Financial Obstacles Sometimes I wish I could just tell everyone the truth, maybe then everyone would understand. My friends would then understand why I have to work two jobs or why I am always so tired. My professors may then understand why some deadlines are so difficult for me to meet or why I am late getting to class from time to time. Maybe the community would be more giving or understanding of my situation if I told them truth. The truth that my family is drowning. We are drowning in debit. Debit accrued through medical bills from hospital stays and medicine. Would people even believe me? From the outside my family looks picture perfect, but if they only knew our true situation. My mother has suffered from a rare kidney disease called glomerulonephritis my entire life. This disease eats away at my mother’s health, leaving her mostly bed-ridden and depressed. My father is a store director at a local grocery store and has been for twenty-seven years. …show more content…
To be honest, it hinders it. My family’s social status makes it less likely for me to receive scholarships. The committees in our small town are made up of family friends that see our family as financially secure. Scholarships are already hard to find, but even harder when the committee believes that your family can afford to pay for your college. My social and physical environment limits my ability in gaining access to financial means to continue my education. While there are many things standing in my way, my experiences have prepared me. My mother’s kidney disease shows me the importance of being financially prepared for the unexpected. My dad’s hard work and sacrifice has shown me how to be a hard-working woman and to put others before myself. And most importantly, I have learned that no matter a person’s race, gender, or class, you never truly know a person’s
I am the product of divorced parents, poverty stricken environments, and a blended family, but I refuse 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 typical childhood most would have had. I grew up in neighborhoods where gangs and criminal acts of violence were a pervasive occurrence, but I resiliently did not allow the peer pressures of others to force me to conform to their way of life. By the age of 15, I received my worker 's permit, and that allowed me the ability to help my mother financially in the absence of my father’s income. I worked the maximum amount of hours I could while balancing my academics and extracurricular school activities. I was a scholar athlete and triathlete in high school, and although I continuously faced much adversity, I still managed to be accepted to the University of California State, Bakersfield after I graduated from high school in 2005. Sadly, after
Family, education and a person’s opportunities are significant elements that collectively define an individual, as demonstrated by both Wes Moore’s. Depending on the opportunities offered to you and whether you decide to take advantage of them through hard work and persistence will result in your success or failure in the end. Wes Moore explains “The chilling truth is that his story could have been mine. The tragedy is that my story could have been his” goes to show that certain factors affect how you will be as an adult regardless of similar or differentiating backgrounds. (Moore xi).
Being raised as the eldest of five siblings by immigrant parents who were never able to finish school and pursue their ambitions because of their unfortunate financial situations. Opportunities like the one GHP is offering will not only be a life altering experience, but an experience that will expand my leadership, my communication skills, and my connections in the real world. I not only chose to apply to GHP because of the opportunity to challenge my skills on balancing school, student organizations, volunteer activities, and work but in hopes of showing my fellow peers, teachers, parents, and for younger siblings that it is possible to achieve your dreams even for a family that has financially struggled all through their lives. My parents have always motivated me to take every opportunity that is available to further guide me in my pathway to success. Opportunities like GHP are usually given to those who come from privileged families, however as coming from a family that doesn’t have the same privilege I
This case study which is taken from Robert M. Veatch’s Medical Ethics book is about a 5 year old girl, who from the last 3 years, has been suffering from “progressive renal failure” which...
I was raised in an encouraging household where both of my parents greatly valued education. Although they were high school graduates, neither could afford to attend college; a combination of family and financial woes ultimately halted their path. As a result, my parents frequently reminded me that getting a good education meant better opportunities for my future. To my parents, that seemed to be the overarching goal: a better life for me than the one they had. My parents wanted me to excel and supported me financially and emotionally of which the former was something their parents were not able to provide. Their desire to facilitate a change in my destiny is one of many essential events that contributed to my world view.
Both my interviewee and I identify as working class, biracial, and first-generation women. Subsequently, seeing our families struggle through dire financial situations, motivated us to get an education. We understand how difficult it must have been for our them to venture to a new land and face language barriers that prevented them from working in a well-paying career. My interviewee and I understand that we hold systemic privilege by being citizens of the United States and fluent English speakers, a feature our families did not have. Thus, we both believe that pursuing higher education will provide us with stability and the best future for ourselves and our
Participant five is a 38-year-old African American registered nurse who works in the Emergency Room. She has two children. She has had four years of college experience, off and on. Her biggest challenge was trying to attend class while struggling with childcare as well as her job. Andria states, “ I was determined to complete my degree because staying in my previous position as a cardiac tech. was like being in stagnant water.” (A. Rose, personal communication, Feb. 22, 2016).
A minority student is generally classified as belonging to a lower-income family than the average white American, who is classified by earning a higher income. A student belonging to a low-income family will not have the same opportunities as a student from a high-income background. A student from a high-income family will be able to afford more study aids and supplies. A student from a low-income family, generally a minority, does not have access to these resources. Because they frequently cannot afford the same materials as their white counterparts, they generally do not perform as strongly on standardized tests. Wealthy families are generally very well educated. They have greater knowledge of how to guide their children in the right direction for academic success. Some can afford a private school with better teachers and a more comfortable learning environment. Paying for college is easier, and academics often take greater priority in these well-to-do households. Usually, poorer families have a harder time paying for college and supporting their children. Schools in low-income areas tend to lack funding for good teachers and supplies because of their financial situation. More often than not, the main goal of these families is to have their children get through high school so that they can begin ea...
I have always grown up around the influence of hard work. My mother and father’s life together began off to a rough start. My mother got pregnant at the age of 20 with my brother. Her family was not very supportive of it; therefore, she was on her own. She used to tell me about how she would sit and cry in a one bedroom apartment that she lived in with my brother wondering what she was going to do. Although she had to grow up faster than she
Education is a big factor when determining if someone is able to rise above a hard upbringing. Looking into the future, education is the foundation of a career and therefore one’s success. Jeannette Walls, author of The Glass Castle, and Liz Murray, inspiration of Homeless to Harvard: Liz’s Murray’s Story, both agree that an education is necessary in order to be successful. Throughout their stories, they both worked hard in school and highly regarded their education. Jeannette’s mother Rose Mary agrees saying, “I’ve always believed in the value of a good education,” (Walls, 265). Many children take their education granted and don’t realize it is a privilege. Without a decent education, it will be nearly impossible to land a suitable job. With no job, it will be difficult to support yourself.
My story began on a cool summer’s night twenty short years ago. From my earliest memory, I recall my father’s disdain for pursuing education. “Quit school and get a job” was his motto. My mother, in contrast, valued education, but she would never put pressure on anyone: a sixty-five was passing, and there was no motivation to do better. As a child, my uncle was my major role-model. He was a living example of how one could strive for greatness with a proper education and hard work. At this tender age of seven, I knew little about how I would achieve my goals, but I knew that education and hard work were going to be valuable. However, all of my youthful fantasies for broader horizons vanished like smoke when school began.
In the near future, I would like to be in medical school. In order for me to be able to achieve that professional goal, I will have to have the available financial resources. Unfortunately this is a necessity to education in the society we live in. More importantly I would need the encouragement of my parents to push me to continue on the very rigorous journey that is postgrad. Without support it is very hard for me to carry myself especially in times of extreme stress. Just does in explain to be found in Latino culture, it is important to me that the people I am surrounded by have a liberal attitude towards women rolls as well as diversity and culture. Being that I am a black woman with Caribbean roots, I think it is imperative to note that representation matters. Being able to see role models of the same culture background and race as me gives me the encouragement to know that if they could do it I can as well. Especially in the field of medicine, there aren't very many people that look like me. It is doable but not as comfortable to try to endure something that you do not feel like you fit into. What will ultimately hinder me from achieving my goals believes that I can't do something because of any circumstance.
In her childhood, my mom grew up in a poor family in the projects located in Hoboken, New Jersey. Her family didn’t have much money and they only relied on my late grandpa to earn money by driving taxis. When my mom was in high school, she got her first job working as a secretary in the Hoboken City Hall, but during that time her older brother, Bobby, passed away from AIDS, and later in 2001 both of her parents, Carol Ann and Robert died from smoking problems. Even though these circumstances were hard on her in her life, she managed to do great things like going to Palmer College
Growing up my mom and dad always showed us unconditional love. They shaped us to learn the right from the wrong and the importance of education. They related the troubles we experienced in America theirs in South America and how education primarily is the root to being successful in America. My dad would always say “we never had the opportunities you all have in America so don’t let it slip away”. Besides education, they taught us that money is easier spent then earned so to value a dollar. The upbringing in life that they had was very hard living and all the struggles they experience moving to a new country just to provide a better living environment for their kids. In their country beating your kids was known to put way word kids straight. My brother and I can contest to those beating but it made us into good kids. We didn’t give into the peer pressure of other kids in school and we learned to walk away from trouble instead of fighting. Don’t get me wrong, we weren’t angels but we stayed out of the ways of trouble. I commend my parents for the person I’ve become and the independence they instilled in my life today. I’ve used the knowledge to shape the person I want to be and some day the mother I want to be for my kids. My parents brought me up with the foundation of kindness, humbleness, and understand with a strong spiritual Christian background. Their parenting styles
My birthplace is Brooklyn, NY and I was born to a Mother who is Black-American and a father whose family is from Puerto Rico. Unfortunately, I didn’t have much of a male influence because my dad suffered from a disease called addiction. Nevertheless, my mother raised me on her own with southern values my grandmother passed to her when she was younger. The strict disposition and emphasis on education my mom displayed is why I persevered even though there were obstacles in my way. For example, when I was nineteen years old in college I became pregnant, and I know my life would never be the same. However, I gave birth to my oldest daughter and graduate with a degree in Business four months earlier than expected. Needless to say, my biggest strengths is my thirst for knowledge, and my weakness is patience. At times I struggle with the pace my life is going, and I just