Personal Narrative: Why I Want To Go To College

There might be a time where people ask you, “why are you in college” or “why to decide to go to college.” People might reply by saying that they want a degree, that they want a higher paying job, or they need that for a future career that they are pursuing. Those responses are the most typical reason of why people go to college. Sure you can say that having a degree means that a person can get a better job with better pay rather than working in the manual labor fields with minimum pay. A college degree is the fundamental stepping stone to the future, it lays the foundation of where to start. College is everything to me; I’m in college so I’m able to unlock more potential in myself, to be able to make my mother proud with everything that she has done and hopefully becoming the first.

I am attending college in order to better the life of myself and my family to come. I would like them to be able to have everything they need, without worrying about money. I am originally from New York, because of this I saw the way my single mother struggled to pay bills on time. We needed to keep our payments to a minimum due to how expensive rent, clothes, and food can be in the city. This motivated me to get a higher education in order to ensure I will have a successful career. I want to enjoy my job while not having to live paycheck to paycheck. This will enable me to make milestones as simplistic as possible to overcome.

Noted authors, Brandon Chambers, is quoted saying, “If you are going to fear anything fear success. Think about what you are doing and when you succeed what life you will have.” There are several different reasons why I could stay home, work and not go to college; I could go to work every day and make more money for the house, it’s easier, and I would be less stressed. Now, on the other hand there are many reasons why I should go to school; such as further my education, make my family proud, and make myself proud. I am attending college for several different reasons. One reason is to further my education. I hate feeling like I don’t know something, I like being the person everyone comes to for information. Also, because I want to

People ask me why I'm going to college all the time. Or more specifically, why I'm starting so late. Most of my friends are graduating college this year, just as I'm starting my first year. Some tell me they loved it, and others tell me it's a complete waste of time and money. Not going to college has never been an option for me. My goal here is to get a bachelor's degree in computer programming, start my career, and better myself for my kids so they can have a better life and something to look up to.

Why? This is the question that is before me right now. Why am I attending college? What degree is it that I am pursuing, and why? The expected answers to the question, “Why are you attending college?” is, to make better money, or to provide for myself and my family. With me, the answer to this question is different.

I come from a low-income family with a household of eight people. I have my dad, my six siblings, and my mother passed away a few years ago. As a first-generation college student I felt so many emotions. I came from a high school that didn’t prepare me for college courses and that became a problem. What made it worse was that my dad didn’t go to college, so I couldn’t go to him for help. I was scared, depressed, unprepared, I was doing everything on my own. I also felt like I didn’t belong because I believed I wasn’t as smart as the other students or “rich” enough. When I first arrived at UC Davis, I was immediately intimidated. All of the other students seemed so educated and professional and I just compared myself to them without even getting to know them. Let me tell you, getting here wasn’t easy and I know it wasn’t easy for you either, so feel accomplished. You made it! Now that you’re in UC Davis, you will be expected to work hard. Times may get rough, but just remember that help is out there. Take advantage and don’t be afraid or ashamed to seek help.

My biggest fear is letting down my family and also myself. Having to pick up a job to help my family is definitely a possibility and the biggest challenge that could prevent me from getting a degree. I’ve always wanted to go to college as a kid and this is a challenge that I will have to tackle on my own.

Like many kids I want to go to college and play football. Aslo like many kids my grades aren’t what they need to be to get into a good college. When I was younger, I put myself around people who influenced me in a bad way when it came to grades. Eventually I got myself away from those people and started doing better in school. As I walk around the school today, I see them not passing classes, and they don’t care. That's not going to get me into a good college.

Making that first step to complete independence isn’t always easy. Being the first person in my family to ever attend college, I knew I was travelling into uncharted territory, one where I wasn't sure what to expect. My dad, a concrete worker, my mom an esthetician both came from very little and never had the chance to attend college. Both of my brothers decided against college and went to work for my father in the concrete business. For this reason, I was a little bit hesitant to venture too far from my home my first year. What if something went wrong? What if I couldn’t do it? I am happy I stayed home and attended Daemen my freshman year, because it opened my eyes to a great deal of things, and helped me find what I want to do with the rest of my life. Since I was little I always knew I wanted a career that involved helping people, especially children. The first semester of my freshman year I took a class called “Healthcare Studies

Actually, I go to college because everyone does so. I have never had doubt about the reason. However, there are so many famous and popular entrepreneurs in Taiwan didn’t go to college. So did my mom. As a result, she wants me to go to college for fulfilling her dream. Mom told me that English was important and useful for my future. Then I choose to study English in high school and college. It’s too natural for me to think about “why do I go to

Everyone always told me, “You need to go to college,” but I was thinking about it in an entirely different way than they were. I thought college was needed to get a degree and a good paying job, which is actually true, but college is also needed because it teaches so much more than what can be learn in class. It teaches life lessons, it forces me to become more independent, and provides me with a great experience that I can take with me whenever I leave college and go out into the real world. The key to surviving freshman year is by taking advantage of all these things that will help me grow as a person.

Another motivation was when my neurosurgeon speculated my ability of returning back to school to complete my bachelor’s degree. My family has always been supportive and I credit their unconditional love and support to face my injury and to believe in myself. In 1996, my mother and sisters went to my graduation to witness me receiving my bachelor’s degree.

When it comes to college I sometimes wish that I wouldn’t have rushed to get out of high school. There is so much that comes along with college that I’m not use too such as: sharing a bathroom, waking up on my own, and sharing a room with a stranger. When I first applied to Arkansas Tech my roommate was my best friend, but after receiving a scholarship for $20,000 she decided to go to Philander Smith. After hearing the news, I was happy that she was able to receive a scholarship worth that much, but I was also angry and sad at the same time because we were officially splitting apart. The part that I hated the most was being kicked out of the room I applied for and being put into a room with a stranger. Moving into the room was very awkward

I make major life decisions by asking people how to past high so I can research the best college for me. If I don't go to the right college it will make me stress out or I might not like it. If I don't ask the right people they might tell me something that is wrong. To buy a car I will look up what the car has on the car. This is what I have to do when I go to college.

The decision about going to college for many people is easy to make, but for others it can be a huge struggle. For some people, they have to decide if going to college is right for them, whereas some have to choose to either go right out of high school or to take a year off. The struggle for me was the latter. It was a tough decision for me because I wanted to take the time to get a job and travel. I eventually made the decision to go to college immediately after high school when I talked to by parents and my grandfather about it.