This is Your Chance by Erin

This is Your Chance by Erin - April 2016 Scholarship Essay

When I first entered college, I took it as my opportunity to break free from my parents, move out of their house, and finally be on my own. I took advantage of finally being an "adult" and did what I wanted. I stayed out late, I partied, and as a result, my schooling suffered. I was in my sophomore year of college when I got kicked out due to my poor grades. Even then, I didn't take it too seriously. Even after my parents cut me off, stopped paying my rent, stopped paying for my phone bill, it didn't change my behavior. I just used the mandatory year off to run even wilder, because now it meant the only thing I had to be responsible for was my job, which didn't pay me enough to support my partying, so I ended up getting two more. After my year off had passed, I went back and enrolled in classes. I vowed that I would do well this time, because I didn't want to be working three jobs just to support myself any longer than I had to. The same week I finalized my classes and financial aid for my upcoming semester, I found out I was pregnant. Problem was, I wasn't with the father. I wasn't even speaking with him. The scariest part of my entire situation was that now I was no longer only responsible for myself, but for another human life: a human life I created. This precious baby motivated me to get my act together. I religiously attended class and studied until my eyes felt like paper. I devoted myself to my schoolwork like never before, knowing that if I didn't, I'd regret it for the rest of my life. Once my son was born, it was the happiest day of my life. I knew that no matter what, life would be perfect so long as I had him. I took even more time off of school to focus on being a mother. By this time, I was 23 years old, and my friends and classmates had all graduated. Even the students a couple years behind me were graduating or extremely close. There I was, working another dead-end job, moved back in with my parents, just trying to make it by. It wasn't until I met, moved in with, and married my husband that I really started to feel the itch of going back to school. The straw that broke the camel's back was when I lost my job working at a local trash company, which clearly wasn't my dream job, but it paid the bills. I applied for, interviewed, and landed a position at a local high school as a para-educator, and they placed me in all my favorite classes: English classes. Sitting in those classes lit the fire in me to finally finish what I set out to do: get my degree. Now, I'm working toward my bachelor's degree in Secondary English Education at Ottawa University, and I'm happy to report I've received all A's so far.
My story has a happy ending, luckily. But if I had just focused on the first go-around, it wouldn't have been so incredibly difficult for me to get where I am. The difficulty has no doubt taught me to appreciate the gift of education, but if I can be a cautionary tale to other students who are much more focused on living that "college life" as opposed to doing the work necessary, I'm happy to do so. My best advice I could give younger students is that this is your chance. This is your chance to do something great. This is your chance to study your butt off, to develop yourself into this amazing, well-rounded person. Take your chance to put in the work that is necessary when you have the best and easiest chance to do it. By no means will it be "easy", but it will definitely be a million times more difficult if you keep road-blocking yourself. The partying may be fun in the moment, but think more about your future, and less about your night. Be someone that the younger generation looks up to. Be someone that your future children will be proud of. Be someone that you will be proud of. This is your chance, so take it.