Personal Narrative: My Return To College

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!

Something such as returning back to school was long gone and in my past goals. After a couple of years I never thought I would end up going back to school since everything that I wanted was going good and according to plan. However sometimes we are faced with tough situations where we must find other resources in order to improve and better ourselves. Going back to school was one of the most important and wise decisions that I have ever made.

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

I never even got to say goodbye. When my dad left it was the hardest it's ever been for my family and I, and we were never quite the same. After a while I began to fill into my father's shoes. “Aaron, one day you’re going to have to raise a family of your own. You’re a man, you’re going to have to be the provider for the family.” These words spoken by my mother have run deep through my soul and has shaped me to the very being I am today. I have three sisters, a mother, and a niece. Being the only boy in a family full of women is tough; it seems like the transition from being a boy to a man swiftly creeps upon you, and you suddenly inherit a large sense of responsibility within the household.

As a child, I had no father to guide me on the path to maturity. Even in the idyllic scene of a father and son playing catch, as I tossed the football onto the roof of my house by myself, the roof replaced the person that I was supposed to learn the essence of manhood from. Although my early and painful realization of his absence was distressing, I learned how to rise above my disappointment and become my own motivation. Throughout my life, I have been knocked down, but I was never defeated–that is what defines me as a fighter. Relentless in achieving my goals, I will myself to succeed despite all that deters me.

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

With senior year of high school coming to a close, comes an overwhelming amount of stress about moving away to college. At the beginning of this school year, I was eager to leave and excited to go away, but I came to a realization that leaving home alarms me. At this point in time, I began to notice just how much my parents do for me and just ruminating about everything I would have to do on my own now, makes me nervous. School has never been an issue for me but what my friends say about college, makes it even more petrified to go. Being constantly asked questions like, “how do you always get your work done?” or “how do you have such good time management?” reassures me that I will do fine in college. With neither of my parents having attended

Just the thought of not knowing what I was supposed to do with the rest of my life made the last little bit of my senior year, very stressful. I then found out that not knowing and being undecided was perfectly okay and I was ready to begin my freshman year at Saint Petersburg College. Talking about graduating high school always seemed unrealistic because it was such a huge goal. After graduation, I had never felt so proud of myself.

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.

How much luck does one need to get drafted by their favorite team right after college? A lot of people say that all it takes is hard work and dedication but I am going to do a little more. Its not my dream to become pro, its a goal because not all dreams become true. If my goal fails, I would like to be in sports medicine.

My most significant endeavor since attending community college would be helping my community to receive an Adult Daycare. Thought this endeavorer I have applied my knowledge that I have learned about the disease to educate others in my community who may not have to know the impact of it. I have also used and sought the aid of my relationship that I have built by being at my community college. This Adult Daycare service or Coltrane LIFE center is something that I am passionate about having in my hometown. My grandpa has Alzheimer's and I have seen the stress that tolls on the family and caregiver. To have an Adult Daycare in my area would ensure a safe and calming environment for elderly patients. Also, provide help and relaxing time for the

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

Coming back from summer vacation is difficult, but coming back and having to start in a totally new environment makes it even harder. I remember coming back and being confuzed. Not just academically, but also socially. I would wonder how I would fit in with my new peers, and if I would start falling behind in my classes. Lucky for you, I have some advice for you, so you can do your absolute best in Jr. High, whether it’s academically, socially, or anything about personal responsibility, I’ve got you covered.

During the start and the end of the fall semester year of 2015/20116 at Montgomery College, my life changed dramatically for me. Going back to school after graduating four years ago at Baltimore Freedom Academy high schoolHigh School has been challenging for me, but of course it’s challenging for anybody with the same circumstances of not being academically active for all those years, and almost forgetting all the retained information that was given from previous teachers. I felt like my brain was rotting, yet the really bad part about it is that, I wasn’t doing what I loved, which was playing organized college basketball. Throughout my journey of the fall semester, challenges came my way from left to right, but the hardest of all that I’ve faced are adjusting to the student athlete life style again at a college level, trying to learn and complete all that’s given to me from my professor, and working a part time job to help support myself.

I check my watch as I race to catch my first ever Austin Metro bus home. My