Growing Up Research Paper

You don’t get to choose where you grow up, but you do decide if you’ll stay there the rest of your life. Growing up I feel I saw things that I shouldn’t of ever seen for my age. The neighborhood I lived in had a lot of violence, and the cops would show up at least once a week so that nothing too major would happen. Crimes were always committed on my street, and the only time I was away from it would be when I went to school. After school I would go to the salvation army with my sister, and wait until my mom would get off work. We never knew when we would get home. Sometimes it would be until 5, and other days we would stay until 7. I met many new people which taught me a lot about working with others. Some days were good, and others were not

I am a first-generation college student. My parents never got passed high school. They were both faced with hardship and had no choice but to get a job to deal with the responsibilities of home. My dad left India at the age of 16 to build a better life for himself and my mom in America. In my household, education has always been a priority. Since my parents have felt firsthand how life is like without a degree, they made it their mission to ingrain in us a value for education like no other. However, there have been many situations in which I have found myself lost and looking for answers about college. Sadly, by being a first-generation student, my parents could not help me. Not only could they not help me, but being the first to attend college

My Dad didn't go to college. He worked long hard hours at southwire and traveling. As I was growing up he told me to keep working harder, and not to give up in life and just work for things. He wants me to go to college or the Air Force that way. I have a better job and I don't want to start my life off struggling. Instead of struggling he wants me doing good. College is not worth the cost, because some people can not afford it. With college being expensive a lot of college kids having to work and study and go to class some kids just can't handle it.

As people grow older, their perspectives can change based on several different aspects. Family, friends, and experience are all factors that can change the perspectives of a person. One perspective that can change quite often is politics. As people grasp new thoughts and ideas their perspectives can alter. People may not recognize it but everything they learn can go into the way they view their oncoming perspectives. Coming-of-age involves recognizing different perspectives.

When you hear someone say “coming of age” you think of new responsibilities and expectations, that come with milestones of a certain age group. There are different ages that have different expectations, becoming a teenager, society expects that you accept more responsibility and that you are able to care for yourself in most situations. The ideals that society creates and expects us to follow often increase in responsibility as we grow older.

Growing up in Theresa was an experience that will live with me until the day I die. Theresa is a town with a population of roughly 2,000 people and it is very rural. Theresa is a blue collar community where everyone works hard and everyone plays hard. I saw this 24/7 at home. It was a small town. Everyone knew what was going on with everything in the town. The town of Theresa was basically one giant family. I went to school their from Kindergarten through 4th grade. The school was three blocks from my house and I would walk to school and back every single day. I usually had people who would walk with me. Some of those people I am still friends with to this very day. This was were I got my very first taste of school and first taste of friendship. One friend that I have made in Theresa is standing up in my wedding in July. Growing up their was a blessing for so many reasons. Probably for reasons I may realize later in life.

To come of age is to arise to a level where one can propose or make decisions without the need of someone else of mature status. It may come earlier to some than others, it might come later than average, but it all depends on what factor you base coming of age to be on.

Growing up, I was raised in multiple different environments. From the beaches of Florida to the mountains and high elevation of Missouri and to the hot plains of Texas. I have moved a total of 7 times and gone to 6 different schools. That's insane and I have been able to meet some amazing people!

A quote often used by the older adults and said to the younger adults,“When you become a teenager, you step onto a bridge. You may already be on it. The opposite shore is adulthood. Childhood lies behind. The bridge is made of wood. As you cross, it burns behind you” (Gail Carson Levine, Writing Magic: Creating Stories that Fly). A person is an adult and no longer a child when he or she is responsible for their actions. Even when they are responsible are they truly mucher? There is no telling whether a person is an adult at 18 or 21, it's no one's chose but your brains.

In 1986 my mother divorced my father and moved my brother and I from a small town in Pennsylvania to a small town in New Jersey. My mother chose this particular town because of its close proximity to family members. The house my mother grew up in and that my grandmother still lived in was two houses away from our new house. Also, my aunt and uncle lived about three houses away. With her new life as a single mother with two kids the convenience of it all was too hard for her to pass up.

Encouraged by my English teacher, one of the few teachers to ever talk to me about furthering my education, I decided to apply to college during the fall of my senior year. I was reluctant to apply at first because I was never able to envision myself being able to pursue a college education, as a high school diploma was the highest educational level any of my family members ever obtained. Throughout my entire life and time in school, I had never received any guidance on pursuing higher education. In fact, I was completely unaware of the steps I needed to take to further my education. Both my parents dropped out of school before the sixth grade, thus they could not provide any

In addition, my parents were not in my life I had to wait to get enough financial aid to help pay for school because I was considered a dependent. This meant I needed my father and his wife tax return form, which I ended up not getting a hold off. However, this setback does not stop me from wanting higher education to better myself in life. From the last five years, I had to rent rooms and work in minimum wage jobs to be able to support myself the best way I can. A college degree would not only help me build a career that I can become

In the picture if you look quickly you would assume my sister was older, but in fact she is actually only 13. I have noticed for the past few years the 13 year olds of today don’t look like the 13 year olds when I was 13. They actually tend to look a lot older and near their 20’s. That’s because millennials of today try to look and act older. They think it’s cool to wear all the older looking outfits, do their hair everyday, and wear tons and tons of makeup.

They always encourage me that if i want to succeed i will have to strive for that diploma. I know i have had a stage in my life where i felt that going to a University after high school was a waste of time and a waste of money. But to see how bad my parents wished they had that opportunity made me realize i can not take this for granted. My dad always says jokingly “ I could always learn what you learn on youtube,” Which i always find funny , gives me an insight of him still having that dream of going to school. I understand many choose not to attend college because it is not for them, like my siblings my two oldest siblings both aged twenty- four, and twenty-five, both tried the whole college experience but did not choose to continue because it was not for them. Making me first generation college students. Of course this journey i have experienced has not been that easy. I know that when i was in highschool i did not value education as much as i do to this point. I was young a felt that just taking the easy way out. When i started seeing my grades slip, was the moment i realized everything my parents encouraged me to do i was doing the opposite. Until i got older i started realizing how important education is . I did experience some personal hardships and challenges where i felt i could not continue, but had my parents reminding me Hard work comes to those who really want it and are willing

Both of my parents did not go to college. It was sometimes hard to find my college path and finding my way through High School without a guide. Thankfully I joined Upward Bound which is a college program at CSU. It was the asset through high school that helped prepare me for college. Upward Bound helped me become more comfortable with college life and showed me what I need to be successful through my entire college experience. Upward Bound helped up meet with people on campus who would help us transition from high school to college better. If you look around there are many different programs that help you prepare for college. Find one and make the most out of it because it will only benefit in the future.