Story of My Life

Abad, Glory
10 May 2010
Final Exam

Story of My Life

Being a parent, our hope and dreams for our future lies in the hands of our children. We look at them and hope that we can teach them all of the proper morals and values. Sometimes, things don’t turn out how we want it to, but what matters in the end is the happiness of our loved ones. [THESIS] The many life experience that I went through turned me into a young woman with a strong head who knows what I want out of life for myself and my loved ones. [THESIS]

When I was a senior in high school, I got pregnant and was forced by my parents to get married. A few months after I gave birth, my father passed away. A year after, my husband cheated on me and got another girl pregnant. We were supposed to get a divorce, but ended up working on our marriage. The girl gave birth, and a few months later, I gave birth to my second daughter.

I was only working at a place where it was paying only the minimum wage. Living with my in-law’s family is fun, but tough. My husband and I had to come up with a plan for our life so that we can find our own place. With the cost of living in Hawaii and three kids to support (one child support payment), having a minimum wage job wasn’t going to do any good. I decided to take the phlebotomy course that my husband took at Kapiolani Community College. At least with a better paying job, we can save money and still survive.

As I started working in the laboratory, I learned more about myself and decided that I wanted to go back to school to major in nursing instead of medical technology. I didn’t like the thought of sitting at the microscope all day and having no interaction with others. I am not that type of person. I love working with others and feeling good about what I did. Going back to school was very tough because I had a hectic schedule. I had to get up early everyday to get my kids ready for school, go to school from 8 AM to 12 PM, come home to cook dinner for my family, pick up my kids and drop them off at the sitter, head to work from 3 PM to 11:30 PM, then go home and study. That was my routine for about three years. Many people called me super mom because they couldn’t believe it was possible and still get good grades.

I had to really work hard at getting good grades because it really mattered when I applied to UH Manoa’s Bachelor of Science in Nursing Program. The first time I tried applying, I got rejected because they said I wasn’t quite done with my prerequisites. I felt so horrible and I wanted to give up. I thought, “What if they won’t accept me when the next time? What if my grades won’t be as good as those other applicants?” It was so devastating to learn of the news that I didn’t get in.

I thought of all the many obstacles that I have been through in my life and I remembered that it wasn’t just about me anymore. This motivated me to try even harder and never give up. I wanted my kids to have a sense of having their own room, so I couldn’t just stop now. The next semester, I tried again. This time, I was successful because I got accepted and is on my way to attaining my goals and dreams for my family and I.

I am currently in my second semester of nursing school and surviving it. My kids and my husband inspire me to be a better person and to not give up. It’s not really about me anymore, I am doing this to have a better life for my children. My husband and I want them to have a good life. We don’t want them to worry so much about their education in the future. Most people now days don’t continue school due to financial situations. Our goals for our kids is to have them go to college without having to worry about paying for it and for them to concentrate on their studies. We want them to be full time students, so we want to save up as much as we can so that they’ll have their own savings fund while going to college.

The goals that we set are not so that we can boast that we’ll be having money, we just want what will bring our family happiness. With the many life experiences that I went through, I feel stronger and wiser. Sometimes I feel like I have also changed into a mean person. I just think it’s because I have a low tolerance for people who don’t give respect to others. Even though I feel mature, there is always room for me grow and be a better person.