The common threads that connects my experiences, personally and educationally is my love of learning, my drive to achieve greatness, and pride of my family to preserve in the face of adversity. I look for security when making major decisions in my life. Those decisions are usually based on their effect on me being able to continue my educational dreams and the impact that the decision will have on my personal finances. If any decision that I am thinking about making has any negative effects, in either of my areas of importance, I will completely disregard that choice in lure of my ambitions and goals. Throughout my life I have had many jobs, but only one brief career. With some much uncertainty in the job market it has been important to me to continue my educational journey as I seek to set myself apart from other candidates. In order to obtain a college degree I must evolve my love of learning into a career-oriented driven task with emphasis on becoming a well-rounded individual. The next thread to remain while enduring discontinuity in my life is my drive to achieve. Growing up in a single parent household was financially stressful. I always wanted to have a better life for myself in my adult years than I did as a child. Though I have faced my fair share of adversity I have to remember that I am attempting to achieve a feat that very few people in my family have achieved; a college …show more content…
Never wanting to get complacent with my various situations and predicaments I looked to keep busy. However throughout my life, including the present, I have come to realize that the discontinuities I have dealt with have shaped me personally, emotionally, and physically. From the mental aspect of being homeless at the beginning of this semester I had to keep my goals and ambitions in perspective while faced with the uncertainty of my future living conditions once
As I reflect on my college life, I wonder about the choices I have made that have led me to where I am today and that will guide me into shaping who I long to become. The things I have had to sacrifice, the support and experiences I have had with family, friends, strangers and work colleagues. I don’t know what I will be doing three months or thirty years from now but I do know that I want to have new experiences. When I graduated from high school, I knew I didn’t want to be that person that moved back to the same town and stayed there for the rest of my life. I even contemplate leaving the United States in my adult life. Who really knows, maybe those cards are still in the deck. For now, I know my immediate goals include focusing on completing my college education the best I can, and moving away from my comfort zone, broadening my horizons and taken risks.
If the story of my education were to be added on to the stories of all of the great leaders included in How Lincoln Learned to Read, it would be strikingly similar to the stories of the great thinkers themselves. Like Abraham Lincoln, I loved to read and like Sojourner Truth, I learned my behaviors by watching my family. The story of my education parallels with these and many others of those included in the novel. Themes such as self-education through reading, household observation, and passions for various tasks run through my story as well as the stories of many of the great thinkers mentioned in the book.
Being the first one to attend college in my family has pushed me to continue my education. Now in today’s society a college degree is so important. I want my parents to be proud of me, and be happy with my high level career after college, and that starts with my education. I also hope to be an influence on my younger brother and show him that a college education is important. He looks up to me, and I need to be a good role model for him. I truly just want to get the best education and job for myself worth and make myself happy.
Looking back through my life to find what has led me down this path I see that I had several challenging events in my life. At the time I did not understand why I was going through them or how I was going to get through them but knew that there is always a solution to every problem. During the time that I was working through the challenging events I realized that these were only preparing me to be a stronger individual. These experiences formed my passion to continue my education. I had an opportunity to live in Arizona in 2005, I was working for a nation wide Property Management Company as a Business Manager, worked in this industry for 16 years.
For as long as I can remember I have set high goals for myself regarding my future, my friendships, and my education. Entering college with these standards I knew that I wouldn’t settle for less than my best, and I would strive to amaze myself at my success. One thing I never fit into my planned path of achievement was any type of struggle, or obstacle that could alter the way I have thought for so long. The first month of college I fell upon an obstacle I never could have imagined. I suffered a knee injury and missed continuous classes following the accident as well as surgery that was necessary to my recovery. These things tested my strength as a person, but also as a student. It made everything a little more complicated, even the little things like getting out of bed in the morning. I pushed myself to see the end of the tunnel I felt seemed impossible to crawl out of. Many things helped me along the way, and just as I hadn’t imagined my accident, I couldn’t have imagined the support I found everywhere around me. I know that I can overcome obstacles in the future now because of my determination for success and the use of helpful resources all around me.
My college career started with me just going to school to take PE classes while neglecting my main required core classes and always pushing them aside without any urgency to succeed in finishing school. A couple of years would go by with little to no progress and lack of motivation to succeed in finishing my college required classes. Soon landing a career oriented job and finding myself dropping out of college to focus on my work career. From this point and time I would learn the importance of school and the value of finish college through my years of experience at work. This awareness of value in finishing college would motivate me to want to go back to school. Soon I would find myself at American River College counseling center. Here I was coming back to school unsure of myself and in an environment where I previously never found success in school. After meeting with my counselor I was recommended to take a college success course. This course is part of a program called the Accelerated College Education (ACE). Because I was able to learn along the years being out of school the importance of gaining an education I gained a new motivation for school, signed up for this ACE program, and enroll in the college success
The stereotypical version of the normal life of a teenager proceeding to college would include high academic standards met throughout their high school career and outstanding outside testing scores resulting in automatic entry into the institution of their choice. Many of these individuals have the support of their accomplished family members in the form of financial support. There are those who have not had the luxuries of any easy upbringing but forced to decide between a life with a college degree or full-time employment. For myself I want to have it all and to achieve that I have taken on both.
It wasn’t until my senior year of high school when I realized the true importance of going to college really was. The only reason I excelled in my studies was because I was always motivated too, so when it came down to my decision to continue school I didn’t know what to do. I decided that even with a degree in today’s economy, it won’t have much of an impact. But I couldn’t have been more wrong than ever. I eventually came to my own senses and decided for myself that all my years of being in school, planning for my future, long hours of hard work and perseverance shouldn’t go to waste.
A college education has been linked to the American Dream. The American Dream consists of accomplishing dreams and success in the United States. Society has established an emphasis that a college degree will lead to economic and social happiness, but it is important to take a step back and realize that a college degree is not the only way to achieve success and accomplish the American Dream. This socially constructed norm has considered students as disappointments when they choose to not pursue or realized that a college path is not for them. Even though a college education is believed by all as an essential part to an individual’s success, it is not entirely the path to everyone’s success. There are going to be students who are not going to want or be able to pursue a college education, and for those, instead of labeling as automatic failures, there needs to be promoting of alternative routes. A college education is a privilege not a necessity, it will not determine if a person success or failure.
As a college student no matter the circumstances that life tossed my direction I still needed to find it in me to survive these challenges. Challenges as far as providing the financial stability for my family, maintaining healthy relationships and a social life even outside of college. Also, acknowledging the fact that I took on the role of being a first-generation student is realizing that I am sacrificing time to attend college. Additionally, Duckworth highlights that “some people sustain effort not because of subjective interest but rather because they are afraid of change… or unaware of alternative options” (1090). She clarifies that grit is maintained by the consistency of interest over time. The pivotal to obtaining higher education is to successfully move through the dynamics of life over time. The mindset that is transferred throughout the journey is what keeps focus on reaching an associates degree, graduating with my class, and finding work out in the real
“A topic that I am personally fascinated with is polygamy. I watched a television series years ago called “Big Love” and became intrigued. The series displayed all aspects of polygamy, which included the struggles of having multiple wives. I found an article posted July 2015 on the New York Times website by W. Bradford Wilcox, and I completely agree with him. I think Wilcox provides great examples and points to why polygamy causes more damage than spreading more love.
What is education? According to Webster’s Dictionary education is defined as, (noun) 1: the action or process of being educating or of being educated, 2: the field of study that deals mainly with methods of teaching and learning in schools. What does education provide for us? How important is education in today’s society?
“Knowledge is power. Information is liberating. Education is the premise of progress, in every society, in every family” (Strong n.p.). Anywhere a person goes, there are people demanding that people have a certain level of education. This makes wanting to get into a certain profession hard to do. By going to schooling you can get yourself and education, but by no means necessary do you get an education by going to school. But the question lies in how you go about achieving both them, and increase in learning. There are times when you can get some school, but the education does not fully come. This could be from the lack of teachers, or the encouragement that you get. It also lies in how much enthusiasm that you put
My educational journey has been like a roller coaster. I have been in the worst spot of my life time. Where I hate going to school but, also think about my father education. My career goal is one of my most important in my life to better myself than I am today tomorrow I will better than yesterdays.
My journey as a student has always been focused on the path to college and success. Before I even set foot in kindergarten my mother, a college dropout, always told me that “honor roll wasn’t an option” and that I would be attending college in the future and achieving a degree. Most of the time I made these requirements. Most of the time I was awarded honor roll or had a newly edited list of colleges to attend, but sometimes life got in the way of my dreams of achieving success.