The Twisted Path: My Memoir

I am not your typical college sophomore. I had a late start in college, and family troubles have plagued me. Before I arrived at Armstrong, I did not take college too seriously. After graduating from high school I attended a local community college, taking freshmen classes such as College Algebra and Intro to Microcomputers. I made good grades, but I was bored in these classes. I had not declared a major yet, but in the next quarter I chose to major in Chemistry. I took Statistics and Intro to Physics. I had been inspired by a high school Chemistry teacher to follow his example, and study Chemistry. His lectures were interesting; the students would sit for a short hour, enraptured by Dr. Pearson clearly explaining the mysteries of science. 

I attended this community college from September to around April of 2011. In March of that year, the guy that I was dating invited me on a weekend excursion to Gatlinburg, Tennessee. It’s a tourist trap of a town, but the mountains surrounding it are beautiful and I needed a break from school. I told my parents that I would be going, which did not sit well with them. They did not like my boyfriend of the time, instead wanting me to concentrate solely on school and work. Many fighting matches ensued between us for a few days. When the day came to leave, I angrily walked out of their house with my suitcase and drove away in his blue pickup truck. We spent a glorious weekend in a wooden cabin with his friends and their girlfriends, drinking and seeing all that Gatlinburg had to offer. When I returned back home, I prepared myself for an angry talk and some slamming doors. Instead, my parents took away my car keys (they legally owned the car) and gave me one month to find another place to stay. I will never forget how I felt that day. I was so scared. I realized the great mistake I had made. I could not believe that my own parents were kicking me out of the house that I grew up in. My eyes were swollen from crying, but I knew in my head that it was a reasonable consequence.

I did  find another place to stay. I packed up all of my belongings, only leaving behind my mattress and sad looks from my family.  I hitched rides to get to work from many wonderful friends and my boyfriend. It worked out for 3-4 months, until my mom was begging for me to move back home. She missed me and believed that I had learned my lesson. I did, waiting until they agreed to let me use my  car again.  I spent that blistering hot summer working and mending relationships with my parents. My boyfriend and I broke up not too long after I moved back in; I had found out a few days later that he had cheated on me. It was a long, difficult summer. I was mad at myself, mad at my ex, and bitter towards my parents.  I desperately  needed to move forward in my life, so I applied to colleges all across Georgia, and visited the Armstrong campus. My mom loved it.

I spent my freshman year as a Chemistry major. In the Spring semester of 2013, I failed  two classes. I decided to change my major to English. I did not want to be a teacher since the job market in that field is not doing  well. Instead, I chose the Professional Communications route, reintroducing my intentions of getting my Masters in Library Science. Before being greatly inspired by my Chemistry teacher, my career goal was to be a librarian. I have worked in a library since I was 16, and loved every day of it. So far my English classes have been going well. Last semester I made all B’s, and hope to make A’s and B’s this semester. I want to make my parents proud of me again, and I want my grandpa to see me graduate from college.
My path here was a long and challenging one.  My bad decisions allowed me to take full responsibility of myself and my life, kneading me into the adult and star student that I aspire to be.