Long Walk to Success--Heiley

 

I am a person with diversity in my passions and interests, but because my parents lack financial resources, I’ve had to limit my wants and focus on my priorities. Coming from an underprivileged community created unexpected academic barriers as well as other significant challenges. My family and I live in Fontana, California, a city in San Bernardino County where crime rates are high and walking down the street are homeless individuals and gang members left and right. Being a young female, I can’t just simply walk to the library to study and use public resources, utilizing public restrooms has always been a risk. I started at my local elementary school, but my parents applied for me to transfer districts for middle school and high school so I could have a better chance in actually becoming successful. However, it soon became evident that I had been disadvantaged both academically and financially. Coming into a more affluent highschool, I’ve noticed that there are many students that have many more advantages due to their financial stability and wealth. Trying to switch from Spanish at home to English at school, I also frequently stumbled over the proper order of words. My difficulties with English were not limited to casual conversations but extended to reading and writing. Surrounded by well-spoken and dedicated classmates, I tried to mimic their behavior. Every night, I read our assigned chapters multiple times, looking up tough vocabulary words and trying to improve my comprehension. I highlighted sentences I didn’t understand and asked classmates before class to help explain and clarify. Although I was fortunate to be surrounded by helpful peers, I knew this was not a long-term solution. After struggling through freshman year, I decided to take college English courses at our local community college. Nervous at first, I was immediately impressed by the discussion-based atmosphere and though it was demanding, I overall enjoyed this course. Over the progression of a summer, I worked diligently to fill in my deficiencies and became more comfortable with reading and writing in English. This allowed me to gain confidence in my ability to effectively communicate with my peers and teachers. Impressed with my progress, I continued to enroll in English courses each summer, building on my foundation and sharing my newly acquired skills with my younger sister and parents.

My parents have always been very hard working people, food has always been at the table. I also have a part-time job as an administrative assistant to help pay for my own wants like dance classes and competitions, school supplies, school activities, and volunteer work. I maintain a filing system for invoices, involving tenant work orders, janitorial and sanitary work, data entry, and research. This in the past definitely affected my academic achievements because I didn’t have as many opportunities as others as well as trying to manage my time with all the obligations. Poised to be the first college graduate in the family, it has been difficult at times to bridge where I come from to where I want to be. I would always feel mentally, physically, and emotionally exhausted, but motivated by my future with a degree and successful career, I persevere through my difficult times. These day-to-day situations have also led me into more obstacles, such as time management, trying to handle school, work, extracurriculars, clubs, and maintaining a social life, which have proven to be arduous and negatively impactful on my academics. This has undeniably compelled me into becoming my own independent person, being able to distinguish my wants and needs and then prioritizing the latter. By doing so not only did I develop habits of responsibility and resourcefulness but I also allowed my family to only focus on supporting me financially through monetary constraints. I am so much more than grateful for having parents who have always motivated me to be the best versions of myself, with school, relationships, community, etc. and I’m going to live on in my future continuing that mentality and making them proud. Honestly, I’m also pretty appreciative for the background of where I grew up and the obstacles I’ve encountered, it definitely taught me what the wrong paths can lead you to, adjusting, having a good character always, and to stay humble. What I want you all to gain from this is, if you have a genuine goal in life, doesn’t matter whether it’s short or long term, strive for it. Take those risks, whatever makes you uncomfortable. Change is always scary, but it’s the only way you’ll ever grow as a person and helps build courage for the real world. Take those risks and become the best version of yourself that you’ve always wanted to be. :)