Personal Narrative: I Want To Get The Most Out Of College

Ever since you were little, your parents have been talking about this wonderful thing called college. They told you that you have to go there to get an education before you can get a good job. Many kids have dreamed of going to college, and being able to get the job of their dreams. By putting in hard work and dedication to good grades in high school, you had high hopes that you would be able to get into an Ivy League school. The American dream of being able to go to college to get a degree is sliding away from many people due to rising costs. With increasing tuition prices and job loss, the college dream is slowly and surely slipping away from many students and their families.

A higher education has been an important priority in my life. While I realized a high school education was important, my parents expected more. They said if I wanted to succeed in life, a college education was something that I could not live without. What they don’t tell you is how exhausting and confusing the process is to get even into.

Everyone has a different story and background, but we all hold similar aspirations for the future. We can either let our background draw us into an inescapable black hole or use it to thrive over any obstacle. For many minority students as myself, the shot at college is the only chance we truly get to overcome our situations. It’s true that not everyone needs a college education to succeed, but the truth is not everyone has the resources to make something of themselves without the valuable education which a renowned institution like the University of Illinois has to offer. I come from a low-income family which had their share of struggles from an early age, which impacted our lives greatly. My decision on what major I possibly might be interested in pursuing might not have been directly linked with my family history, but the overall aspiration of attending college has. At the age of eight I faced the sad reality that I would be left without a father figure. My dad would be incarcerated for the next seven years for dealing drugs and at the end of his sentence he would be deported back to Mexico. This incident left a heartbroken family and a mother to fend for four kids all by herself. This overall incident was a wake-up call to better myself and not let myself be defined by the mistakes, which my father committed. I saw the struggles, which my mother had to endure.My mother is one of the most

For many, after graduating high school the next big step is college. I never asked myself why or if I even wanted to. Yet, since I was not yet ready to join the work force, and didn’t want to disappoint my parents, I simply followed the path that I was supposed to take. For a while I had no direction, but through the loss of my high school English teacher and my dream of making my family proud, I discovered that college was the place I wanted and needed to be.

I am a first-generation college student. My parents never got passed high school. They were both faced with hardship and had no choice but to get a job to deal with the responsibilities of home. My dad left India at the age of 16 to build a better life for himself and my mom in America. In my household, education has always been a priority. Since my parents have felt firsthand how life is like without a degree, they made it their mission to ingrain in us a value for education like no other. However, there have been many situations in which I have found myself lost and looking for answers about college. Sadly, by being a first-generation student, my parents could not help me. Not only could they not help me, but being the first to attend college

“Kids who are the first in their families to brave the world of higher education come on campus with little academic know-how and are much more likely than their peers to drop out before graduation” (1). Many people believe that school isn’t for everyone, and whoever goes is privileged for doing so. Countless people in the world today do not attend college, and this is mainly due to an influence of those in their family. Perhaps they are unsupportive of higher education, their parents and family members may view their entry into college as a break in the family system rather than a continuation of their schooling and higher learning. Most of the first-generation students decide to apply to colleges, because they aspire to jobs which require degrees. However, unlike some students whose parents have earned a degree, they often seek out college to bring honor to their families, and to ensure they make a decent amount of money for their future.

Choices people make while they are young can affect them for the rest of their lives. From a very young age, children are asked what they want to be when they grow up, and they are told they can be anything they want to be with hard work and dedication. Countless children say they want to be doctors and lawyers, but they are unaware of the financial burden they would take on to achieve these dreams. Going to college is not a simple as it may seem while guidance counselors promise it is the only way to be successful in life it only leaves students in debt and jobless. A college education is a key to unlocking the doors to these sought out professions but most of the time individuals can not afford the “key to success.” College is not for everyone

During my 8th grade year, my algebra 1 teacher asked me if I had thought about attending college. My answer at the time was very nonchalant: “I don't know, maybe.” But since then that question often crossed my mind, becoming “Why not attend college? What’s holding you back? Is it doubt about being capable enough?” Eventually, I told myself, “Yes, you can take on anything you set your mind to.” So I looked for the classes required for college and put all of my energy and resources toward academic achievement.

In my earlier high school years I did not plan to go to college. I wanted to join the workforce immediately. I felt like college was not going to benefit me in many ways, but after careful consideration I decided I would be missing out on excellent opportunities if I did not go. I want to attend college not only to obtain a career, but also for all of the opportunities college life will offer me. I am eager to be involved with the college community and to make friends with my peers. I plan to better myself by learning things I never knew or learned in highschool about who I am. I know I have a lot of potential to be someone valuable to the community. Whether it be to a business, the sciences, or medical fields, I know in order to become that

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

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.

After witnessing countless people not graduate from high school, I was convinced as a young woman that I would not attend college. I’ve watched my mother work day and night, and my father work three jobs. As a child of parents who lacked college education, I knew that was going to be me.

Throughout my life, I’ve moved approximately twelve times, been to seven different schools, and for most of my life, lived with a single parent. The usual story for many. There came a point though where I thought I knew for a fact I wouldn’t be able to go to college at all. That was the point where I devoted my time to my classes and extracurricular activities, such as being in the Peru Amateur Circus and Tiger Leadership.

As I continue my journey in my new chapter of life, I have set new goals and standards for college. My first goal is to achieve the standards for the Honor’s Program. To be in the Honor’s Program would be amazing; I am looking to achieve the challenges that the Honor’s Program have for me to face and I am looking at it for the benefits and having it on my diploma as an achievement I have completed. The second goal is to be the top student in my class with straight A’s, so I can be a Principle Scholar in college. The final goal for college is to have my graduation gown cover with cords with completion I have done in college. As I reach for the stars with my career I want to achieve everything possible. My ultimate goal is to be the director

“Are you ready for college”? What do you plan to do while you’re there? Make sure you join a lot of activities and get involved. “You have to come out of your shell if you want to meet people”. I have heard these statements and have been asked these questions multiple times since I decided to enroll at WSSU. Sitting in the backseat of the car, I was preparing to move in my dorm today. My legs are shaking, and my hands are slightly sweating. “Are you nervous”? , my mom asked from the front seat of the car. I shake my head back and forth. “No, I’m fine, completely fine”. She laughed obviously not believing me. Well, welcome to your new home for the several months she replied. The car pulls up to building that looks like it has been there before I was born.