What Motivates Me..
Everyone comes to college seeking that higher education that our parents and teachers tell us we need. Right? But really motivates a person to get out there and actually do it? For some it’s money. For some it’s a passion to be involved in something greater. For some, it just that thing you do after you graduate high school. For me it was my family. Not just the parental pushing me to be better, achieve greater, but also, my siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, you name it. Family is the root of everything. At least that’s what my life experiences revealed to me.
Ever since pre-k, my mother and father have pushed for my three siblings and me to live a better life than they had. The golden ticket to a good, happy, comfortable life is higher education. That is the ONE thing my parents always tried to imprint in our brains. Never were we to relive what they had done. My parents dropped out of community college and got married; the biggest mistake of their lives. Not long after, they were bogged down with four little ones of their own. Cramped in a two bedroom apartment, barely making ends meet they did not know how they would ever be able to make it on their own two feet.
My father had many issues, which left him unable to provide for his family at the time. Though he was an accountant, my mother- a hair stylist, times were always difficult in the Carter home. I don’t believe we ever stayed in one home for me than a couple of years. His issues were the reason we were in and out of my grandparent’s house. My parents take the blame for the life we lived. If only they had stayed school, was a common statement that came out of their mouths. I could see the shame, embarrassment, regret, and defeat in their faces at times. It broke my heart, especially to see my mother in that state. She is a marvelous woman who deserved nothing but the best. My heart ached for her.
My life has never been easy. But I appreciate everything I’ve learned from those rough patches. My motivation for being here, is my family and to have a better life. Plain and simple. So many people, including myself at times, take for granted the advantage we have here- being college students. I know there are many who are smarter, stronger, more driven than myself who probably deserve to be here more than I do, but will never get that chance. I thank God for this blessing even though at times this journey is rough. I also know I have to set an example for my two younger siblings. My older sister dropped out of college, and she was “the smart one”. It was so unexpected; no one saw that one coming. And now, there’s me. My parents split up my freshman year here, and the past couple of years have been pretty traumatic for them. They have become very discouraged about life and all of its possibilities it has to offer therm. I need to show them that they are not worthless, and are more than capable of achieving anything they aspire to have. My younger brother and sister are my biggest motivation by far. In an odd way, they have inspired me to be better. When I get discouraged they are who I think about to get myself back on track. My family is the root of everything to me.