband, who had been unemployed since our marriage, found work. When he secured employment, it gave me the financial flexibility to pursue my dream of attaining higher education, In July 1992. Working in the medical field, you gain so much knowledge and then transferring into the mortgage career, I gained lots of experience. My last job I went back to the medical field as that was the quickest job I can find in my area that was hiring. I was so nervous due to not knowing anyone and having to relearn everything all over

Purposely messing up at the 5th grade spelling bee because I didn’t want to be the smart brown kid. The worry or how I will be seen by others since 5th grade, has held me back from my ambitions and potential. The pattern academic failure lasted all the way until this past year. Last year I was a freshman at Saint Louis University, I was kicked out because I had a GPA of .27. I couldn’t tell my parents that so I pretended like I didn’t receive that letter and moved back in the start of my sophomore year, this past fall, and tried to petition. My petition was denied; I was given a 3 day move out notice with nowhere to go. I packed my bags, headed to a train station and was homeless for 3 days so I slept at a train station. An elderly white couple, who had “adopted” me as their grandchild when I was born was who I decided to reach out to. They offered me to live with them in Arizona but encouraged me to go home. I sent a text at 4:00am and took a train to come to a home where I wasn’t looked at, talked to, or valued. After being academically dismissed from Saint Louis University, I woke up to adulthood. My parents were very disappointed in me and they couldn't even look at

Everything in my life occurred backwards. I married at age 17 and started a family. My children were my motivation. Postsecondary education seemed impossible. Guidance and a support system were absent from my life. The process for attaining an education seemed so complicated. Postsecondary education seemed so foreign to me. I struggled through paying for one class at a time due to the absence of knowledge about financial aid. Unfortunately, I did not have a counselor that mentored me throughout the process. Nine years later through aspirations for my children, I finally achieved my Associates’ Degree from a community college. Unfortunately, at this time, I never acknowledged my success of receiving a degree.

I felt a genuine and intense passion in the epidemiology field, especially in the infectious diseases department, and I felt sure of where things were going. And then I met a man. For the next three years I held on to an emotionally and physically abusive relationship. Throughout my freshmen, sophomore, and junior year I lied about my wellbeing, I sacrificed my studies, I cut off ties with friends that were my only support system, and I made several excuses for a person who did not deserve second chances. I finally found the courage to leave the unhealthy relationship. Unfortunately, I suffered chronic depression during my senior year as a result. There were several days I did not have the energy or willpower to get out of bed. I struggled with an overwhelming guilt of giving up on a person who needed more help than I did. I struggled with my self-esteem, and many days I lost motivation to push myself. I grew quite angry that I wasted years my family sacrificed for. I let them down and I could not forgive myself for that. But slowly I started to realize that the person I let down the most was myself. I was once a person with ambition, and goals and somewhere between trying to make someone else happy I lost myself. I wish I could say that i pulled myself together, that I suddenly became happy, or that I pulled all my grades up but I had rough days, weeks, and sometimes bad months. Luckily

My future is indefinite, and I can only attempt to improve it day by day. However, once you have your vision set out, you can take the steps towards your future, and become successful in anything that you set your mind to. Learning is a big part of growing and with the right mind frame and fruitfulness, the knowledge you attain in your everyday life will guide you towards a potential industry that you aspire to be involved in. Once you have knowledge, you can acquire a passion and that will be a constant drive towards your goals.

I always believed that things would just work out in the end. That I did not need to be wrapped up in over complicated situations because they would unravel themselves. I had this idea that I would grow up, go to college, and then get a job. My older brother Joseph had a similar idea. He started at the University of Dayton in August of 2015, but decided to come back home to our house in Bucks County at the end of October in 2015. His simple decision of “college wasn’t for me” had single handedly ripped me from my cozy reality that “everything works out” and had pitted my family against one another.

I made the decision to move to Omaha, Nebraska in order to be closer to him. Along with my decision to relocate, I had decided to transfer to the University of Nebraska at Omaha in order to continue my studies. I found out in my time there that the individual who I thought I would be with for the rest of my life was not the loving and caring person that I had fallen in love with. Instead he was extremely cruel and eventually became very emotionally and physically abusive towards me. The violence in our relationship had gotten so bad that it would take me out of school for weeks at a time. I told no one of the abuse that was taking place and I regret that choice because my performance in school and grade point average began to suffer dramatically. Throughout this devastating time in my life, I felt that my education was all I that had, it was my way out. I told myself that no matter of how hard the road was, that I was not going to let someone else take away my dreams and I would not give up on attaining my bachelor’s degree. Regardless of all my hardships that I had to endure while living in Omaha, I eventually went on to complete my degree and not long after, left the state and the very abusive relationship behind

College has been my priority. I want to continue my education by attending Cal State East Bay to obtain my Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice and my Master’s Degree in Public Administration. My career goal after I obtain both of my degrees is to work for the city of Santa Ana where I can serve my city where I grew up. Throughout my two years at Santa Ana College, I faced difficult family circumstances that conflicted with my studies, but challenged me to continue with my education regardless of the hardships. I remember some day during the first week of instructions on my first semester at Santa Ana College I broke down in tears in front of my family in my backyard because I was

Out of high school I went off to college with a plan. I was so naïve, I had my life all planned out. I was going to a state school study accounting to become a CPA, where I would go to work every day, sit in an office and take home a decent paycheck. Halfway through my degree I realized something was missing, passion of what I was doing. To be completely honest I gave up, I stopped caring and my grades were horrible, in the course of a year I had gone from an A student to a C student. My family was adamant about me staying in school, and sticking it out another semester. I agreed to try but eventually stopped going to class, I should have been dropped from my classes but the university I attended was so large that with 400 plus students to a lecture no one noticed or cared. I dropped out of college, had I not made the decision to continue they would have dismissed me anyway. The grades I received my last year at SUNY Albany do not reflect my academic ability. I regret giving up, I realize now that there were alternate routes I could have taken. However I am one of those

I began college in 2014 at the age of 58 years-old. I want to change my line of work and do something that is far more interesting to me, working within the social services field. I am sure the fact that I was brought up by two extremely dysfunctional parents and the engaged in relationships that were of that same caliber, has much to do with why I believe I have something of positive significance to offer today. In short, I married at 19 years-old and had 5 children. I married an alcoholic and abuser of all forms and although I knew he drank and was abusive, I did not understand what I was dealing with back then in 1975; I did not understand abuse then as I do today. I grew up in it; I was very accustomed to it, it was normal to me. Ten

I graduated high school on May of 2011, full of dreams and ambition for a bright future. Coming from an immigrant family, I wanted nothing more but to make my parents proud and more than anything accomplish the goals I’ve had since I could remember. College cost me double more than Out-Of-State tuition because of my legal status in this country, and I could not apply for loans or scholarships that would normally help students. I decided to look for a full time job to save money for college, and I found a position at Aarons Sales & Lease as a sales representative. Truly, I loved my job and

I have committed myself to pursuing my undergraduate degree because I am completely aware of the importance of education. I am also a proud first generation college student determined to succeed, undeterred by my circumstances as an adolescent. I didn’t have a typical childhood. My mother was an alcoholic who also struggled severely with drug addiction. Unfortunately, her dependence led her into a cycle of domestic violence, jail, and many failed treatment attempts. Her choices preceded her absence for the majority of my life. From my knowledge, she didn’t even attain a high school diploma. My father was always present in my life. He raised my brother and me without the help of a significant other. He always emphasized education so he put me through private schooling.

I want to do many things in my future. As well as being a doctor who helps people, I want to live life and just be there. The future is