Advice

This is an essay I wrote once:

Growing up in a small, extremely rural, low income area, people in the community usually do not have high expectations for their young new high school graduates. My parents, on the other hand, encouraged my sisters and me to do our best in school so that one day we could succeed. We were always told that there was no other option than to go to college or continue our education in some way. I remember my mother always saying that I could be anything I wanted to be if I tried hard enough. “You can sleep when you’re dead,” is something I recall being said once.

There are not many opportunities for young adults living in the little town I grew up in. Jobs are scarce, income is low, and there are not many ways to succeed in any career. I remember at one point in High School when I was feeling quite defeated. My parents had told me that college was the only way for me to make it in the world. How was I supposed to go to college? How would I afford it? What would I major in? There were too many questions that needed to be answered. It took a few months for me to realize that college was my best option, as my parents had told me. I would go to college, find something I was interested in, and head into it full force.

I came to college with an open mind and open eyes. There was such a variety of majors to choose from, so many interesting paths. The first semester I was at college, I decided to take a Career Exploration class. One of the requirements for the course was to go to the annual Majors Fair, an exhibit of most of the majors offered on campus. Declaring a major was difficult for me because of my lack of knowledge of choices that I had, so I figured that this would be exciting. Little did I know, I would find my passion and calling at this Majors Fair.

Walking in, there were tables upon tables of fascinating careers and majors. Right in the front was the Speech-Language Pathology, Audiology, and Deaf Education table. I picked up a few brochures and read them, but decided I would check out the other tables. Wandering around the displays, my mind kept coming back to the table out front. In a matter of about 10 minutes after talking to the professors, I had made up my mind. My goal from there on out was to become a Speech-Language Pathologist. I knew it would be a lot of work and take a lot of time, but I was determined. I am determined.

Every time I think that life is challenging and classes and obligations are demanding, I push through it because I know that if I try my best and do what needs to be done, I will make it. I hear my mother’s voice in the back of my head every once in awhile telling me, “Just try hard and you will succeed.”

This little bit of advice has really led me to where I am, which I feel is a long way. If I had never been encouraged to work hard and go to college, I may have never found my passion and become who I am today. Hearing that voice in my head every now and then makes my life a bit easier. I’m a small town girl with big dreams. And like Napoleon Hill said, “What ever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve.”