Personal Narrative: My College Journey With Kidney Disease

My mother worked four jobs at once to make financial ends meet, while always stressing the importance of education and financial independence to my brother and myself. My grandmother only achieved a second grade education due to the financial constraints on her family at a young age, but still in the end managed to make certain that of her children and grandchildren had what was needed to flourish and become successful, educated members of the community. The tenacity and history of these two women I still carry with me today. Their struggles have inspired to me to only want more from life, but also serve as a positive role model for the younger members of my community. I observed from other family members how an education can open a multitude of doors and opportunities. I want to make the biggest and most significant on my community and on my family as possible, and the only foreseeable path is to achieve a college education to gain the necessary skills, knowledge and connections needed to flourish and implement positive

Education has always been highly valued by my family but opportunities for academic achievement were not always available to every member of my immediate family. My mother was the first one in her family to go to college and get advanced degrees. My father did not pursue anything further than high school. I keep these circumstances in mind as I further my learning and strive for a better education through hard work. In doing so, I can help pave paths for future generations of students in my family. Opportunities at NCSSM and other outside sources will push me even more to gain as much knowledge as possible; ultimately leading to a higher educational career. Additionally, I have completed a majority of my education with the aid of my mother

I am blessed to have a family that have supported me throughout my four years of undergraduate school.My strive to do well and graduate from college was very important to me. I have broken a cycle that we have had for many generations in the family; I became the first female in my entire family to graduate from college. Through my hard work, late nights and dedication I was on the honor roll, accepted in in Gamma Pi Mu and graduated with 3.2 GPA. I believe in giving back to my community. I am a certified dance instructor of 22 years and dedicate some of my talent teaching private lessons to unprivileged children.

My mom had finally reached college after many years of education. She was very excited to go to college and leave home. She soon found out that college was not going to be easy for her. When she was a freshman she had huge financial struggles. After getting student loans she paid for her books and tuition but could not pay for other things. She had to learn how to deal with humiliation after asking some friends if she could stay with them. Next, she had to take on many part-time jobs to get through college. Learning to multitask was another big part during this time. She had to make time for her studying, homework, and projects while still having to work after class. Lastly, after lots of determination, she made it through college. Even though she had to keep up with work and schoolwork, she finished with good grades and got her college degree. My mom now has a very successful job, and now that she can get through tough things with determination. Overall, my mom struggled but was able to pull herself together and finish

Maria yesterday, I met with Ms. Betty Blake, she has two letters from the Dialysis Center that she goes to. One of the letters is from the doctor and the other letter is from the Social Worker. Both letters are addressed to the Department of Homeless Services, requesting for the client to be transferred to a medical shelter. Client refuses for this worker to make a copy of both letters. The Social Worker letter stated that in the past the client was physically assaulted at this shelter and this shelter is not a good setting for the client.

Main point 1 For the past five or six years, a few members in my family have gones to either a community college or a university. I got inspired to go to college because my older sister dropped out of Cal State Bakersfield and witnessing the disappointment in my mom’s face was truly sad. Wishing to make her proud I knew attending college, graduating and pursuing a career would make her proud. a.     Sub-point A: As in Paulina Zendejas case, a public health student at CSULA expressed to me on September 1st that her financial situation encouraged her so she can provide others medical help for those who have low income. I grow up in a united family, as united as we are I would still receive negative comments.

Even though I gained admission to all the colleges I applied to after high school, my parents were not able to raise enough money to cover for my school expenses. I stayed home for some time trying to help my parents raise enough money for school. I’m the first generation student in my family and coming from a family living under low income and struggle to put food on the table, we knew the only way to come out of this situation is through college education and that is what I'm committed to do.

So far I have learned that college is like getting slapped in the face with a big fat “No.” I no longer have the flexibility to attend social events, study, and work in a timely fashion. Between juggling these aspects, my life has been extremely stressful. In an attempt to lower my stress, I kept a journal for the past two weeks; it consisted of my stressors, and how I coped with them. Throughout this journaling process, I have come to the realization that money and my mother are the most agitating stressors in my life. In an attempt to overcome my mother’s financial expectations and obtain financial stability, I have come to the realization that I cannot always impress my mother and should no longer stress myself out trying to do so. Instead of allowing money to be a distraction, I should focus on bettering myself academically, mentally and spiritually.

With all this being said, I’ve always strived to better myself. The best way to accomplish this is to receive a college education. Sadly, college is a big expense for my family, especially due to recent events within the family. Last year for nearly nine months my father was without work because of an injury to his back. This made it hard for us to accomodate so quickly to less income coming in. Now that he is back to work is has been easier but still the hardships aren’t gone. My grandmother has just undergone surgery for her eyes which rendered her blind and is now living with us as she needs close supervision. If awarded any scholarships, it can ease up some of the worries and lighten the

I have committed myself to pursuing my undergraduate degree because I am completely aware of the importance of education. I am also a proud first generation college student determined to succeed, undeterred by my circumstances as an adolescent. I didn’t have a typical childhood. My mother was an alcoholic who also struggled severely with drug addiction. Unfortunately, her dependence led her into a cycle of domestic violence, jail, and many failed treatment attempts. Her choices preceded her absence for the majority of my life. From my knowledge, she didn’t even attain a high school diploma. My father was always present in my life. He raised my brother and me without the help of a significant other. He always emphasized education so he put me through private schooling.

Being the first born to a teenage mother, the chances of me getting to where I am now were uncertain. However, our family received government assistance, which allowed my mother the opportunity to pursue a college career, a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work. This enabled her to not only provide us with the necessities, but instilled in myself the importance of furthering my education and being a productive member of society. I have some very good personal traits that make me different than everyone else. I was raised with high values and good morals.

My family and I resettled in the U.S when I was 16. Although the migration to U.S ended my childhood memories, it was an opportunity for me to shine and develop the potentials, credibility and expertise to succeed in life. My past life has always been an inspiration to me to excel in any discipline so that, I can surpass the generational dogma and extreme vulnerability my family has experienced back in Vietnam. I am among the first generation in my family to attend university. As a student from an immigrant family with limited education and awareness, things were extremely hard for me at the beginning however, as time passed by, everything started to fall into place and I am enjoying my junior year at college pleasantly so to speak.

It is nearly not enough to pay tuition, but nonetheless I continue to make the effort everyday to save as much money as possible. My situation at home is not much better. My grandfather was recently diagnosed with lung cancer, and our family has been working tirelessly to see to his every need. We are constantly needed to be at the emergency room to take care of him, and oftentimes find time out of our day to be with him. Throughout his treatment, side effects have been forthcoming, but have caused him to face enormous amounts of grief and distress. Despite his emotional state and arduous dependency, we continue to remain by his side. Even while striving to keep my grades up for most of Spring 2018, I tried to be their for my grandfather for as much as I

Neither of my parents went to college, my father works multiple jobs, and my mother suffers from MS, a degenerative neurological disease. Attending school at a university would have been impossible if it hadn’t been for one of my favorite high school teachers, who helped my raise my ACT score and taught me how to find and apply for scholarships. To quote the hit musical (and one of my personal favorites) Hamilton, I wrote my way out. I wrote over 30 scholarship essays and managed to earn enough money to finally get out of the tiny town I had grown up in. Because I have been afforded this wonderful college experience by people who believe in me and trust in my abilities to do well in school, I passionately squeeze every drop of experience out of each moment I spend here at K-State, whether that means staying up all night to study for an exam or eating four blueberry opal donuts at

While I have been raised in an environment where all the resources I needed to attend college were available to me, I believe my greatest accomplishment is being accepted into a California University and doing well. After graduating high school, my parents informed me that they would not be able to afford a four year university, and that I would have to attend Junior College first. I was completely devastated. All of my peers were attending four year colleges right out of high school, and I was left behind. I developed an extreme depression that I didn't think I would be able to escape from. I realized though, that if I worked hard enough and did well, I would be attending a University in no time. I pushed through my depression, worked hard