Mines: Not Being Successful In Life

What is your biggest fear? In the nonfiction story Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer climbing to the top of Mount Everest is his biggest dream but also their greatest fear. The intense journey of climbing up and ascending down the mountain Krakauer and his climbing companions push through many obstacles including nature, their mind, and fear. Fear is a common theme in Into Thin Air it also occurs in the novel The Alchemist. Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist is an inspiring story about a boy named Santiago. He has a recurring dream about going to the pyramids to find his treasure. He goes on a long journey to follow his dreams and also struggles with the obstacle of fear along the way. Fear becomes a big obstacle for Santiago and Krakauer in reaching

From a very early age, I always assumed it was a part of my future to pursue an education. The American educational system engraves the importance of school at a very young age. Elementary school children are motivated through rewards when they try their hardest to reach their goals. Students are exposed to statistics and facts outlining the consequences of not getting a college degree as soon as they reach middle school. High school counselors and staff make it their priority to ensure that students apply to college. Students are conditioned to believe that education is the building block to a successful future. My cultural upbringing did not support my choice to pursue an education, however, I refused to conform to my family’s behavioral expectations because certain norms must be challenged due to progressive time periods and conflicting values.

Education has always been highly valued by my family but opportunities for academic achievement were not always available to every member of my immediate family. My mother was the first one in her family to go to college and get advanced degrees. My father did not pursue anything further than high school. I keep these circumstances in mind as I further my learning and strive for a better education through hard work. In doing so, I can help pave paths for future generations of students in my family. Opportunities at NCSSM and other outside sources will push me even more to gain as much knowledge as possible; ultimately leading to a higher educational career. Additionally, I have completed a majority of my education with the aid of my mother

Ever since I was a young child, my parents always told me to try my best in school, they always told me this for the reason that they never had the opportunity to have a good job because they never finished school. This event is shaping me to care a lot regarding my education. In addition to that, another event that has shaped me to become the person I am today is that since my parents don’t have good paying jobs they have to work hard to take care of me and my siblings this event has caused me to become a hard working person and to seize all opportunities to live a good life because I don’t want to struggle like my parents.

There I was in my car thinking about my family's past. I remember how my parents couldn't go to school. How I wanted things to change by doing something which my parents didn’t do which was to go to college. Most people can’t determine if college is actually valuable or useless. Colleges are known for being really expensive and many students will need to get tuition. But on the other side college opens chances for students to learn skills to help them in their jobs. College is worth it for some people because it opens up the chance to get more experiences and benefits in their future lives, but for others it may not be worth it since they cannot afford it and may be in debt.

Education has always been an important foundation upon which my family encouraged the most. Not just the education pertaining to structured schooling, but the fundamentals in life that require you to interact in society and be a part of something bigger than yourself. They demonstrated how to commit to values such as responsibility, motivation, and consistency; and, how to be open-minded and passionate about the things you believe in. These things all required a sacrifice in various ways. They always stress how “sometimes you need to give up something to get ahead, or how sometimes sacrificing the familiar and what you expect from yourself to get the results that you are seeking in the long run.”

I come from a small town and a family who hasn’t always had luxurious things but has never went without the things we must have. For that I will forever be grateful. Watching my father and mother struggle to provide for my sisters and I strongly motivated me to want to earn a higher education. I hope to have a career that I both enjoy and that allows me to provide many things for myself and future family. I know that because of my family’s financial stability this will not because easy.

They say that there is nothing to fear but fear itself, yet I tend to disagree. Our world is packed full of things to be afraid of. As a child, we are afraid of the dark or monsters hiding underneath our beds; but, as we grow with wisdom and age, those fears become bigger and more worldly. We fear things like terrorism or illness. The fear that consumes me most is that my best might never be enough.

Education is very important to my parents and it is not just a means of obtaining a good job in the future, but it serves as a way to get respect and social standing in a world that is so heavily focused on societal and class statuses. Being the first generation to have gone onto higher education, the pressures, put on by my family, can sometimes be overwhelming. In fact, at times I think my parents are more excited and ready for me to graduate than I am, which can be quite comical.

I share this story simply because it is my background that has given me the life I live today. My parents’ lack in further education has motivated me to be the first in my family. Seeing my family struggle has pushed me to succeed in every task I attempt and to never back down when life throws me a curveball. Watching my father age has inspired me to reach for every dream I feel is impossible and to live to my absolute fullest potential. My education, in turn, has become the main priority in my life. Realizing that after years of struggle, my family is finally happy and blessed with the gift of life, has shown me that life was not meant to be

To begin, in the third grade my parents got a divorce and everything I knew was torn into two. I understand this divorce was a decade ago, but I never understood the rippling effect of it. We kids had to commute back and forth between two parents who were barely keeping their heads above water financially. I was a little person who had to deal with multiple occasions in a house with no heat, no power, and no source of food. Times were tough, but my internal drive to become something, trumped everything else. As a result of my parents’ finances, college funds were never a possibility. This impossibility hit home for me, which allowed a little third grader to fight tooth and nail for a simple honor roll or distinguish honor roll in hopes of becoming something one day. As the years went on I kept this status because I wanted to make myself proud, but most of all, I wanted to make my mother proud. For my mom, colleges was never an option, she had too many setbacks to even make it through high

My immediate family has been constantly isolated by my father’s extended family. My mother’s family currently lives in Mexico, so I don't hear much from them either. My father’s family has never had faith in my siblings and me graduating high school and pursuing higher education. They have constantly criticized my siblings and me saying that we would be high school dropouts. I know I should not let this get to me, but sometimes it becomes difficult knowing that my own blood does not believe in my potential. However, I have grown indifferent to their cynicism and know that I can achieve anything I set my heart and mind to. I think of this everyday, and I push myself into setting and completing my goals. This has helped me academically because I have turned this challenge into self-motivation. This has helped me see that you do not have to be the way someone defines you. I know that I am completely capable of proving my family wrong and I will continue to fight for what I

I am one of three children in my family,I have two younger brothers , one of them who is fifteen and another other one is twelve . I live with both of my parents who didn’t have the opportunity to get very far in their education. At the ages of 14 they had to leave home to work in an unknown city to help support their other parents and other nine or ten siblings. Thankfully the path has been different for me and my brothers who have had the opportunity to get the best education possible. and i will proudly be the first High School Graduate in both sides of my families .

This caused me to look outside the family for acceptance, bringing me both happiness and misery. As a child, school became the place where I felt I was able to achieve and I would strive to do my best for the inner satisfaction it provided, and for the attention I was able to receive from my teachers. Knowing that my mother would not care whether my grades were good or not, I never felt I was reaching my academic goals for her sake, but for an unattainable goal that would make me feel accomplished. This result never came, and my early adulthood was spent consuming drugs and living a solitary existence.

My biggest fear in life is failure. I always try to prove myself to others and make sure that I can get the task done on the first try. In life, there will always be mistakes made and that is where I am still learning. The fear of upsetting someone because of my own optimal performance can be a positive objective to overcome. Once I overcome that fear I have more choices to do what I want instead of what others want me to do.