Personal Narrative: Coming Into University

Returning to college, after graduating high school twenty-five years earlier, proved to be not only rewarding quite challenging as well. Viewing myself as a self-starter with extensive investigative skills I truly believed college path mapped out correctly, so I never met with an advisor, what a colossal mistake! I had self-scheduled all my courses and although I faced a few obstacles I was finally at the end. After completion of all my pre-requisites I applied to the LPN-RN Fast Track Program, little did I know my past would stop me dead in my tracks.

Coming to school every day as a tenth grader was exciting, but it can get very annoying at times. I had to overcome many challenges to make it this far. Generally, freshman year was a year of change. One of the greatest things I learned as I reached sophomore year, was not to procrastinate.

When I began college, I had no direction. I started my college career enrolling as "undecided," taking liberal arts courses to fulfill base requirements while considering a number of majors. Writing has always been a strength, science an interest, and other subject success varied with my personal interest in the content. I truly believe that my limitations in those early days were functions of my own interest and self-discipline, and my A or F transcript is good evidence of this.

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.

Returning to college has been a prodigious challenge. One in which I determined I would meet head on with resolution. As a fine arts student I was fortunate to find a mentor in the Paradise Valley Community College Theater Director, Andrea Robertson. Andrea perceived potential in me and encouraged pursuit my goals as a writer/director. I took the initiative to approach Andrea with the idea to write and direct my own play in the Advanced Directing course. This past fall that idea came into fruition. As a director I oversaw numerous different areas in the production of my play. These were roles filled by fellow students, allowing the opportunity to provide guidance and leadership to peers. I worked with actors, stage management, set design, prop

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.

Throughout high school, getting involved was easy. Joining clubs and running for leadership positions was not intimidating, because I was comfortable with my surroundings. Playing in and attending varsity athletic events make up some of my fondest memories. Beyond extracurriculars, I was able to navigate high school with the same close group of friends. No matter what the occasion, there were always familiar faces surrounding me.

I believe I could really be a good asset to your school. I can really be a good student if I really tried. Since my career really depends on college, I will try my absolute best to be the best I really can be. Getting into to College is a really big dream, and if I don’t do well in college, there goes my career choice. So choosing, me is a good idea.

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.

When I was at Tad Gormley watching the Blue Jays and realized I couldn’t stand, I learned not everything goes as planned. My parents were helping my sister move into college, so I was attending the Jesuit football game with a babysitter. During the celebration following a score, I knocked my water bottle onto the track; so, in order to retrieve it, I decided to jump over the fence that separates the field and the stands. It didn’t seem like a monumental task as I had jumped over that same four-foot fence multiple times that game alone. Unfortunately, I was standing at a poorly patched area in the fence and as I jumped my foot barely caught the edge of it. Consequently, I fell awkwardly, but I rotated my body to avoid hitting my head and ended

Ever since I could remember, science was the subject I enjoyed most in school. When I got into high school and people started asking, “what do you want to do when you get to college?” I never had an answer. Up until the beginning of my junior year, I always planned on studying biology and figuring out what I liked later on. College always scared me because in my group of friends I was the only one who did not have a plan after high school. I always felt like a deer in the headlights, not knowing where I am headed, until now.

Legacy has provided a wonderful foundation for me as a first time college student. To start, Legacy has created a cohort in its own to provide support for me and many other first time and returning college students. Before entering into college I did not have a lot of different responsibilities to take care of. My main focus was to go to high school, got to work, and go home. Starting college and especially the Legacy program has taught me more responsibility. I have been taught how to manage my time. Although, it is still a work in progress, I still have learned how to go to work, go to school, study, and take care of my responsibilities at home as well. Taking English 60/100/117 and Ethnic Studies 129 has help me everywhere from studying

The first week of graduate school has now come to an end and reflecting back on this week makes me both excited and nervous. Looking back to the summer and my prediction of what graduate school and what I actually have experienced are very different. Everything from starting my assistantship at the College of Dentistry, being a house director for PIKE and classes just seems to evoke my passions for student affairs and student at the university.

I was very nervous in the beginning but I tried to hide that from my client so she would feel more comfortable. I mainly listened in the beginning and started offering more answers as time went by. It felt more like a conversation then an official interview. It helped that we were in a familiar area and had an easier time talking to each other even in front of a camera. I did have a problem with my camera and had to stop halfway through to get a new one. We would have started the interview over but we had a limited time frame to work with because she had to leave soon.

Obtaining my bachelor’s degree in Business Administration has been a vision of mine since I began my journey years ago; however, as life continued to get in the way, the dream I had seem to diminish. When I made the verdict to go to college I was straight out of high school and wasn’t equipped for it. Nonetheless, I was able to keep afloat I believe that you must condition yourself for the transition to college. Being a single mother I was in a continuous state of “mom mode” if you will and let my schooling be seated on the back burner for a while. Later on, I thought, enough was enough and went back only to have to leave once again to find a full-time job supporting a family of 4 when my father passed away from cancer. It was misfortunate,