As the daughter of a single mother, I grew up knowing what hard work looked like. As a woman who had little formal education, my mom worked tirelessly to provide for her children and she worked twice as hard as anyone else I encountered.
My mom also taught me about the importance of dreams. She always added, however, “Having dreams is one very important thing. But making them come true is another…and it’s even more important.”
My dreams were fickle over the years – become an astronaut, be the first woman president, pass all my geometry tests – but the one consistent dream that never died was my desire to get a college education. I wanted to go to Harvard, Princeton, Kansas State University…it didn’t matter really, as long as it wasn’t located in my hometown of Daytona Beach, Florida. I'm curious, I wanted to explore. I began building my “castle in the air.”
I went to work building the foundation under it. Studying, working, planning. The cornerstone of my foundation came when I attended a Youth Leadership Conference in Washington, DC in 2007. I looked out the window at the endless stream of famous landmarks, and I knew. I found the perfect location for my dream.
Fast forward three years, and I made my dream come true! I enrolled as an undergraduate student at The Catholic University of America in DC, 800 miles away from home. I made it! Over the years, I developed new dreams & castles, built more foundations, and in May 2013, I graduated with a bachelor’s degree – the first person in my family to do so.
…but now what? It’s time for a new dream! I have a passion for education, advocacy, and working with children, and I know I want to pursue the questions that exist at the crossroads of education, curriculum-building, policy, and child welfare. “But dreams are one thing. Making them come true is another.” I’m gaining the foundations I need to make this dream come true as a Master of Business Analysis student at CUA, and as I make this journey, I’m excited to see how I reach this new “castle in the air.”
Jess, this was a great post! I didn't know that much of your back story but it's pretty inspiring to say the least. I also loved the quote, "dreams are one thing. Making them come true is another." Definitely using that for this year!
ReplyDeleteJess, I understand how working through these struggles can prove motivational. My parents were divorced when I was 5, leaving my grandparents to take responsibility for my sister and I. My mother has borderline personality disorder and is a drug addict, naturally she is out of the picture. I'm grateful for the broken family because it allowed my sister and I to bond as we took care of each other growing up. I graduated high school with a 4.7 despite the hardships and went off to Duquesne University in Pittsburgh. I was devastated spring semester of my freshman year when I found out that my grandmother who had practically been my mother was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer. She had never been a smoker, so I began paperwork to transfer back home to Washington in order to be a caregiver to her. After being accepted to Georgetown and Catholic, I decided on CUA because it would be closer to my home in P.G. County. I intended to commute back and forth taking her to chemotherapy. One month after I got back home I found her dead in the bedroom where she used to read me bedtime stories and paint my toenails as a child. Life came full circle, she took care of me as a toddler, and at 17 I was taking care of her. That summer before sophomore year at CUA was extremely difficult, and the hardest time in my life. I now had no mother figure, and was commuting to class, taking 18 credits, working 32 hours a week, and being the homemaker for my ill grandfather and younger sister. All of these hardships have made me stronger, and I no longer limit myself because I know anything is possible.
ReplyDeleteJessica, I enjoyed reading your post, and I also share the idea that having those big dreams will keep you in trying to do more and the desire of doing until you achieve it. I have once heard that "if people have no dreams they have no plans" So let's keep those dreams up and let's work on making it happen.
ReplyDeleteWow, the first person in your family to graduate with a bachelor's degree! Jess, you're incredible!! And you've done it all with such passion and personality! I'm so inspired by your story, and I can only imagine how proud your mom is of her daughter's accomplishments!
ReplyDelete-Julie