Grow Up by kinza

Grow Up by kinza - June 2017 Scholarship Essay

“What do you want to be when you grow up?” my teacher asked as the prompt of our daily journal. The first thing to come into my 6-year-old mind was I wanted to be just like my mother, a housewife. And like my mother I wanted to have six kids. The farthest education my mother has was an 8th grade education and she excelled, so simply by graduating from high school I would be overqualified. That was the plan.

“What do you want to be when you grow up, a doctor!” probed a fellow peer. Not a question an assumption. After all I am of Pakistani descent and stereotypes suggest that I enter the medical field. I laughed at the idea, not because I was offended but because I had no idea what a doctor did. I had seen doctors on T.V and the last time I visited the doctor was to receive my immunization shot because without it I couldn’t go to school. My low income family steered clear of doctor visits and consequently my knowledge for the health field was limited.

“What do you want to be when you grow up?” asked my family. “I plan on becoming a dental assistant technician,” I responded confidently. Two of my older sisters had done exactly that, so they would guide me through the process, I thought. College was hard to get in, it was expensive, and superfluous. Education was merely a hobby; I viewed it as something I was good at however I wanted to start my life and education would delay that.

“What do you want to be when you grow up?” questioned my mentor, Mr. Muniz. He pressed on me the importance of attending a university based on my merits, I brushed it off due to perceiving it as unattainable. He was by my side on the days I cried because it seemed almost impossible. I felt foolish trying to achieve something I didn’t feel prepared for. Being accepted into college was both my biggest dream and my worst nightmare. I vividly remember the day I got accepted into the University of North Texas (on a full ride via the Emerald Eagle Scholar Program) I broke down as I told my mentor of the news. And now I stand as the first person in my family of six to graduate from college.

“What do you want to be when you grow up?” I contemplate today. I want to be a Pediatric Occupational Therapist, specifically in the field of Assistive Technology Therapy. I aim to complete graduate school and take my certification exam. I want to get my PhD in Occupational Therapy from Texas Woman’s University and continue on with research in my field. I want to inspire my future kids, nieces, and nephews to obtain a higher education. I hope for them to grow up in a family that views education as a basic human right, not as a luxury.