Personal Narrative: College

Since the start of the semster I have learned many different things about myself and how I can become a better student all around. Summer classes can fly by fast and doesn’t feel like a real semester. That it is just to get credit and move on to the next semester. That was not the case for me this summer semester because I needed to think about the rest of my college career. This summer semester is my first one coming back from academic suspension and I took last semester at South Plains College and Tarrant County College. I did really well making a 3.00 GPA overall and am most likely going to make a 3.5 this semester. This will be a huge boost to my overall GPA. The point is am at the point where I am ready to graduate and will try my hardest to get the best grades I can. I really just changed my mindset towards college and the way I prepare for tests and studying.

I have defiantly not had a normal or a comfortable life. I have lived in RVs and cars on the streets of NE Portland, been homeless twice and I have left the country on multiple occasions cause of my family financial situation. As recent as two years ago I was in Central America and Southern Mexico looking for a safe and decent place to survive in. I missed a year of school. Currently, I live in a leaky, moldy, single-wide trailer home in Rockwood Neighborhood in Gresham. My parents are divorced; my dad, who I live with, is unemployed, has health issues, and has no formal education. So I provide for him and myself.

Coming to college is hard. You have to keep your grades up through 13 years of public education. You also should obtain a car to get from point A to point B. This also requires having a job to keep the car fueled and money in your pocket to live off of. Motivation is also a tricky thing to pin down. It seems to appear when you don’t need it, and then just vanish when you need it the most. And organizational skills, what are those? These are some of the challenges I faced when deciding to go to college.

It happened all through-out college. I had always heard stories about body-shaming with overweight individuals, but I never thought that it would happen to myself or the millions of other young women on college campuses.

Going into college, I knew that there will be an abundance of life lessons learned, but I did not ken that I would be able to absorb so much in such a short duration. This past year in college, I gained vital skills and grew stronger mentally. College is a place where everyone learns from their failures and successes, and with that, there are numerous things to learn from that. My experiences in college edified me how to work with others, communicate with professionals efficaciously, and make perdurable relationships. In addition, being away from home and living in an unfamiliar environment without my family availed me to become independent. Surviving on my own, I learned to make my bed, cook, do laundry, clean up after myself, and more. College taught me skills beyond the classroom, and it withal a leeway to becoming independent away

The droplets of rain emerge from the towering clouds as I step onto the vibrant green grass for the first time. I lock eyes with the monstrous building and tilt my head back until I have reached the roof. There I was. A stick-like, puny, first year college student looking at my home for the next four years. Yet I can't manage to take a second step. I stand there, staring at the giant brick block and lift my classic yellow rain jacket hood up over my impressively soft chocolate hair, protecting it from the harm of the rain. Four years of Ireland weather lays ahead of me. Four years of bunk beds in dorms. Four years of competing for the number one student. For years of awkward parties and tests. Four years until I'm out.

Transitioning into college can be a difficult time for many people. Because of the fact that college is so distinctly dissimilar to high school, students may not cope well with changing lifestyles. For me personally, though, I look forward to the conversion from high school into college. I am always open to different opportunities with respect to advancing my education into secondary education. So changing the way of operating for me should not be all too hard for me because of how well I have done so in the past.

Working your way through college can be a daunting journey to say the least. There have been a myriad of challenges to overcome, both foreseen and unexpected. A year and half ago I decided to follow my dream of moving to California and obtaining a degree in engineering from the University of California, Berkeley. The decision to follow my passion for science invoked both fear and excitement within myself. I didn’t have the support of many friends and family, as I am originally from the East Coast, many of them seen my moving to California as an unrealistic and unnecessary goal. Despite my own self-doubts and the discouragement of my family I made the decision to relocate to California. That decision manifested the most significant chapter in my life to date. In an extremely short period of time I had to find an apartment, in the Bay Area, one of the most competitive and costly rental markets in the country as well as enroll in school, apply for aid and secure stable

I have trained myself to prepare for this exact moment in time. Every mile that I have continuously pushed myself through, every steep incline as my thighs and calves have trembled that I have climbed, every sharp twist of pain that curved up my entire being that I have conquered, they have all made me into the person I am as I stand behind our first line of top runners. A nervous adrenaline is spiking my pulse as we wait in formation—staggered with a person to fill every space—and the raucous cheering from almost every single person lining the Southside course is causing a puddle of anticipated excitement to drip down my spine. I have come so far from

The advice that changed my life was from my boss. I had been out of high school a couple of years, and, at the time, was working full time at a store in the mall. College had always been on the horizon for me, just barely out of reach. However, when I start to think back, I see what little effort I put in to try to reach college. Every time someone asked if I planned on going, I would say yes, I just needed to save up the money, brush up on a few subjects, and get my life in order. In truth though, I was just scared of going back to school. I had not done well in high school and had in fact dropped out. So, even if I had wanted to go to school I would need to take the GED test, and that was something I was not prepared to do. So month after

WEll, I guess this is the beginning; the beginning of a new journey, a new life, a new me--hopefully.

A family sitting around a dinner table, refugees being placed into healthy environments, a house full of family and friends, these are all images I conjure up when pondering my future. I wish to begin my journey to obtaining this fantasy by pursuing college. College represents an extremely important piece to my future and to get there, I must work extra hard. I see myself attending a University to attain a masters degree in global studies. To be able to get to that point I must reach out and ask for help, the reason for applying for scholarships. After college I would like to locate a job somewhere in the south, such as Tennessee. Once I've had a few years of settling into my career, I enjoy the idea of starting a family. Yes, this does involve

Since I was so young I was worried that I wasn’t ready to take on such a big challenge, but graduating early was the better of the two choices I have ever made. I had to decide on this my sophomore year, which at age fifteen wasn’t an ideal choice to make at the time. There were many considerations I had to contemplate about: my high school career in basketball, college, and leaving my friends.

My college goals are to major in history and/or archaeology; minor in a foreign language, and right now I am leaning towards Japanese; and getting certified in the classics or medieval studies. I also plan to participate in choir, volunteer work, study abroad, internship opportunities, and work study. After I graduate, I plan to get a job at either a museum or a company in order to gain experience. Then, I want to have enough qualities to go on archaeological expeditions around the world.

I have recently started my first college class. While, yes, I am only a freshman I have found it to be very helpful and educational. A friend of mine introduced it to me and my school counselor pushed me to do it. The class is called Intro to College and Careers. It’s exactly as it sounds. We’ve been learning about college life, what that entails and how to manage a job and money. But it’s just as fun as it is hard. Although it probably isn’t as hard as I think it is. It’s just different. I’m not that big on writing, which I think comes from my short attention span. I’m able to listen to the professor then all of the sudden am thinking about the birds and their migratory patterns.