Personal Narrative: How I Changed My View Of College

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.

Before AVID, the thought of college was more like a dream even though from a young age, I always knew college was my objective. Being in AVID made college more of a reality for me. AVID has helped me by educating me on what colleges are most suitable for me, giving me a sense of community, and teaching me organizational skills that will help me in the future.

After recently graduating from Fullerton College with two associate degrees in psychology, I could have not accomplished this goal all by myself without the proper guidance that I received from EOPS and FYSI at the time. These programs were established to support former foster youth at Fullerton College in their education as long as they met all the conditions for each semester. As a result, this was valuable for me during my time as a community college student, allowing me to guarantee that I would finish all my requirements on time to transfer to a good university, and becoming more involved with the campus each semester. That being said, this is one of the main reasons as to why I am applying to your program, so I could receive the support

My community college experience has been rigorous but highly rewarding. As an international student, it was like stepping from a hill to a mountain looking out at the horizon. The sheer breadth and depth of the world are mesmerizing. I have entered into a leadership role like Phi Theta Kappa and Student Government Association (SGA), that has helped me grow as a person.

I chose to come to community college because I felt it would better benefit me. Most four year universities have difficult obstacles to overcome. Distractions like parties, and other social things can be hard to ignore. For better focus and judgment I chose to come to Faulkner state. Also, I heard good things about the college on how they didn’t tolerate parties and the use of alcohol or drugs and the instructors have good relationships with their students, and to this day I find that very true. Another thing is when I was in the industrial contracting industry I knew going back to school was going to make me happy and make me feel like I had a purpose for my calling in the medical field of radiology. I knew I would feel fulfilled and it would

Upon arriving to school one morning, I noticed two students engaged in a heated argument and heard one yell at the other to tell his "alien friends and family" to stop occupying the spaces in the school’s parking garage.

When I was a junior in high school I wanted to go to a four year college, however I changed my mind and I decided to go to a community college because of reasons. The first was when I came from Ethiopia I felt like I got a second chance on my life. I wasn’t a bad student back there but I wasn’t a very successful student either. I was always in the middle. Because I got second chance I wanted to use it very well. I want to do big things in my life.

My life has been like a dark maze. I have absolutely no idea what's around the next corner. Each path I've taken has lead me to one of two things. Something fantastic that I'll enjoy and remember or something I wished never happened that I can forget. That's why I'm scared to take the next step because I don't know what will happen to me. However a few years ago I learned to give to give each step a chance, no matter how far back that step will take me. Being a senior this year a cartoon word has been shoved in my face a hundred times a week. That word is college. Just getting into college is a challenge. Thinking about all my test scores, GPA, applications is enough to give me a migraine. If just getting into a good college is this hard, I

Spring 2016 was a semester I thought I would give my all to since it was just one step away before I graduate. I did not realize the overwhelming stress it would have over me struggling to keep my GPA. When I spoke with my advisor for Spring advisement I wanted to transfer to a 4 year college since my GPA was high enough at that point but my advisor informed me I am close to graduating and the better choice would be to finish and graduate with my Associates Degree. I took the advice and enrolled in two science classes, on music class, and one statistics class. Taking two science classes was not the best idea especially being so close to the finish line of graduating. I took a Bio 210 class and Chem 121, I am not a science major and I have decided

When I started Rutgers in the fall of 2014, I was very nervous because I did not know many people and I heard several rumors about how college is much more challenging than high school could ever be. My performance is high school was satisfactory, but not as good as I wanted it to be, which made me even more nervous about college. But the English courses at Rutgers really changed my perspective on myself. I remember myself sitting in class and I wondered what makes this class so different from high school English courses. Then, my teacher walks and greets us. She starts off the class by introducing us to a new text called the “On Habit” by Alain De Botton. “On Habit” is about how the little things in life can bring happiness into a person’s

Most employers will not want to hire “college kids” fresh from college. It is all about experience: how much experience one has or how little experience one has. Most employers are looking for someone who already knows what they are doing, not someone who has to be taught everything. Now, there are few employers who prefer people without experience because they can be molded. Those kind of employers do not want someone with experience because they do things differently. For example, I work at Subway. My boss would rather hire new people because he can shape them into what he wants. We have had two people who worked at previous Subways, and it is harder to train them in what he likes versus what they were taught. It confuses

The college process is extremely stressful and pressurizing. There barely even was an option to not go to college. Almost all the adults spent our senior year trying to convince the seniors that college is the biggest decision of your life. If you don’t go now, you will become a failure and have no job, and no future. They would then proceed to tell us that we should lean on God’s voice to guide us, but not His actual voice because then that wouldn’t be God. That there is no right way to hear from God, but plenty of wrong ways. This left my senior church group feeling overwhelmed and confused.

When I started college, I learned I have to do everything on my own. I had no idea what all I needed to do before the first semester began. I first learned that my mom couldn’t keep doing everything for me. It was my job to find out everything I needed. It was a tough adjustment from what I was used to but I was excited to get started.

College was something I never thought was for me. I always thought that since my parents and brother did not attend I would not either. I hated high school more than anything; but while I was there I learned I love writing and learn about photography. I used to sit in a back hallway away from where most of the students went just to write about anything and everything I could think of until the bell rang. When I moved to Massachusetts I wanted to apply for college. I decided that even though high school was difficult I wanted to learn more. Massasoit professors as well as the students then showed me that I have talent and can make something of myself if I tried hard enough. Thanks to them and the amazing students there, I now have my associates

College is not as big a change as I thought it was going to be. These first weeks are not even that different from high school. I go to school, home, and my boyfriend's. It is just another routine. All I really do is walk around campus with my headphones in and ignore everyone. My only friends really are my roommates. We all have to much life going on to really do many things together. Most of us are not even home most of the time.