Personal Narrative: My Decision To Return To School

Over the past six years, I have made some decisions in my life; as to why I believe now is the right time to attend college and finish with a degree.

Returning back to school was a very natural decision for me. It seemed to be the next logical step in my personal and career goals. My ultimate goal is to be happy and healthy and be a good provider and role model. With that set aside for now, my next goal is to be financially stable and able to provide for my family in ways that my family was not able to provide for me. I definitely expect to work for what I want and earn every bit of it. The most recent motivator was that my company was willing to contribute a huge chunk of the yearly tuition, therefore removing some financial burden. This makes me feel like they truly care about my future and they really want to see me succeed.

The reason I have decided to return to school and continue my education is to show myself, family, and friends that I want to better myself personally and professionally, by setting goals through your life. It helps keep you mentally and physically sharp because you are always setting and obtaining goals. I want to show my collage aged daughter that regardless of your age you can set and obtain goals while working a full time jab and maintaining a house hold.

I discovered that the job I had was not going to cooperate with school and my grades suffered. I became determined not to become one of the people that tried and failed at school. So I set a career path that will allow me time for work and school and have been promoted to a job that will allow me to achieve my educational goals. I plan on using my free time at work to study during the slow times, which I chose to work nights and sacrifice time with my family to allow me the ability to enjoy more study time at work.

I graduated high school at age sixteen; looking back, I didn’t think I had too many options when it came to continuing my education. I grew up as the youngest of eight children in a single parent family unit, who would experience financial hardship and make ends meet by receiving a lot of hand me downs. Attending school every day was essential not because of education, but because it was a way for my siblings and me to be guaranteed to eat a healthy meal at least five days a week. My mother worked hard and long hours, which meant there was no time for learning or getting any help with school work. I was not a very good student and the majority of people, including my high school teachers did not anticipate me furthering my education as an adult. The premise would be that I get married and start a family and that’s exactly what I did.

When I was at the end of my high school year, I was anxious to await on my diploma. All I could think about was; I'm almost there, and then I will be off to college soon. I was wondering how I would be able to conquer my dreams, and become business woman or math teacher. I was told college was going to be tough, hard to handle, you would get no sleep, whatsoever, and eventually become so stressed. But that did not stop me, my guts just told me to keep pushing forward, and to finish what I had left to do, which was receiving my diploma. After doing so, I did not want to turn back, I wanted to keep going, to see where my life, my goals would take me and how far I will go. I am hoping that as I will be going to CSUN things will change for the

“Tomás, what school do you want to go to this fall" my mother Martha, said to me. This along with the many “Hey, where are you going this fall? Want to room together at Ole Miss?” forced me to think about my impending future after my high school experience. Being from Mississippi I was not an Aggie from birth, my mother attended the University of Texas makes hissing noises* and my father, Thomas Braly Jr., attended a little school on Mackinac Island that ceased to exist only 4 years after opening. So with little to no major direction or fixed plans for my future I went with what I know and love, the water. All of the schools I applied and got accepted to had a sailing team or had maritime related courses, but Texas A&M here at Galveston just seemed to work

My life began 14 years ago on September 22, 2000 at about 1:30 pm at Mesquite Medical Center. I weighed 6 pounds 3 ounces and was 19 inches long. I have a sister who is 6 years older than me and is currently attending Stephen F. Austin for her 3rd year. When I was born, I had little blue spots on my body, but the most noticeable one is on my finger, it has grown as I have gotten older. My dad also has these mysterious spots and has been to many dermatologists to try and figure out what they are but no doctor knows exactly what to call them.

When I was in middle school, all I could think about was college. I fantasized about going to my dream school, going away really far and being all on my own. At first I thought it would be terrifying, but after a while I soon began to think that it would be extraordinary, living a new life in a new city. My expectations about college would increase every time I thought about it. At the time, I recall that I wanted to attend New York University, to study child development so I can become a pre-school teacher. I enjoyed children very much and thought that, that would be my life after high school. But after a few years, my mindset about college altered. I no longer thought about going to NYU because I expected it to be a very challenging life

I hope all is going well! I remember you saying that it might be a possibility to bring me back as a coop next semester. Just wanted to let you know that I'd be happy to come back, if at all possible.

Returning to college was always a goal that has been thought about after receiving my associates degree in 2012. Earning this degree at the age of 46 years old in a traditional classroom setting after leaving high school 18 years prior was tough. Like most people the challenge was in getting started down the path once again. There were always a plethora of reasons and excuses why it wasn’t the right time; work, family, the dogs had to go outside.

One early, April morning, people came for me in the dead of night to take me to school. The tinkling sounds of their key inside the lock to the door of my bedroom woke me from a sound sleep. They fumbled with it, betraying their unfamiliarity with the lock, while I rolled over in my bed and half dreamt of reminding my mom that the handle had to be held slightly upwards. When the door opened full there was a pause as light and cool air entered my room, and I propped myself up on my elbows to see why I was hearing such heavy breathing. A tall, middle-aged man approached the foot of my bed, while a short and unfamiliar woman lingered below the doorframe.

When I was a little girl my parents stressed the importance of education. I was very focused and motivated by their encouragement to always do my best. I was a high achiever and maintained good grades academically. When I became a teenager I rebelled from my parents and made decisions that weren’t the best at the time. I became pregnant at 16 and chose to raise my daughter. I knew by becoming a mom succeeding academically would be a challenge. I was motivated by my goal to show my daughter that education was important no matter the obstacles in the way. I first made it my main goal to finish high school and help my significant other finish high school as well. We were both very determined and we both graduated out of high school early by taking

This is my last week at my site and it has been a great experience that has allowed me to grow and has given me the opportunity to learn skills specific to my school that I will be working at next year. This makes me feel confident in preparing for next year. On the other hand, I was reflecting on all of the things that I have to do to prep for next year over the summer because I want to make sure I hit the ground running when the students return to school. Thinking about all of those things makes it seem a little daunting, but I know I will take it all in stride. One way I am overcoming this overwhelming feeling is by focusing on one item at a time and completing that task and then it is crossed off. For instance, I have created my digital

By going back to school and getting my degree I am opening up potentially lots of doors for myself in the future. I am setting a good example for my boys and that no matter what age you are, it is never too late to go back to school and further your education. Education is the key to opening up positions in the workplace that someone without an education would not be able to pursue. The benefits will far out way the time and work that it will take for me to complete my degree. This will be something that I can be proud of and prove to myself and others that no matter how hard the goal may seem or how long it may take you to reach the end results, it is always worth it to follow your dreams. I am extremely motivated to accomplish this goal for myself.