Reflection Paper

Growing up, school was not a major factor in my life. I come from a hard-working, middle-class military family. My mother, a Filipino immigrant, was a homemaker. My father was a 21-year United States Marine veteran. They were my first impression of what I thought my future would be. Being the youngest of four children, I was expected to fall in line behind my siblings when it came to education. I was never pushed to excel in my studies, so I did just enough to get by. As I watched friends escape the grasp of a military town and ascend to their respective colleges, I was left wondering what was next for me. I attended my local community college for a brief period of time. I treated college no different than high school. I

I am the product of divorced parents, who struggled with substance abuse, but that does not define me. My childhood consisted of poverty-stricken environments; however, I refused to let that dictate the outcome of my life. At the age of ten, I had to assume the role of a fatherly figure to my three siblings, so I missed out on the conventional childhood most would have had. I grew up in east Bakersfield where substance abuse, gangs and criminal acts of violence were a pervasive occurrence, and I resiliently avoided the peer pressures to conform to their way of life. From the ages of 11 to 15, I would work for my grandfather at the local swap meet on the weekends so that I could help my mother make ends meet. I received my worker 's permit at the age of 15, which elevated my ability to help my mother financially as now I earned a set wage. I worked the maximum hours allowed as a minor while balancing my academics and extracurricular school activities at school. Although faced with much adversity early on in life, I managed to be a scholar triathlete in high school and was accepted to California State University, Bakersfield after graduating from Foothill High. I was determined and excited to be the first college graduate in my family, as I understood the economic importance of this achievement. Sadly, after my freshman year of attending the university, I had to put my educational endeavors on hold to assist my mother and siblings further financially.

On September 6, 2017, I were documented for an incident that involved a University Housing policy violation. I was charged with violating the University Housing Alcohol 1.2 policy. With my violation, came consequences. I met with The Residence Conduct Coordinator to discuss my actions and came to the conclusion that I would have to schedule a meeting with The Campus Alcohol and Drug Education Center (CADEC) and with that, a reflection paper.

This is a reflective essay concerning my READ 3423.01 with Dr. Reid in the fall of 2016. As I wrap up my first semester at Texas Women’s University I am awed and thankful. I am the first person in my family to attend University. Some find this surprising because I do come from a family that has done well professionally, but that was due to grit and personalities. The fact is, I was never even spoken to about attending college while I was growing up. I believe this is because no one before me had this experience to share or encourage. The truth is I tried my hardest to not be at school from middle school on, I just wasn’t engaged in the process. Of course, there were a few teachers I connected with, like the business and history teachers, but I hated the rules and structure of the environment. I amazedly graduated with my high school class, as my friends went away to Universities I took some classes at the community college. What I found was that when I got to pick my classes I flourished. Even the classes that others said were too hard to take during summer quarter, I excelled in those as well. As life unfolded I got married, moved out of state and had two daughters. When it was time for my daughters to attend school I was pretty apprehensive about the idea of it. I opened a preschool in a mother-in-law apartment we had on our property and decided they could learn there in a small community. That preschool led to homeschooling, and large educational co-ops. I lived in a

I grew up in a single-parent, low-income home outside of Santa Rosa, California. The idea of college wasn’t introduced to me until long after I had already become just another statistic. I dropped out of high school when I was 17, in the midst of a teenage rebellion, thinking I already knew everything and didn’t need anyone’s help. I left home, got a job at a fast food restaurant, and stayed with friends off and on until I realized that maybe I didn’t know everything quite yet. After a severe reality check, I found a sense of responsibility that encouraged me to get my G.E.D and find a great job. I was very determined to take everything I learned as a child and use it as a what-not-to-do guide. By the time I was 19, I bought my first house and quickly realized I could either set limitations with excuses or achieve goals with endurance. The

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.

I am a daughter of a father who migrated from Sierra Leone with nothing but a suitcase, opportunity and a high school degree. I am a daughter of a mother who struggled to finish high school and she never went back to school for her college degree. I am a sister of four brothers: 1 didn’t graduate from high school, 1 graduated from high school but never pursued a college degree, 1 enlisted in the army and went to college for chemistry and the last one struggled in college for 6 years because of his learning disability. I am Gonto Robinson, a senior, psychology and nursing major, and I will graduate a year and a half late in order to pursue two degrees. Staying in school and pursuing a higher education wouldn’t have been possible if it wasn’t for my family and teachers in high school.

Every since I was a child my parents always spoke about college.A dream of theirs has now become a huge goal for me, to be the first in my family to attend and graduate college. In the third grade, after getting a good grade on my tests their faces would light up and would tell me how proud they were of the intelligent young lady I was becoming and how they wanted me to make something great out of myself, but most importantly impact and change something in the community. As a little third grade girl I smiled and noded without fully grasping the meaning of what they were talking about. By the age of ten I knew what they meant and that’s how I knew that pursuing law school and becoming a lawyer is what I wanted to do with my life,

Encouraged by my English teacher, one of the few teachers to ever talk to me about furthering my education, I decided to apply to college during the fall of my senior year. I was reluctant to apply at first because I was never able to envision myself being able to pursue a college education, as a high school diploma was the highest educational level any of my family members ever obtained. Throughout my entire life and time in school, I had never received any guidance on pursuing higher education. In fact, I was completely unaware of the steps I needed to take to further my education. Both my parents dropped out of school before the sixth grade, thus they could not provide any

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.

The decision to pursue secondary education has always been a goal throughout high school. As a successful high school student and a potential first-generation college student, the idea of successfully obtaining a degree not only would fulfill personal satisfaction, but also expectations held by my parents. Within my senior year of high school in South Carolina, I was greatly interested in becoming an aerospace engineer; a very admirable profession in the eyes of my parents. After carefully considering Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech, I ultimately settled for Blacksburg to become a Hokie. Unfortunately, the college lifestyle was too overwhelming and I had to withdraw after my first year. This moment was very disappointing for myself and parents. However, I knew I couldn't give up the possibility of a college education, so I entered the workforce with the thought of going back to school when I was ready and prepared. Initially, the motivation was within myself, but later in life I learned that the significant people to build on that motivation was going to be my family and employer.

Throughout my life, I’ve moved approximately twelve times, been to seven different schools, and for most of my life, lived with a single parent. The usual story for many. There came a point though where I thought I knew for a fact I wouldn’t be able to go to college at all. That was the point where I devoted my time to my classes and extracurricular activities, such as being in the Peru Amateur Circus and Tiger Leadership.

Over the course of the semester, there has been numerous amount of areas where I believe I have improved in comparison to high school. What has helped me in my writing is the writing class and the in-class writing workshop. The writing class that is located in the Kremen education building has helped me with my writing greatly because in the writing center the person in charge teach us lenses and we apply those lenses to the writing, draft, or reading that someone brings in. The in-class writing workshop has helped me because other students get to read my writing. This is helpful because I get feedback from many students and they let me know what needs to be fixed. A new tool I have been using is They Say I Say. The book is very helpful because of the information and examples it provides such as the templates. I have been applying the templates into my essays and I have seen a significant difference.

I know that because I am a poor white female Christian, I see and interact with the world differently than others of a different status. My views differ not only because of what I am, but also where I grew up, which is a small town near the coast of North Carolina. I don't affiliate with a political party, because they all do things they should not. I worry a lot about the condition of the world and all of the countries in it. I worry for the United States of America, because people do not understand that global warming is real and that education is super important for our future. The world is a scary place with there being terrorists, psychos, broken people, innocent people in prisons and the people that are slowly breaking. While globally violence and worst forms of poverty are declining, there still continues to be some.

Since the beginning of the semester, my writing has changed and evolved to accommodate and sustain longer essays. With longer essays, there is more room for in-depth analysis. Further analyzing a topic has led me to findings that I did not know existed. As I continue to write, I uncover addition and superior methods to approach my writing to the benefit of me and therefore, my audience. Throughout the semester, I have incorporated techniques to further my narrative throughout my writing.