Road To College

The road I took to get to college has been a long one. I have explored many side roads, most of which were of my own doing taken by a rebellious, hardheaded child. Every road has come with a lesson even the ones that I could not see until I matured, as well as an array of hardships and predictions of failure and impossibilities as I grew up.

I was just a child with a mind of my own. I am not sure how I got that way, but all I know is that I was a difficult child to raise. Since before I was born my parents have always envisioned me getting the best education possible, they have always wanted me to be better then them, to achieve more, that is why my parents entered me in the lottery at West lab, one of the best elementary schools in Miami. Here I encountered a series of negative predictions about my future.

I remember in preschool my mother bought me some polychromatic colored panties, with Minnie Mouse on them. I was so eager about my new underwear, I had to show them. This did not go very well with the school teacher. I informed them that all I wanted to do was to show my friends my new underwear. This behavior caused the school to call my parents where they told my mother that, not only was my behavior unacceptable but that they also believed that I would amount to nothing and that I had no future or chance of gaining an education. My teacher's statements embedded the need to prove them wrong, the need to succeed.

Because of my actions and behavior, people looked at me like some eerie figure that they did not want to be around. I did not know what the big deal was, but that was me, I would change the world to fit me, not me to fit the world.

The road to education has been a narrow cow trail winding through various pits. My high school years well let me put it this way; I do not want to go back. As a student I've never been a good test taker, which is why I had such difficulty passing the reading portion of the FCAT. The FCAT is a test given annually to all students in Florida, grades 3 through 10. The test measures student achievement in reading, writing, mathematics, and science.

After failing the test the first time, I was overcome with a sense of failure. After failing the test the 4th time, I knew I was in subversive need of help. I only had one more chance to take the test in order to walk across that stage with my class on May 25, 2006. My mother enrolled me in a tutoring program called Sylvan. This program helped students with learning disabilities, who are failing, behind in their classes, or offering enrichment programs for students looking to get ahead in school. After an assessment