Family's a Job, Right? by Vanessa

Family's a Job, Right? by Vanessa - June 2017 Scholarship Essay

As a six year old I hardly knew what I wanted to be when I grew up. I understood that being an adult was full of responsibilities and difficulties which is why I once promised my mom that I would never grow up. However, when I did think about what I wanted as an adult, I only thought of two things, and that was being a wife and mother.
I grew up learning that having a family was not only important, but it could bring you more happiness in life than anything else. I decided that the perfect age to marry was twenty-one, maybe twenty-two and that I would have at least three children. Now I am twenty-two, but things haven’t gone as I had originally planned.
While I still love the idea of having a family and hope to have one sooner rather than later, I have learned a few things about life and about school. The main thing I learned was that you can’t support a family without having a job, and the best way to get a good job is to first get an education.
I then started looking for the perfect family job and I think I have found it. I wanted to be a stay-at-home mother but have the capability to support my family alone if I ever needed to. After some research, I found that dental hygiene would be a perfect fit. It has flexible hours and good pay so I could work once a week or while my kids are at school. However, if I needed to support my family on my own, I could make enough money to live comfortably while working four or five days and still have plenty of time for my family.
I have worked hard to do well in school and stay out of debt, and I know I’ll only have to work harder in the future, but I’m confident it will all be worth it.