My Journey On Earth And I Aspire

In the past 16 years of my life, I never could come up with an answer to the question “who is Dudley?”. I struggled with finding out who I was and what my future had in store for me. When someone would ask me what my career choice would be, I was always at a loss for words. However, today, though I still may not have chosen what others would call a “dream job”, my objective stays the same and it’s to grow, strive and to never settle for less in order to discover what profession is most suitable for me. “Education is the key” is what my parents always tell me. Growing up in a Haitian household, I had to abide by the three L’s “legliz, Lekol, Lakay” which meant “church, school, home”. At one point of my life, I hated those rules because I believed

Ever since I was a young child, my parents always told me to try my best in school, they always told me this for the reason that they never had the opportunity to have a good job because they never finished school. This event is shaping me to care a lot regarding my education. In addition to that, another event that has shaped me to become the person I am today is that since my parents don’t have good paying jobs they have to work hard to take care of me and my siblings this event has caused me to become a hard working person and to seize all opportunities to live a good life because I don’t want to struggle like my parents.

I share this story simply because it is my background that has given me the life I live today. My parents’ lack in further education has motivated me to be the first in my family. Seeing my family struggle has pushed me to succeed in every task I attempt and to never back down when life throws me a curveball. Watching my father age has inspired me to reach for every dream I feel is impossible and to live to my absolute fullest potential. My education, in turn, has become the main priority in my life. Realizing that after years of struggle, my family is finally happy and blessed with the gift of life, has shown me that life was not meant to be

All my life they explained to me the importance of an education. “You’ve got to get your education! It’s the only way to get ahead in the world” were the words told to Sotomayor by her mother. Words that I heard my entire life. My parents instilled in me that one day I could have something far beyond what they do. Intertwined in the pages of Sotomayor’s book is an account of her Mother’s efforts to keep her children educated. On one occasion her mother bought them educational textbooks to study and even paid to get her children lessons. Like her mother, my parents opened a world of possibility for me too. They worked extra shifts to get me music lessons, waited outside of school an extra hour when I had events, and payed for me to stay in sports. They went far and beyond to secure an education for me and my sisters. “The world branched out before me in a thousand new directions.” explains Sotomayor of the learning experiences her mother exposed her to. My parents are an essential link in what my career goals have become.

My granny was the only person in my family to have a college degree. I am the second because of her. From middle school on we talked about college, where I would go, and what I would do when I grew up. Parents encourage careers that lead to the greatest profit, mine were no different. My granny never encouraged me to choose a career based on the profit. She only encouraged me to choose what made me happy. Life had it’s own plan and some things changed how my educational journey would pan out, but that didn’t make it impossible. Because of her I knew anything was

Growing up as the child of immigrants, the concept of the American Dream has been instilled in mind since childhood. I have been told time and time again to get good grades, go to college and pursue a respectable career. My parents came to America fully aware that they may not achieve their dreams, but they struggle and work tirelessly in order to insure I have a chance to achieve the Dream. There is a tremendous moral duty I have to validate their endless efforts they have made for my success. With this responsibility, there is a great deal of pressure to map out an ideal future. Over the years, my aspirations were ever-changing; I didn’t know what I truly wanted out of life. It was not until recently that I had any clue of the direction of my future. After reflecting on my experiences, the uncertainty of my aspirations began to fade and a

As a child, I always thought that it was my assignment in life to become an attorney. At least that's what my parents said. But not me! I was always into the arts, singing; although I can't, dancing, producing mini shows, or whatever I could do to express myself creatively. Unfortunately my parents were not convinced that the arts would get me far in life, so they pushed me down the college track. Even the high school guidance counselors saw the leadership in me. Surely, she's going to college and becoming a lawyer. So I tried it. Although surrounded by the uncertainty, but these people have my best interest at heart so why not? Except when I got there, I was not passionate about it at all! There started this search of who am I and what is it

Being an older, non-traditional college student with 36 years of life experience behind me I thought I had my life figured out. Academically, I would take the degrees that I already have, coupled with the joint Bachelor’s degree I am about to receive from St. Mary’s University, go to law school earn my J.D. Become a practicing attorney and watch the life I have always wanted start to unfold. When given this assignment however, I began to seriously question myself about my passions in life and an immense dissonance overwhelmed me. Nearing 40 years old, I have felt for some time, that I should have in order what I want to do with my degrees and my life for that matter. If I was honest with myself, I do not and therefore, began to do a lot

While I respect my father for his hard work, I knew I wanted to have a different future. During these family trials, I made it my mission to

I’ve always been the type of person to always plan ahead, to always assess each defining factor, and to always prepare myself for whatever life throws at me. As I type this, I look back and evaluate as well as reflect upon the very occurrences that have led me to where I am today: my family-my parents in particular, as they never made it through to college-so this process is new to everyone within my household, my own failures and successes, my community, and my education have all been vast influences on my character, especially my growth as a young adult. Recently, I’ve been pondering as to what will define me as an individual; what will have the greatest impact on me that will distinguish me from others, and more importantly what will help me apprehend my own goals? Everyone can say that they’re lives being the way they were guided them to the path they ended up on, and I know that is true too, but I feel there’s something more prominent as to why a person chooses to pursue a particular goal, career, or other dealings. This realization arose from my participation in the Regional Program for Excellence, a program that provides students with internships in fields they’re inquiring in before entering college, and my inquisitions regarding the significance as well as the impact on my rapidly changing life.

During my senior year of high school, my father and I started to discuss my future plans and goals, and that’s when he changed my perception on the importance of education. He explained all the hardships he faced and shared with me stories of instances where he made avoidable mistakes due to his lack of higher education. Although he managed to turn his life around, he had no doubt that he would’ve been more successful if he was educated. My father inspired me to be the first in the family to complete a higher level education and take over the family business one day.

Twenty-four years ago, my dad boarded a one-way flight to the U.S. He was coming to a new country filled with vocational opportunities his homeland could not provide. He was not limited by his place of birth or the reality that no one else in his family had ever left their village. He trusted his gut and took a leap of faith. A year later he called for my mother and I to join him in the U.S. and we left our life in Kenya and my future was ultimately changed. Throughout my life, I have been keenly aware that had my father limited himself to only opportunities that he could see, I would have never even been able to consider opportunities such as the UNC Medical Center Administrative Fellowship.

My explanation somehow did not work well. I started struggling between my career and my father’s “career”. Before it was too late to decide my major, I gave a chance for myself and picked something related to my future career.

Without the support of my father and the drastic change in my life, I understood that the only way to improve my quality of life was to study and find the passion to which I was going to dedicate the rest of my life. After careful thought, I decided to move to the United States. Leaving my family, I came to this country in search of knowledge, contacts and “greater opportunities”. During these years, I have been confronted with many obstacles, but I have been able to resolve them thanks in part to my dedication. When it comes to achieving my goals, I find it in myself to push myself until that goal it met. I consider that there is no lack of opportunities for someone that believes in their capabilities and is aware that nothing comes without sacrifice, meaning that hard work and dedication are required in order to achieve goals.

Every journey begins with one small step. I took that step, esoterically, at the age of five, after the life altering experiences of past life flashbacks and the realization that the earthly plane was a launching pad to higher planes. I never felt the need to articulate my newfound awareness of a reality so profoundly different from that of the norm, that I acknowledged it secretly as a divine gift, I would one-day share with others.