Throughout Our Life, We Are Often Presented With Various

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

The transition from high school to college is a dynamic time in one’s life that parallels the change from childhood to adulthood. Both of these changes are dramatic and, as a result, feelings are difficult to put down into words. A messy combination of emotions fills the heart, surfacing in strange ways. Confident high school seniors go right back to the bottom of the chain when entering college as freshmen. These students start all over, just like entering grade school or high school for the first time. The move up from high school to college signals the switch from dependence to self-sufficiency. From a personal point of view, going through the experience of graduating high school and transferring to a residential college campus at STLCOP, made me realize I was no longer a kid and capable of making my own decisions.

After barely graduating in the spring of 2017 from Lopez Early College High School, I went straight to my parent’s house not knowing exactly what I was going to do with my life. I knew I had ruined my life after not paying attention to my teachers and counselors about applying to colleges. They said I was a wonderful and intelligent student with a tremendous capacity of succeeding in life. Although everybody thought that about me, I never did. I was constantly under pressure thinking that I had to work in order to support my family economically, so our house was saved. I was also worried about whether my parents were getting divorced after every insignificant argument they had. I had to be an excellent example for my two younger siblings; but even though I tried my best, I never was.

Throughout my life as a child and teenager, I was told by my parents that they worked really hard to get to the safe town and community that we lived in. Growing up in Pacific Grove, California gave me lots opportunities that I didn’t even know I obtained. Unless it had happened to me personally, I didn’t really understand the full picture of what others had to go through. Having dyslexia, the only subject I felt I really excelled in was art. After high school, I still had no idea what I wanted to do for a career or even a major. Monterey Peninsula College has boosted my confidence by showing me that I can be and do much more. Two years ago I would never have guessed that I would be applying to the University of Washington.

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

Througout my academic career, I have learned as much about myself as I have learned in school, whether it be from high school, to community college, and my journey that lead me to Arizona State University. I can honestly say as my parents did, that I wish I would’ve tried harder in high school. I scraped by taking the easiest classes possible and choosing to take the easy way out. Looking at my transcript makes me cringe, because I know that I am capable of so much more. I wish that I would’ve taken the honor classes and tried so that I would’ve been able to apply to a college other than a community college. My time at Mohave Community College was a significant improvement from my experience in high school. Not only did I graduate with near honors (3.49), I had made the Dean’s list and Honors List for three out of my four semesters, the first time this had happened since middle school. I had never felt more motivated and focused in my life. I was taking 16 credits and prospering and had a balance of work, school, and a social life. I had never felt more proud of my self in my life. As I sit here and write this paper, I question my time here at ASU as I try to plan the nex chapter of my life. I wonder where I am supposed to go and what I am supposed to do.School for the first time had become a priority, however, it began to consume my life. I would spend hours and hours on end doing homework and studying, and although there seems to be nothing wrong with this, I wouldn’t go

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

While in high school, I took advantage of office hours and after school programs that were offered on campus. When I transition to community college, I got involve with programs including but not limited to; EOP, Dream Weavers, the writing and math center, the library, and tutors who provided help via the EOP office. My college grades are a merely reflect my academic achievements. They also synonymous with challenges I faced while being a student at the community college level. As I began my first few years in college, it was absolutely tedious and at time confusing because I was unaware of career counselor guidance, financial aid opportunities, and even lacked the social support to continue my studies. I did not let these challenges affect

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.

Throughout my senior year, I’ve talked to many college dropouts. In order to understand the perils of college, I turned to these people in order to truly understand what I need to avoid in my college career. Overall, many of them have said they weren’t able to deal with the stress of life and college. This was strange to hear due to the fact that these were people who I knew. People who I had seen excel in high school. However, I eventually realized why these people were unable to progress or move forward with their education. Many of these former students weren’t resilient enough to pick themselves of the ground after a setback. After this realization, I recognized that intelligence wasn’t the only requirement for college. The ability to be resilient in the face of adversity is also required.

As a first generation student there has been an abundant amount of obstacles that have been placed into my path as a test to view how dedicated I truly am to my goals. Ever since I was a kid I aspired to be someone successful in my family and still do to this day. It was always my dream to be the first one to accomplish what the rest weren’t able to. To me being in school was already hard enough for me ever since I was a kid, because I could never get along with the rest of my classmates. Most of them would consider me as weird, just because I was a shy individual with a dora haircut. I never really spoke either because I felt so isolated from the rest, it was just so obvious for me I was different.

Prior to high school, I had done well in school, but did not drive myself to . Towards the end of my eighth grade year, I had attended my brother’s award banquet and noticed that there were students winning almost every award and were recognized for being at the top of their class. At that moment I decided that I wanted to be like the students who did well, but I knew that there was a large amount of effort required. Once I entered high school, I greatly increased the effort that I put into my classes. I spent more time studying, consulting teachers, and completing assignments, all while balancing sports and other extracurricular activities. My grades had drastically improved and I knew that I had succeeded, but I wanted to achieve more. Through my sophomore and junior years, I pushed myself in harder classes, became an officer in many of my activities, and increased my involvement with new activities. Presently, I am well known by my community and school for my academic achievement and service through leadership. This chain of events has increased my work ethic, responsibility, and drive for greatness. Moreover, this experience has allowed me to develop into the devoted, confident, and disciplined person I am

Going to College was a new door opening in my life, yet I didn’t know should I walk through it. I knew senior year I was going to have to do something with my life; get a job, learn a trade, or go in the military. A few weeks after making my decision to go to college, I signed up for the ACT. I didn’t do as well as I thought I could, after that things in life started to snowball down. Even though learning a trade or going in the military, could of lead me on many cool adventures. The effects of going to college has led me to wonderful things as well.

I had a full time job and a family; but deep inside I wanted more. I knew that the only way was to further my education, so I enrolled in the local community college. “No ma’am I can’t afford to be a full-time student, can I enroll and take one or two courses a semester?” I asked. “Of course!” the counselor responded, “let’s talk about which courses you should begin with.” That day I went home feeling good about myself; I had taken the first step in a journey that I knew could change my life forever.

For many, after graduating high school the next big step is college. I never asked myself why or if I even wanted to. Yet, since I was not yet ready to join the work force, and didn’t want to disappoint my parents, I simply followed the path that I was supposed to take. For a while I had no direction, but through the loss of my high school English teacher and my dream of making my family proud, I discovered that college was the place I wanted and needed to be.