Being the only person in the family to go to college is the greatest thing. Education is very important to me. However being the only one in the family to continue my education is very hard. Most of my family members have their opinions about me being very successful one day, while others think I should quit because it is a waste a time. My moment of triumph came when I discovered that I’m finally doing what I love to do. I am learning to become the best software developer I can be. After graduating high school in May of 2008, I was ready to face the real world.
Everything I had to do for college was done. When the semester started in August, I was a little scared because it was a different platform than high school. As soon as I got the hang of it, I was having fun and ready to start to the semester. Three months had passed and it was Thanksgiving. All of my family members and I were sitting at the dinner table of my grandma’s house. Everyone at the table had to say what they were thankful for that year. When it was my turn, I said that I was thankful for being a college student and learning knowledge.
When I said that, all the opinions came flying out. For example, my cousins told me to quit because they did not go to college and they are doing good. However my mother and grandmother told me to continue my education because it is hard to get a job in this market without a degree. As time went on, what my cousins told me really stuck to me. I thought I could be successful without the degree. So I dropped out my second semester and I got a job. That was the biggest mistake of my life.
For four years I was miserable because I was going to a job that I hated and I was not doing what I wanted to do. I forgot my goals and desires and focused on what other people wanted me to do. For those four years, I listened to a whole lot of people, mainly my family members, and let them bring me down the wrong path. I had the dream to be a computer programmer, but in reality I was an overnight stocker for Wal-Mart. I got so comfortable playing that role that I lost myself in the process. Being out of school and having a job that I hated was not the way I wanted my life to be.
I thought this was it for me and I could not do anything else. Then one day the best thing happened to me. I was at home and I was getting ready for work. I got an emergency phone call from my aunt. It really was not an emergency. She just made it seem that way on the phone. She called because one of her friends had a computer problem and she asked me to take a look at it. I went to her house after work and I fixed her computer. She was so grateful she referred me to a whole lot of people with computer problems.
I was doing this for three months and that’s when I realized that I love working with computers. So, I decided to quit my job and go back to school. In February of 2013, I enrolled at the ITT Technical Institute. Shortly after, I was hired as an IT help desk support representative for the Louisiana Department of Education. I finally realized that I am doing what I love to do. I’m not listening to everyone around me who wants to do what they want to do. At the end of the day, I have to do what is right for me and my future.
Being the only member in your family to go to college is not a bad thing. It is one of the greatest experiences in life. It can also be tough when you have family members who do not have the same goals and desires. They have their own beliefs, while you have yours. Once you set your goals and desires on something, do not lose them. Keep them in mind whenever you have an obstacle or problem. At the end of the day, it is your life and you have the decision to do what you want to do or be torn down by someone else’s beliefs.
