“I believe the children are our future; teach them well and let them lead the way. Show them all the beauty they possess inside.” These are the words of the well-known singer, Whitney Houston. They are words that I truly intend to live by. My greatest reason for wanting to further my education is to be able to teach and help the children.
See, I come from a small community in Mississippi called Fitler. Many people have not even heard of it. In this community there is nothing positive to motivate or encourage the children to get involved in meaningful goals. One would think that there wouldn’t be any problems in a community of roughly 200 people, which is only growing because of teenage pregnancies. I heard a woman from the state’s capital make the statement that “the people in this area are either overweight, Christians, or pregnant because all they have to do is eat, go to church, and have sex.” As harsh as that sounds, I agree. They are in the middle of nowhere surrounded by nothing. These children have to ride the bus for one and one-half-hours just to get to school.
I believe that if there were more activities, organizations, encouragement, and motivation, and if they had someone to teach them the importance of an education and the values of life, many of their problems would cease. Therefore, with my education, I will enrich the lives of these children. First, I will start a 4-H Club. I will also organize a Big Brother and Big Sister Youth Group, build playgrounds, and start little league athletic departments. I will build a Youth Center with a library, video arcade, and skating rink. The center will also offer classes in Biblical education, computer education, and tutoring for all grade levels. I will hire advisors to come in biweekly for ACT Preparation courses and courses on Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. There will be two guidance counselors available at all times and I will provide a way for the older children to earn money. I even have plans for building a school in closer proximity to the students.
I’m constantly realizing that everyone is not as blessed as I am.
My Definition of Success
Everyone has his or her own definition of success. I personally feel that success is the self satisfaction of achieving the goals we have set in our lives. In order to accomplish these goals, the individual struggles very hard and makes many sacrifices along the way. I am fortunate to have two people in my family whom I consider are perfect examples of success. The first person is my aunt. Her name is Dr. Julia Garcia. She’s the person that I admire the most. She comes from a hardworking middle class family. Twenty-four years ago, when she graduated from high school skilled as a bi-lingual secretary, she started to work in an office at the age of 16. Every month, when it was pay day, she gave half of her paycheck to her mother. This way she would help with the household expenses. The other half she would save to pay her future college education. She would never spend her money on clothes, jewelry, movie tickets or any other recreation. She was always thinking about the future, and knew that these sacrifices would be rewarded someday. When she was 18, she entered college and majored in Accounting and Business. She was given the award of “Most Brilliant Graduate” and the university offered her to work for them as an Accounting professor. She accepted. In three years she made enough money to buy her parents a beautiful house and get her first car. A few years later, she thought her life was getting boring, so she decided to go back to school and find her real vocation. She went to dental school and majored in orthodontia. Now she owns her own dental clinic, works for a big hospital as a dental surgeon, and she still is a college professor. All this in her country, Ecuador. Another successful member of my family is my beloved maternal grandmother. She was raised on a farm along with two sisters and a brother. They always had to help their parents with the farm chores. In 1917, when my grandmother was six years old, she was able to attend school, but only two years. Her father died and she had to drop out of school to help her mother and older brother with the hard task of holding up the farm. She couldn’t go to school, but her thirst for knowledge was so great that she borrowed books from libraries and she educated herself without anybody’s help.