Growing up, I was faced with many adversities, just like a lot of students in California school systems. I was a female, Mexican-born immigrant, growing up in Oakland in a pretty rough neighborhood. In high school I demonstrated grit by applying myself and fighting the urge to quit and finally graduating, while the curriculum helped me, there was still many other burdens in my life apart from education. In community college, when I first began, the “Student fear factor” definitely applied to me because I did not know what college was even about. I was so used to just being in high school where most people did not care if you made it to college, and my family was so busy with work and trying to keep up with rent and bills, that they had no time
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The “fear factor” is that “Regardless of age, Ethnicity, academic background, educational goals, or the path to college, students reveal a tremendous anxiety about their educational trajectories and ability to succeed in college” (20-21), this definitely applies to me. I have been successful in college for the past three semesters, but it was not always this way, I started fresh out of high school with my path to college, I failed many times. First, because I did not know what I was getting myself into and went to college only to have more time with my friends, then I was so freaked out the second time I attempted college that I dropped out before the middle of the semester. The second time I attempted college, I was pregnant, I was three semesters into art school, something that I loved, but then about two months after I had my son, I went through a horrible break-up that later ended being a divorce, things got complicated and I just quit school again. I tried many times to go to college, it was hard and I didn’t understand some things, when I didn 't know what I wanted to major in I became flustered, it was very hard for me to stay motivated. I finally made the decision to power through and try for the last time, because if I wasn’t going to make it, this time, there would be no more chances. Now, being in school has been a big challenge for me, but definitely something that plans
The “fear factor” is that “Regardless of age, Ethnicity, academic background, educational goals, or the path to college, students reveal a tremendous anxiety about their educational trajectories and ability to succeed in college” (20-21), this definitely applies to me. I have been successful in college for the past three semesters, but it was not always this way, I started fresh out of high school with my path to college, I failed many times. First, because I did not know what I was getting myself into and went to college only to have more time with my friends, then I was so freaked out the second time I attempted college that I dropped out before the middle of the semester. The second time I attempted college, I was pregnant, I was three semesters into art school, something that I loved, but then about two months after I had my son, I went through a horrible break-up that later ended being a divorce, things got complicated and I just quit school again. I tried many times to go to college, it was hard and I didn’t understand some things, when I didn 't know what I wanted to major in I became flustered, it was very hard for me to stay motivated. I finally made the decision to power through and try for the last time, because if I wasn’t going to make it, this time, there would be no more chances. Now, being in school has been a big challenge for me, but definitely something that plans