Successful. It’s all I've wanted to be since the beginning of high school. I had always told myself that no matter the obstacle that is thrown in my path, I’d overcome it and become stronger. Little did I know what was in store for me.
Freshman year. No words can fully communicate the amount of sorrow I was going through. Growing up being raised by a single parent wasn’t ever a problem for me until she was almost taken from me. My mother became very ill at the start of high school, which led me to miss an immense amount of school, not at all because I wanted to, but because any day could’ve been the last day I told my mom “I love you.”
Doctors offices and hospitals became like second homes for me to the point of knowing how to navigate through them like it was nothing and I had worked there for years. Nothing about it was easy, especially for a 14 year old. When I did go to school, piles upon piles of work were dropped on me along with the constant interrogations. “Where have you been?” “How's your mom doing?” “Will you be here?” All questions that I despised hearing. Of course I know they meant well by it, but from my viewpoint it felt like those questions were stabbing me in the heart over and over again to the point of being on the brink of crying.
I guess being at school did help a bit. It made me forget for a split second about all the terrible things that were going on at the time. The day would end and I’d rush to a hospital to be right by my mother’s side. Thankfully she got better over time and started to feel herself again. I was showing up to school more often, doing what I needed to do and trying to forget the whole thing all together.
Well that didn’t last long. Sophomore year everything turned upside down again. The one big difference with that year was I learned that the reality of the situation I was put in wasn’t going to change. My choices were to be sad and dwell about what's happening or to face the reality and push myself harder because of it. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to make the right choice until the end of my junior year, when I finally decided to live up to not only my own expectations but also my mom’s. Being a hard worker wasn’t something new for me. I had gotten a job a month after I turned 16 and kept it for more than a year, working almost every day after school and earning not just one but two pay raises because of how much dedication I had put in. With the condition my mom was in, which was getting better off and on, I decided I could do more to lessen her load, so with the money I earned I started paying for everything on my own including the phone bill, car bill and any other needs she'd usually be paying for me.
When senior year came around my choice to use my challenges as motivation and live up to my expectations finally went fully into effect. As bad as it is, it’s not going to change and I know that now. I'm going to constantly be growing and working harder towards my goals every single second, and being ungrateful for what I have now isn’t really something I can afford. I made a deal with my mom that no matter what happens, I'm going to strive for greatness, finish school, and give it 110% for her and myself.
My inspiration for this essay wasn’t really anything too deep until I was done and had my heart poured out without even knowing it. The process was grueling and a bit frustrating because I just wanted to get it done and sent to the colleges I needed it for. In this essay some devices that were used are foreshadowing, commentary, flashbacks and etc. The structure of this essay was written like a timeline, as time went by I changed and adapted throughout the situation. I've never been the type to feel confident about the things I write but after writing this essay I feel like might change.
This story is great. It seems to highlight a lot about the past you and present day you. Its a mix of your life. Which is great it lets others know of your challenges you faced and took down. Either by yourself or with someone.
--Luis Hernandez