Brenda Roza-Personal Narrative Essay

Superior Essays
In the discombobulation of day to day life, all types of people are going to try to knock you down. This hardship was experienced personally by Brenda Roza as she realized that “there may not be that person next to you that's going to speak up for you”. There is no reason for strangers being malicious, to try to knock other people down when they’re not even known to you. Regardless, it is imperative that you are able to defend yourself- just as Brenda Roza did. Having been told throughout her entire life that she couldn’t do certain things, Brenda thought that that being a successful person might be beyond reach to her - impossible. Nevertheless, she defied the odds by attending college and obtaining her degree in hotel and restaurant management. …show more content…
Because her mother was a single woman who worked at minimum wage, she couldn’t support a family. Obviously, this took a great toll on her family. Because their funds were so scarce, they had to go to the grocery store every night because they weren’t able to purchase food for the entire week. Night after night, Brenda would find her mother sitting outside on a rickety, old wooden bench, bawling, screaming at her that they weren’t going to make it, that they were just scraping by. Comforting her mom was a futile attempt, as Brenda had attempted to do it many times before and failed every time. In addition to the issues presented by her mom, Brenda was forced to constantly move around. In just four years she attended four separate high schools in three different states. Brenda had a miniscule amount of time to adjust to her environment, and she was a social pariah. Since the curriculum and pacing of her schools were vastly different in every state she lived in, Brenda always struggled academically. So, it was no surprise that Brenda wasn’t expecting to attend to college. However, one day Brenda was presented with a prodigious opportunity. “My grandmother - Grandma Fisher - offered to pay for college so I could go, and I did not want to be wasteful. It was a wonderful opportunity and I thought ‘that's what I should …show more content…
However, Brenda soon learned that academic predicaments were not the only obstacles she would be forced to face. During college, “ I was in a bad situation. I had a roommate and we just didn't get along and I knew that it wasn't a good environment.” Her roommate “didn't care about school, she wasn't focused on her studies, she wasn't focused on anything to do school”. Brenda couldn’t deal with having substandard living conditions while trying to juggle her academics. The right thing to do was obvious to Brenda. So, she went down to the council office and requested a new roommate. In the proceeding months, Brenda’s situations didn’t seem to improve. That is to say, she kept gaining roommate after roommate, and the majority of them were appalling. All that seemed to matter to them were boys and partying. As a result of her virtue, she got those abhorrent influences out of her life. “You’re responsible for your grades. You’re responsible for your success in your career and you can't let somebody step in and make you

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