Personal Narrative: My Life After High School

Growing up with a single mother and two other siblings, one with a baby on the way and my mother soon to have knee surgery and disabled for a certain amount of time, money became scarce for my family during the beginning my junior year of high school. I realized I needed to get a job, or two, in order to support my family. Being a full-time student, working two jobs, and helping with household chores, my academic life suffered. Working two jobs became a struggle; my schooling did not seem as important to me at the time, and I ended up falling behind in school and needing extra help. Finding the time seemed impossible to get the extra help I needed. My grades dropped drastically, and passing my classes became much more difficult. School turned

Rodriquez, told me that she was worried about me. I was taken back and not sure what she meant by the comment she had made. She started to talk to me more about my future and what I wanted to do with my life when I finished high school. As the conversation progressed, she told me I had a chance to go to college and pursue my dreams after I graduate high school. I would have never thought I could have the option to attend college straight out of high school; she made me believe in myself that I could do better and achieve anything I wanted as long as I put my best effort into it. I knew that if I had the chance to attend college, I needed to start getting more help in school and improve my grades. I was struggling in two of my main classes, Math and English, so everyday during lunch I would go in and get help on my math homework, and after school I would go in for my English every chance I could. My grades soon started to improve, and I started to see college more as an opportunity for my future. It made me actually want to study and get good grades instead of feeling forced to do so. After I got my academics under control, I began to believe in