Personal Narrative: I Was College My Time

Growing up as a first-generation college-bound Hispanic woman has proven to be a difficult journey. Both of my parents left their home countries at a young age and came to this country without any ideas or real opportunities on where to begin. At a young age, I have been taught that having a higher education is the key to having a successful and plentiful life. However, the journey towards achieving my dream of receiving a higher education has been filled with moments where I have challenged the stereotypes about getting pregnant and dropping out of high school, facing my grandma’s unexpected illness that affected me both academically and mentally, and the challenge of being a first generation college bound student in my family.

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.

I am an out of state student, who is paying for college with help from my parents. Due to my current living situation, any college that has a Pharmacy program is expensive, because none of the state universities in Massachusetts offers one. I absolutely love what I do, and I simply wish it was not as much of a financial burden as it is.

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.

Once I leave to college to start my future I hope that I won't leave my father with the constant fear of worrying about the financial troubles that lie ahead of him. I want him to be able to relax and know that his daughter is well taken care of. This scholarship will help me accomplish my goals and watch out for my family.

As each day comes closer to the start of college, the question becomes how will I survive the 4 years of college? How will I avoid being part of those who drop out? How will I pay my gap? How will I pay my college books, fees, etc.

I am attending college, so that I will be able to learn more about my major and also to explore my options. While in high school, I had many reasons and people that motivated me to enroll into college, including my mom, my guidance counselors, and research on what I want to be later on in life. Although I was already going to apply for college, I heard a lot of good things about it from a few of my friends, on how college really makes you a stronger and more independent person. In the past few years, I’ve met quite a few people who have graduated high school and decided not to attend any college, and sooner or later I hear about how upset they are that they did not attend and how they have no idea what to do with their life. I did not want

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.

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

When I tell people that I grew up in a small college town, they automatically assume that my entire time was spent bored out of my mind. This could not be further from the truth; there's far more to Muncie than frat houses and college football. I spent much of my childhood lost inside the stacks of the public libraries, helping out the librarians, or serving on the teen advisory board. Some of my favorite memories have been at the college; Often, Ball State invites people of influence to speak, from politicians to Holocaust survivors. Although these speakers are invited for the benefit of the college students, many of these events are open to the general public as well. The local children's museum has hundreds of exhibits on everything from

Upon entering college, I thought that you had to have a majority of your life planned out. You had to have a career of interest, an intended major, and a solid plan for after college. Little did I know, you didn’t need your whole life agenda prearranged after high school graduation. A lot of people say that college is a time to explore and find yourself, and that was something I never fully grasped until I was enrolled at Western Washington University. Throughout my first year and a quarter, I’ve had the ability to take classes in many different fields of study ranging from; humanities, lab sciences, multicultural studies, and many more. Even though these array of different classes were taken for General University Requirements, it allowed

College is a big step in one's life, you are no longer bound to the regimented days of high school where a simple sound dictates when it's time to leave and arrive in class, when it's time to eat, and when it's time to go home. The high school bell holds a God like control over each student's life while they are in school, disregard the bell and one finds themselves in detention sitting in silence regretting not doing what the bell signaled them to do. College on the other hand is a completely different story, the only bell you have to follow is the one you ring for yourself. Each college student is responsible for getting themselves to class and staying the duration, there's no detention for cutting class. The downside is that you would be

I was one of the best even though I was a little younger than the top boxers in the gym. I would always play football every sunday with my friends. I worked out everyday except for saturday and sunday. I was really fit compared to everyone of my friends. But all that didn’t last long, It all started with a football game that I ended up injuring my shoulder bad enough to not being able to move my arm for a whole week. Three weeks later I had a boxing match with a friend and I ended up dislocating my shoulder when I landed a heavy punch, I would of knocked him out but my shoulder had not healed yet.

My time in High School was made difficult from the constant strife and conflict between my parents. This made my home an unstable environment not fitted for learning or growing as an individual. As I got older and closer to graduating High-School, I began to find my own voice with the help of my mentor Rahn Fleming, which occurred at the end of my junior year. As a result, I came in control of my life and the constant feuding started to die down. No longer did I have to worry about the next scheduled court date, or the next time I would come home wondering what may await. I felt like I was always walking on broken glass for the longest of time throughout my life, until I began to voice myself and what I wanted. My parents came to realize this

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,