My Journey Of Education

My life began on the east side of Oklahoma City, off of 25th St. and Martin Luther King Blvd. I grew up in a one story house with my mother, my older brother and sister, my grandfather and grandmother, and on some occasions, my uncle would come stay with us as well. The house belonged to my grandparents, which coincidentally was the home that my mother and uncle also grew up in. It only contained three bedroom with two of them belonging to my grandparent who slept separately. Early on I shared a room with my mother and my older siblings. As I grew older, I frequently made the living room my new bedroom. The environment that I grew up in was considered by most, a rough environment. The first obstacle that I had to face in life was trying to …show more content…
I struggled in reading and mathematics to such a degree that I was believed to have a learning deficiency and was placed on an IEP (Individualized Educational Plan). This meant that when the class studied certain subjects, for instance, mathematics, I was sent to an alternative classroom. Although later on I refused to utilize the assistance that is given through the program because I felt myself capable of competing academically with my peers, at the time of placement, I didn’t understand my plight until near the end of my elementary journey. It was my fourth grade teacher, Ms. Sutton, who brought to my realization that the school believed I had a learning disability. I didn’t want to be perceived as being different from my other classmates, so I worked to be taken out of my alternative class. By my fifth grade year, my efforts were successful and I was able to stay in my regular class setting. However, I struggled with reading and found myself the subject of ridicule by my peers for my lack of literacy. I remember times when the class had to read out loud from our textbooks, I would pretend I had fallen asleep so I wouldn’t be called on to …show more content…
My first year and a half, I had made dean’s honor roll, joined two national honor societies (Alpha Lambda Delta and National Society of Collegiate Scholars), and became a teacher’s assistant for a gateway and Strategies for success courses. The greatest test that I had ever been given in my adulthood, came during the second semester of my sophomore year when I became a father for the first time. I, myself, was never blessed with the privilege of knowing my own father. Growing up, the majority of my friends didn’t have their fathers in their lives, thus, I never understood the importance or benefits of having one. Nevertheless, as I progressed towards maturation and adulthood, I understood the feelings of having to face life’s trials and tribulations without having a guiding hand. It is unbecoming of a male to believe himself a man with reckless regard to his responsibilities. I want to not only be a great father to my son, I want to exemplify all of the positive characteristics of manhood. Granted, up to the time before becoming a father, I had obtained great success in my college academia. Yet, the stressors of balancing my newly established responsibilities as a father, being a full time student, and working was enough to derail me from my previous successes. That semester ended with me receiving a failing grade in one of my courses and attain below 2.0 grade point