Reflection of the Formation of My Identity

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

Identity is a group of characteristics, data or information that belongs exactly to one person or a group of people and that make it possible to establish differences between them. The consciousness that people have about themselves is part of their identity as well as what makes them unique. According to psychologists, identity is a consistent definition of one’s self as a unique individual, in terms of role, attitudes, beliefs and aspirations. Identity tries to define who people are, what they are, where they go or what they want to be or to do. Identity could depend on self-knowledge, self-esteem, or the ability of individuals to achieve their goals. Through self-analysis people can define who they are and who the people around them

I want to to go to college for something that I love. When I’m done with college and have a job, I want to know that it was all worth it. My motivation isn’t my parents. My parents aren’t going to be there to make all my decisions and tell me what to do. Going to college is my ultimate decision. Secondly my ultimate motivation to go to college is for the money. I want to be able to support my future self and also my family when the time comes. Lastly I want to go to college so I can get a degree. Many jobs now a days require that you have a degree. According to the article “Even for Cashiers College Pays Off” by David Leonhardt he states, “ Education helps people do higher- skilled work, get jobs with better-paying companies or open their own businesses.” Many workers alike benefit from having a high-school diploma and a college degree. People acquire many valuable skills while in college. Either way, the skills that colleges teach, related to discipline and persistence, may be more valuable than academics. My motivation to keep going to and go to college has always been my own expectations of being able to to reach the highest point of success in doing what i want in

From a very early age, I always assumed it was a part of my future to pursue an education. The American educational system engraves the importance of school at a very young age. Elementary school children are motivated through rewards when they try their hardest to reach their goals. Students are exposed to statistics and facts outlining the consequences of not getting a college degree as soon as they reach middle school. High school counselors and staff make it their priority to ensure that students apply to college. Students are conditioned to believe that education is the building block to a successful future. My cultural upbringing did not support my choice to pursue an education, however, I refused to conform to my family’s behavioral expectations because certain norms must be challenged due to progressive time periods and conflicting values.

I am a first-generation college student. My parents never got passed high school. They were both faced with hardship and had no choice but to get a job to deal with the responsibilities of home. My dad left India at the age of 16 to build a better life for himself and my mom in America. In my household, education has always been a priority. Since my parents have felt firsthand how life is like without a degree, they made it their mission to ingrain in us a value for education like no other. However, there have been many situations in which I have found myself lost and looking for answers about college. Sadly, by being a first-generation student, my parents could not help me. Not only could they not help me, but being the first to attend college

After high school, many students make the decision on attending college based off of the things their parents/ teachers may have taught them when they were young. For example, many students further their education because throughout their lifetime they’re told they have to. In school we’re taught that in order for us to receive good jobs, and make a decent amount of money we have to have a college degree. Some are even taught that they must go beyond the undergrad and receive their masters, and doctorate degrees if they really want to be known as something in this world. While others go because it would make their parents proud, or to fulfill the legacy of being a first generation college student in their families. While this may be the case majority of the time, if you’re like me you go because

On the fifteenth of March, 1999, I was born in Westerville, Ohio to two loving parents - both of whom come from fairly large Italian families, including grandparents

“Identity Development “ Identity is most simply defined as a person's own sense of self; their personal sense of who they are. Identity development is intrinsically linked with adolescence because, according to John Santrock author of the book entitled Adolescence 15th edition, "...for the first time, physical, cognitive, and socio-emotional development advance to the point at which the individual can sort through and synthesize childhood identities and identifications to construct a viable path toward adult maturity.” We often see the results of this sorting process in behaviors of adolescents such as adopting and shedding different personas, including speech patterns, clothing styles and peer groups. Although these transitions

As a child, I always imagined myself going to university. It has been just a fact to me that I knew I wanted to continue my education. When I graduated high school, though, I did not have any money or even a car. I decided the responsible action to take, then, was to work. I took a job at Goodwill, a thrift store, and I saved as much money as I could. By the time I almost had enough money to afford a car I was looking into colleges. At

When I think about college I think about our country being a land of opportunity. Having the opportunity to learn. Not many people realize but not going to college is a missed opportunity. Some may argue that college is just not meant for them, the reason they say this is because they are weak and don’t believe in themselves. College is a choice that we can choose to learn and test our skills or we can choose to not know what skills we have. In middle school there were kids who were excellent athletes, some great at math, and others great in other subjects. On the other hand I always wanted to find that great talent of mine, I was mediocre in most subjects. I kept trying new things to discover what I’m really good at. I realized that it’s not that I had to try new things but to find my passion and focus on it and build myself off of it. I gained passion in college it gave me hope that one day my hard work will pay off with the education that was gained. As I grow older I realize many of us are mediocre, College should be required because it will be a necessity to keep up with our fast paced, competitive, technological society.

As a result of several motivational purposes, there are many driving factors to go to college that can and will impact one’s life. Before going to college, I waited 2 ½ years after I graduated high school to finally make my decision to go to college. The reason it took me so long is that I did not know what I wanted to do with my life. First, I wanted to be a probation officer, then I changed my mind to be an OBGYN, then finally I made the decision to become a nurse. I know I have a long road of schooling ahead of me, but that is okay. I have wonderful people in my life that encourage me to continue my studies. Going to college is important since it can open many opportunities to get into a better career field, it is a fun experience, and it can also start a tradition in my family.

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,

From the time I was able to realize what College was, all I ever heard from my Mother was about how or why I should go to college. and to be honest, after hearing all that, it just made me not want to go to college, because I didn't feel like I was smart enough, I felt like I know I was going to let my Mother down after all the things that she does for our family, from raising seven children on her own to having to work day or night just so that we can have the opportunities that she never had. As I grew older college took on a greater meaning to me. Realized that by not going to college I was destroying everything that

I am attending college, so that I will be able to learn more about my major and also to explore my options. While in high school, I had many reasons and people that motivated me to enroll into college, including my mom, my guidance counselors, and research on what I want to be later on in life. Although I was already going to apply for college, I heard a lot of good things about it from a few of my friends, on how college really makes you a stronger and more independent person. In the past few years, I’ve met quite a few people who have graduated high school and decided not to attend any college, and sooner or later I hear about how upset they are that they did not attend and how they have no idea what to do with their life. I did not want

Ever since I was young, I had a very well rounded primary level of support. This level consisted of my mother and father. All throughout my academic journey leading up to college, they have been the ones who have carried me through the roughest and easiest of times. When I was in middle school, my immediate family had placed a demand on attending college. They looked at college as if it were the only option after graduating high school. This constant demand really altered how I looked at attending college. It was almost programed into my brain that college was my only option I had after I graduating high school. My mother told me “even if you do not wish to attend college, you are going, to better you self in education”. When she stated this