Personal Narrative: How College Has Changed My Life

After a pause of almost 25 years, I am returning to the college classroom and to say that there are mixed emotions would be an understatement. Sure, I’m excited to start but also a bit fearful if I’m being honest. I’ve worked for large and international companies during this time but getting back to college has always been a goal of mine. No time like the present I guess!

In my life, I would be certain to say that I was two distinct people; a child before Temple University, and an individual afterwards. In the years since my graduation, I enjoy reminiscing on those long past days. I was lazy, meek, I had no motivation to do anything and lacked the skills as well. Truly I was going nowhere, until I received a letter in the mail for an application I had completely forgotten about. I was accepted into University, an implausible thought to my young self.I was ecstatic, unable to process what had happened to me. The next few months were electric, I rushed to make every arrangement I would need to attend this school. It was the start of my metamorphosis into the unique person I would become. College was a breath of new life blown into my lungs, filling my body with the desire to shed who I was and become something representative of what I was taught.

The infamous answer to the question, “What is your primary goal for going to school?” is “to further my education, get a job, and be successful” such a cliché if I must say myself. My goal attending school is to make my family happy, as well as myself. In high school, I did not apply myself like I should have done because I was not sure if college was in my favor. Also, being the child of a single parent wanting to attend college seemed impossible, especially far from home. In a family where no one has surpassed the first two years of college, I feel a spotlight is on me to not only finish, but also finish strong. I know how proud my family will be of my accomplishment and how rewarding it will be for me trying to obtain a decent job in the

College ruins the world. Everyday families struggle financially to send their children to college. Why should we spend money on more education. Isn't twelve years enough? Since college is, and will always will be in high demand, the prices are always increasing. Instead of families worrying about how they are going to pay for their food or home, students will not go to college at all.This solution benefits all parties involved. Parents will have peace of mind knowing that their family is stable, children will be less stressed and can focus on what’s really important, work. Even the government will thrive with the flow of capital. Overall eliminating college as a whole is the best way to eliminate the increase in college prices.

As a first generation college student, I have the desire to not only make my parents proud of my academic achievements, but to be the first person in my family to receive a college degree. At a very young age, I was always expected to receive A’s and B’s in my school assignments, as well as my final grades. However, I was never rewarded or congratulated whenever I did receive those grades because it was already expected of me to achieve them. Hence, a time in which I have experienced failure but also felt like I let my family down was when I received a D in my Critical Thinking course I was already retaking for the second time.

Deciding to attend Texas A&M University was both a hardship and immense, opportunity in my life. Coming from a close knit background, and possessing a very family oriented character, my decision to come to this incredible institution was one out of my comfort zone. If I was to be asked one year ago, If I could ever see myself standing on this marvelous campus, attending one of the top schools in the nation, I would have honestly responded, no. My counselors would have said no, my friends, my college advisor, my family. The answer would not have been yes, not because I wasn 't capable of meeting the standards to attend, but because there seemed more obstacles in my way than there was forces pushing me forward. Finances were never on our side,

Fifty-two chapters, thousands of girls, timeless friendships through sisterhood, one big family. I’ve always known that I wanted to move away from home for greater opportunities and experiences. Although my parents were very optimistic about my decisions and the route I chose, it was difficult to leave home. The five-hour flight alone, the lonesome nights without my family, the horrifying first day speeches and upperclassmen, having no car to get around, and maybe the possibility of not liking your dorm roommates. It felt like the list would never end. During the first few weeks of my freshman year in college, I felt incredibly disoriented and uncomfortable. I felt reserved, shy, and afraid of what other people thought about me, which definitely

It was difficult getting to where I am currently with trying to understand who I was? And who I am? Why I was going through what I was going through? How to understand and interpret what felt almost alien. It wasn’t until after getting into the University of South Carolina as a Biology major that I knew that that wasn’t what I was meant to be doing. But before I realized that wasn’t for me, I looked into, after undergrad and medical school, becoming a neonatal physician and again the more I thought about it the less confident I was going that route. What I did know was that while I may not have wanted to work in that specific profession, I did want to work with children, families, women and girls, and the underprivileged. So after taking the

The faculty member I interview was Mary Menninger-Corder, a nursing professor. Mary was born and raised in California. She studied History at Berkeley University, then came to Washburn University in August of 1976. She started studying Nursing because they had an accelerated program for that. She then moved to New York City, and worked at the 1800 Bin hospital for awhile, then she moved back to Topeka, KS to find her job.

I graduated back in 2013 from a pretty decent school district. During high school I wasn’t an A student or a B student, I just did what I needed in order to pass. Once I got to my junior of high school I started taking things more seriously, I started making A’s and B’s. Once my senior year started the pressure was on. Everyone asking “what college are you thinking about attending?” “What do you want to do?” I didn’t have the answers to those questions, I thought about it a lot, but I Just didn’t have the answers. Now being 20 years old at my third community college, I finally have the answers to those questions. Why am I at my third community college? Simple I didn’t know what I wanted to do, but I had to go to college, I didn’t have a choice

I am first generation college student. I started Florida Gulf Coast University four years after I migrated from Jamaica along with my Dad, in pursuits of “an opportunity”- something that is very scarce outside of the continental United States. Before coming to FGCU, I went to Miramar High School; I graduated with honors and promised my Dad that within four years I would bring home my bachelors degree in Finance.

Returning to college has been an exciting and terrifying decision for me. My husband has

The first half of this semester was swift and I can’t believe how fast it passed by. College is a whole new world for me that I had never imagined with a lot of new experiences that I hope will shift me into a better and smarter person. There are more things I can do in college that I would have never dared to do in high school and I am happy for these new freedoms. I am able to eat in class, leave class without asking and they don’t care if I pay attention or not. My high school teachers would always tell me to wait for the bell, sometimes would not let me leave and if I did not pay attention they would yell. However, I still feel trapped due to the immense academic stress. Academic stress is the worst as it defeats the “freedom”

Nowadays people like to improve themselves in terms of education. People always learn about good or bad things that go around the world. Last summer was a special year in my lifetime. I was doing two jobs but nothing seems to be good for me. I spent time thinking about how I can make it in life, so I spoke to my friend Jedidah and she said: “education is the key to progress and knowledge is everyone’s power.” In view of that, I decided to go to college to leave a better life. I had the opportunity to go to the college of my choice but the only activity to pass on is to clarify whether to be a commuter or stay on campus. Along the line, I had a change of mind and this time around decided to stay on campus. My going to college has made me good about my language barrier, being in college I was able to develop interpersonal relationships with other ethnic groups, and going to college has made me explore in a different part of the continents.

In our life, there are periods of challenges that we must face, but the real challenge is how we grow and learn from overcoming them. Being naive children, we believed that life was simplistic and effortless. Well, we were wrong, we can only yearn for life to be easy. Growing up, we continue to face countless hurdles that only get bigger and bigger. My life, in particular, has been filled with numerous up and downs. It felt like I was in an endless roller coaster going up and down. Some believe that life is filled with obstacles and experiences that will help us pave the path to our own successes. But is that really accurate? There are some points in life when I’ve felt that I would never conquer a problem. From trying to learn to walk, to making big decisions that would affect the outcome of life. There are always complications and doubts that block our path. What job am I to choose? What university do I apply for? These thoughts will soon turn into a bitter reality. A reality that we will have to face. I would do anything to go back in time when I thought learning division was complicated as untying a series of knots. Sadly, this is the harsh reality, but even in this reality, we see even ourselves getting through a barrier. Life isn’t a game where you only have one try. Even when we stumble a thousand times, we can still manage to get back up, and it’s that thing about life that leaves me in awe. Life is a series of failures and lessons. Sometimes, even failures are