College Life Begins

      Being a city boy, born and raised in Baltimore, MD is perceived as a simple life style. My life, on the other hand, was nothing close to simple. College was not even an option in my life 6 years ago, in fact high school wasn’t much of an option after I became old enough to hold a full time job. When you live in a family that need your help to pay the bills and survive you need to make some decisions. High school was not my priority in 2005 (my “graduation” year) I was given the opportunity to work a full time job but this would mean I would have to relinquish my duty as a full time high school student. I jumped on this opportunity as soon as it arose, not thinking twice. It didn’t take me long to figure out that it was a horrible, senseless choice. 
     8 months after dropping out of high school I decided that my life was on a violent downward spiral. I felt as if I were out of options an had already used up all my life lines at the age of 18. I was terrified about the thought that the life I was living was all I had to look forward to for the rest of my life. I needed to make some changes and fast! Being out of options and running out of time I decided to look into the United Stated military. I figured, shoot, I have a clean record, good work ethic, great health, and not much to lose. 
     So there I was, 18 years old, sitting in front of a United States Army recruiter. Giving this stranger all of my life details and trying to figure out what the military is really all about. I was scared but after a few hours of talking he had already started to help me out with getting my life in order. He pulled some strings to get me into night school to finish getting my diploma at the cost of the Army. And since I dropped out only 2 months before graduation I only needed 2 classes to graduate! I was really excited and gave it my all. A few short months later I had finished school and was 1 month away from leaving my city, friends, and family for boot camp. 
     The first few months away from home were really tough. I had no clue how everyone was doing or if anything happened that I needed to know about but I was doing everything I could to be the best soldier I could be. But it didn’t take long until I could talk to my family and friends again and see that everything was alright. 

     Now I’m going to fast forward a few years to 2010. I have been out of the military for a few months now and decided its time to get something I’ve always wanted but have never  had the means to get. Something that will stay with me for the rest of my life and not only make me happy but make my family and friends proud of me. I had the desire to follow my dream of obtaining something no one in my family even thought about getting. I’m talking about a college degree. 
     After a few months of research and schedule juggling I worked out all of the kinks. I talked my job into promoting me to a higher position if I drop from a full time employee to part time. I also got everything I needed for my GI bill so I wouldn’t have to spend money I don’t have on school, which made everything so much easier. I have cleared my mind of all the negative thoughts I once had about the college life. I am 100 percent ready to start this new chapter in my life. This is going to be such an exciting experience and I can’t wait to get the pages turning! 
     Needless to say, my first day of school was yesterday and I really enjoyed it! All of my teachers are really down to earth and open minded. I look at this opportunity as a blessing, something that has taken so much work to get to and now its time to step up and conquer this chapter just as I have with all the previous chapters. This is very exciting for me and I can’t wait to see where this road leads me.