Personal Narrative: My Off To College

Returning to college, after graduating high school twenty-five years earlier, proved to be not only rewarding quite challenging as well. Viewing myself as a self-starter with extensive investigative skills I truly believed college path mapped out correctly, so I never met with an advisor, what a colossal mistake! I had self-scheduled all my courses and although I faced a few obstacles I was finally at the end. After completion of all my pre-requisites I applied to the LPN-RN Fast Track Program, little did I know my past would stop me dead in my tracks.

Since the start of the semster I have learned many different things about myself and how I can become a better student all around. Summer classes can fly by fast and doesn’t feel like a real semester. That it is just to get credit and move on to the next semester. That was not the case for me this summer semester because I needed to think about the rest of my college career. This summer semester is my first one coming back from academic suspension and I took last semester at South Plains College and Tarrant County College. I did really well making a 3.00 GPA overall and am most likely going to make a 3.5 this semester. This will be a huge boost to my overall GPA. The point is am at the point where I am ready to graduate and will try my hardest to get the best grades I can. I really just changed my mindset towards college and the way I prepare for tests and studying.

Throughout my four years of high school, I worked with a non-profit organization called Shirts Across America. It worked to send high school and college students to New Orleans, Louisiana to help the community rebuild after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. For my junior and senior year, I worked as a core team member; my duties included marketing, fundraising, planning and organizing the trip and facilitating a group on the actual trip. I took on the responsibility to bring more people of color on the trips and making it more accessible for these students who may have been looked over. This past summer I worked as a teacher’s aid for the local YMCA in Seattle. The school that I was working with served a low income, diverse community.

Returning to college has been a prodigious challenge. One in which I determined I would meet head on with resolution. As a fine arts student I was fortunate to find a mentor in the Paradise Valley Community College Theater Director, Andrea Robertson. Andrea perceived potential in me and encouraged pursuit my goals as a writer/director. I took the initiative to approach Andrea with the idea to write and direct my own play in the Advanced Directing course. This past fall that idea came into fruition. As a director I oversaw numerous different areas in the production of my play. These were roles filled by fellow students, allowing the opportunity to provide guidance and leadership to peers. I worked with actors, stage management, set design, prop

It’s never too late. These are words I whole heartedly believe. A year and a half ago I decided to go back school to study nursing. Coincidentally, a week after I enrolled in classes I found out I was ten weeks pregnant. As any woman would I had my doubts about whether I could handle going to school and now being pregnant. But then I thought, I now had even more of a reason to go back. I would soon have a child who would be looking up to me. I wanted to be able to set a good example for them. I started attending classes in the fall as a part time student. Considering I had not been in school for over ten years the transition was a lot easier than I had thought it would be. My teachers were nice as well as my classmates. I finished a semester

For as long as I can remember, I have loved helping people, and my career at Osceola High School has helped me pursue this passion of mine. From Student Council and National Honors Society, to working as a teacher's aide, to volunteering at PeeWee Basketball, I have found that there is nothing I would rather do than help others.

Working your way through college can be a daunting journey to say the least. There have been a myriad of challenges to overcome, both foreseen and unexpected. A year and half ago I decided to follow my dream of moving to California and obtaining a degree in engineering from the University of California, Berkeley. The decision to follow my passion for science invoked both fear and excitement within myself. I didn’t have the support of many friends and family, as I am originally from the East Coast, many of them seen my moving to California as an unrealistic and unnecessary goal. Despite my own self-doubts and the discouragement of my family I made the decision to relocate to California. That decision manifested the most significant chapter in my life to date. In an extremely short period of time I had to find an apartment, in the Bay Area, one of the most competitive and costly rental markets in the country as well as enroll in school, apply for aid and secure stable

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

My high school years went by fast, at first I was a freshman and now I am graduating. I have always been quiet in my classes and I would sit at the very back. I was taught to get my work done before having fun and I never paid attention to making any friends. When I was a freshman I saw myself as a mature and intelligent person because I did not act like the others in my class and I hung out with the seniors. I dropped out once and I’m glad that I got chased back or I would be staying home. High school was not as challenging as I thought it was because it is boring and it is easy all you have to do is pay attention and get your work done. I have been waiting for the day I will be on my own. I would not compare my life to the books we read in class because they do not relate to me in any way.

One day you’re gonna hear about my sucsess at the Olympics. This essay will provide information on my life as a grade nine student. Firstly, I will provide basic information about who I am. After that I’ll explian my phisical attributes such as height and facial characteristics. Leading up to the end of my essay I plan to inform you of some of my hobbies and maybe even a few things I have experienced in my life so far.

Last school year was a crazy one. Lots of different things going on, good and bad. I'm usually a C and D grade type of student. School has never been easy for me, i figured it just wasn't for me. I started to give up and not care about school, i stopped doing my work, i let my grades go down and it was bad. I had about 5 Fs, the rest were mostly D’s and C’s. My best friend Erika is an honor student, all AP classes and straight A’s in every single report card. Her parents were so proud of her, we were all so proud of her. I wondered how that felt and told myself that if i try hard enough i can do it too. So i got my act together. it wasn't easy but i was really trying, i started to do my work, i studied like crazy and talked to my teachers more. All in all i dint get to straight A’s but i got to all B’s and maybe two C’s. i was proud, my mom was proud and my best friend was too. My GPA got a little higher and it was all great.

Transitioning from a private middle school to a public high school, I was exposed to so much more culture and diversity among whom I am surrounded by. I grew up being taught that I should be accepting of everyone of all races, genders, and sexualities. One of my favorite things is hearing others’ life stories that show how they were molded into the person that they are today. I can bring diversity to NC State through my open-mindedness and life experiences. I have had the opportunity to do mission work all throughout the US and its territories. My travels to Puerto Rico to help the community of Arecibo taught me much more than I was expecting. I was disappointed at first that my group was to clean a church, but seeing how grateful the church

A significant experience that has had an impact on me is going to St. Edmund’s Academy as an African American female. Being a student at St. Edmund’s Academy as open many opportunities for me. This has open many new opportunities such as the Team Leadership Council, Fame, and, becoming lead student. St. Edmund’s Academy has opportunities for me to grow as leader. St. Edmund’s Academy picked nine 8th graders to become the team leaders of the teams/advisory we are on. We help make decisions for the Upper School Student Body. We talk to our teams about things that they want to be improved in. Another opportunity I have been given is being able to be a Fame (Fund For Advancement Of Minorities Through Education) through going to student. Through

In regards to what I have done to strengthen my situation during my transition into college, I would admit that I have not sought advice from anyone. I have never really been someone to ask for help let alone for advice. I definitely have tried to take optimistic actions to assert myself. Never have I been someone to just sit back and quietly accept things as they are. I like to voice my own opinion and to have a say in events that involve me. If I am having trouble I prefer to know why that is even if I do not end up doing anything to change it. I have reframed this transition by viewing as a way to grow and learn how to accept and handle more responsibility than I ever have before now. Instead of viewing college as just more work to stress

College is something completely new to me;hence, I know that I will face numerous challenges because of my unfamiliarity with it. My College Readiness Program has warned us that we could probably be homesick at one point in our transition to college and I have a feeling that I will be homesick. However in order to ease my transition, I will step out of my comfort zone, join clubs, and meet new people this way I will make college my new home and not be homesick. During college, I may face myself having grades that I believe do not reflect my work and as advised by my College Readiness Program I will approach my professor during office hours to speak about why my grades are the way they are and to potentially find a way to boost my grade. College