Have you lived up to your family's expectations
Have you lived up to your family’s expectations of you?
I believe I have lived up to my parent’s expectations. My parents have always set realistic expectations of my brother and I. My mother is a Certified Nursing Assistant and my father works in construction. My mother would always say to us, “Do not be like me, do better than me”. So at a young age I took that quote and I ran with it. She wanted us to be smart, determined and independent members of society. I wanted to make my parents proud, so I began working when I was 14 years old, I graduated high school with honors, eventually joined the US Navy and served four years, and now I am living on my own being independent.
As I was growing up money was always an issue. My mother did not make enough money to support two children; and my father was out of the picture. So once I turned fourteen I decided it was time for me to get a job, against the wishes of my mother. I started working part-time at the grocery store Publix. I would bag customer’s groceries during their checkout. I could not stand working as a bagger, but the money I made really helped our financial hardship. I remember receiving my first paycheck, I was so proud of myself and so was my mom. I continued to work for Publix for almost five years. I have numerous promotions and I eventually became a cake decorator. My mother had faith that I was going to grow to become a determined young lady, and I did.
Education is very important to my mother. She would read to us and make us take her version of a spelling test, which was insanely difficult. Receiving Honor Roll and Dean’s List were regular occurrences in our household. Neither one of us would dare bring home anything lower than a “B”. And because of that I graduated with honors. During my graduation I could hear my mother’s voice screaming and yelling over the crowd with excitement. At that moment I realized this was her dream for me. She wanted be to be able to attend any college my heart
I believe I have lived up to my parent’s expectations. My parents have always set realistic expectations of my brother and I. My mother is a Certified Nursing Assistant and my father works in construction. My mother would always say to us, “Do not be like me, do better than me”. So at a young age I took that quote and I ran with it. She wanted us to be smart, determined and independent members of society. I wanted to make my parents proud, so I began working when I was 14 years old, I graduated high school with honors, eventually joined the US Navy and served four years, and now I am living on my own being independent.
As I was growing up money was always an issue. My mother did not make enough money to support two children; and my father was out of the picture. So once I turned fourteen I decided it was time for me to get a job, against the wishes of my mother. I started working part-time at the grocery store Publix. I would bag customer’s groceries during their checkout. I could not stand working as a bagger, but the money I made really helped our financial hardship. I remember receiving my first paycheck, I was so proud of myself and so was my mom. I continued to work for Publix for almost five years. I have numerous promotions and I eventually became a cake decorator. My mother had faith that I was going to grow to become a determined young lady, and I did.
Education is very important to my mother. She would read to us and make us take her version of a spelling test, which was insanely difficult. Receiving Honor Roll and Dean’s List were regular occurrences in our household. Neither one of us would dare bring home anything lower than a “B”. And because of that I graduated with honors. During my graduation I could hear my mother’s voice screaming and yelling over the crowd with excitement. At that moment I realized this was her dream for me. She wanted be to be able to attend any college my heart