Graduation Event

                                                            Significant Event in My Life

     I was one of those people who started going to college late in life. I think, for me it had something to do with growing up in a home with old fashioned Hispanic traditions and also the lifestyle I chose for myself. In my family no one really talked about achieving a higher education. I guess it was just assumed that we would grow up, get married and start a family just as my parents and my grandparents had done. That would’ve been okay except I chose to go down a darker path in life. During my early teens I began hanging out with the “wrong crowd”. They were the type of crowd your parents warned you about. My life was a downward spiral after that. I dropped out of school and began getting into legal trouble. Drug addiction took over my life and chaos soon followed. There weren’t very many good things that came out of living that type of lifestyle. The only good thing that came out of my life during those troubling years was the girl who eventually became my wife and my two kids. I put them through a lot during those years but they always stuck by me. They believed in me more than I believed in myself. After years and years of troubles I just couldn’t live that way anymore. I decided I was going to change and I did, after many tries. For a long time after getting myself together, I had this empty feeling inside of me. I felt like I couldn’t find my niche in life. One day my wife suggested I take some classes at our local community college. I took it one step further and picked a major. Mechanics has always been an interest of mine so I decided I wanted to major in automotive technology. The program wasn’t always easy, I hadn’t been in a classroom for many years and getting a study routine down was a little difficult for me. I always wanted to be doing other things besides homework or study, but I stayed on track and pushed forward. I had wasted so many years going in and out of jails and prisons, but now I was going to school to better myself and it made me feel like I had a new purpose in life. Going to college helped me gain confidence and pride in myself.

     When I think about significant events in my life many come to mind; but my college graduation sticks out the most because it reminded me of something I used to always tell my kids when they were growing up. I used to tell them that if they applied themselves and worked hard they can achieve anything in life that they put their minds to and I really believed that for them, but I never believed that was true for me because of the life that I had led. As a child I never received encouraging words such as those I gave to my kids. No one told me I should finish high school and go to college. It wasn’t because my family didn’t love me or think it was possible but because no one in our family had even graduated high school let alone become a professional. They were all blue collar workers and so was everyone else throughout the generations. To make matters worse when I was a teenager I started hanging out with kids in my neighborhood who belonged to a gang. I began getting in trouble for things like fighting and stealing to drinking alcohol and smoking pot. School was no longer in the picture for me I had dropped out when I was in the eighth grade. I never even give it a second thought. Going to school was just not a priority for me. The lifestyle finally led me to using drugs and committing crimes to support my drug habit. That whole part of my life was nothing good, it taught me nothing positive about life. My so called buddies didn’t want to see me do better. You know what they say, “misery loves company”.  In school I applied myself and I worked hard just as I had always told my kids to do and just as they had always done. I graduated at the top of my class and I was proud. I remember standing on stage and gazing at all the students and faculty and the families that had come out to support their loved ones who were graduating. My family was there too, it took me awhile to find them but I found them. My wife and kids were there along with my grandkids, my mother and my grandmother. I looked at them and thought to myself, now they can finally see me do something good. Now they can be proud of me and not ashamed. To celebrate we all went to my favorite Chinese restaurant. I was overjoyed and excited to know that I was the object of their celebration.

     My graduation from college will always remain a highpoint in my life because it was proof that I could do what I set my mind to do. For many years I labeled myself as someone with a past who had no business dreaming a career for myself. These days failure is not an option. I’ve proven anyone at any age with any past can achieve great things with hard work, dedication, and commitment.