Personal Narrative: A Career In College

It all started from the end of my middle school to the beginning of high school. There I was, being a rebellious child. I would always come to school late which later then turned into a bad habit of mine. It progressed from being late to school to just not going to school at all. During those years where I was not taking my education serious and just acting out, I was struggling with how I was setting priorities for myself.

When I started Chaffey College I did not had a college major in mind. My educational plan was set up to take general education for the first two semesters. It took me a month to realize I wanted to be a Dental Assistant. There was a waiting list for the program, but, fortunately I could obtain all the documents need it to be qualified. Now, my education plan is set up to graduate from Chaffey College by 2018. I will end up with an Associate Degree as a Register Dental Assistant. My education plan was set up to graduate in less than 3 years with the best experience and knowledge I could get. Being in college had made me increase my education goal, not only will I get a career in the Dental field but I will continue to become a mathematics teacher

Science can be complicated, but it is one of the subjects that explains what goes on in our world. Throughout high school, science courses were always my favorite. I decided that my major of choice for college would be biology: the study of living organisms. Grogan College’s curricular focus “is the development of the professional self in the areas of health, medicine, nursing, education, criminal law, business, and the performing arts”. Looking at that statement made me realize that this residential college is my best fit. The words that captured my attention are health, medicine, and performing arts. As a color guard performer and biology major, it is important that I continue performing as an outlet, as well as increase my research skills.

I attended three different high schools as a teenager. I was a member of the JROTC program for four years. As devoted as I was I was on the unarmed drill team for two years at Roosevelt high school called the “ Riderettes “. My junior year of high school we actually made first place out of seventy schools in Kentucky, Louisville. Which means we qualified for Championship Daytona, Fl Nationals. It was a lifetime experience for me as a teenager. Who knew I would be going to Kentucky or Daytona for free with a team I can actually call my sisters. One of the most things I loved about my trip was the beach early in the morning with the sunrise out and all you could see was the beautiful blue waves washing over the shore.

It was January 2013. I suppose I had known this would come. After Dad had started coming home later each night, more exhausted and drained than usual, I began to realize that our current residence might not be as permanent as I had wanted. We had relocated here, to the outskirts of Humboldt, Tennessee, four and a half short years before, to have enough acreage for our horse Clyde to stay at home. Our previous location in the city had not allowed for that, and stable boarding expenses were piling up. In the country, we could go riding any time we wanted, without having to make a long drive to the stables. We began to like this, and fell into a routine. Dad had now had his job for eight years, and I expected everything to stay the same as it had been. I was in for a surprise.

Undoubtedly, I was in the quarterlife crisis 3 years ago before entering college because in this time I only was worried about stupid things and I didn’t be conscious of other important things for example my degree.

“Okay then…” trailed the entrepreneur, “As moving and depressing as your story was Zach, I think I’ll finish this out with an inspiring and riveting story about perseverance, opportunity, and taking big risks in exchange for fantastic rewards.

As a senior in high school there was many things I was excited about the top choices were graduating, and starting college. Fast forward past my graduation and to the first day of college I soon began to realize I made a mistake, I let others talk me into joining a school that was never for me. A school I just didn’t fit in or feel comfortable attending, I pushed through the classes often times feeling depressed, and on the verge of a break down, but I did not want to give up. I wanted to succeed, and the only way I could do that was by getting a degree, as time continued on I became more depressed making it feel impossible to get out of bed. The thought of waking up early leaving bed to catch a city bus to a school where I did not feel welcome became so overwhelming, but I still forced myself to get up and tried.

When you’re a teenager, you start to go through a lot of changes in your life. You need others support and help to get around these toilsome times. For me freshmen year of high school was distraught. With both parents always working and my older sister away at college, I had no one to look up to or to ask for help when I needed it. It was difficult figuring out the transition from middle school to high school. Not knowing what to expect or what I needed for college, I settled for B’s in my classes. It wasn't until the summer going into sophomore year that I realized I needed to buckle down on my grades. Knowing that my parents did not have four-year degrees and worked multiple jobs to support our family, I came to the realization that I didn’t

My college and or career goals are a priority to my future. I have a plan that may not be easy but I am ready for the challenge. In June 2017 I will be graduating high school. The next step I will be taking is to apply for college. My goal is to be a Registered (Pediatric) nurse. I will be the first in my family to attend college. Based off of my personal life experiences helping others brings me joy. Receiving the help of a scholarship for pre-calculus would be the start of a successful future. My life growing up wasn’t the best but I have a strong motivation to succeed. I want to create the life I wasn’t given growing up. School is a priority to me. I want to show the people around me I can do anything I set my mind to no matter what

The number of college students has been trending upwards in the past decade. However, despite the increase in access to college education, different researchers show that the American college students may not be learning as expected (Stoesz, 2013). Learning experience varies among college students. It is not surprising that people with same academic credentials – the same list of course with same grades- have a different learning experience. This essay will explore my experience in college, mainly, what I learned in college.

As with most college students, the first semester was a memorable and formative time for me. Not only do we have to adjust to a new format of learning, we also must adjust to being away from our families for the first time, adjust to a new culture different from our high schools, make new friends, along with the other stressors that come from life. However, we come out better on the other end. The greatest thing about college is that your limits are pushed, you’re exposed to new ideas and subjects, you gain skills, and you are constantly growing. Although it was hard, I feel prepared and excited for the rest of my college experience.

In the third grade, I already had my life planned out; I just knew that I was going to be a movie star when I grew up. By the time I entered high school, this fantasy had long since been forgotten and reality stood in its’ place. I was clueless. I had no idea what I wanted to be when I grew up, much less when I graduated from high school. So I did what every recent grad is expected to do, I enrolled in college. My college career began the fall semester immediately following graduation at Trident Technical College in North Charleston, SC; major

In the beginning of my college academic career I thought I had it figured out. Like most naive young adults, I soon came to the realize that I didn’t. My first year of college I decided to go away to upstate New York and study at a vocational school to be veterinary technician. I had always loved animals, and I thought that this was the career for me. I slowly came to realize that it wasn't. For some reason the career was not fulfilling, and I quickly lost interest. I struggled a lot balancing a rigorous course load my first year of college, and on top of that I was far away from any support from my family. After my first year had ended, I felt lost and had no idea what to do next. I knew that I wanted to study something in the health or sciences,

This quarter will be my first at UCLA, as well as my first at college in general. There are so many things that people have told me I will acquire during this experience, such as independence, social skills, and time management, in addition to the material I will learn in my courses. However, the main goal that I want to pursue this quarter that I believe I will be able to work on during this class is the ability to be confident in what I have to say. I want to be able to project confidence when I speak in situations where that is necessary, such as in class discussions. I think that the open, judgement-free environment of this class will make it easier for me to contribute to discussions confidently.