Throughout my life I have been blessed with a lot of great people who have supported me. I have always been told to follow my dreams and to never give up hope. My parents had always influenced me to do my best in school and to never be afraid to ask for help if I need it. I have always done well in school and strongly feel that my reason for doing so well is because of the love and support of my family.
I had started college at the age of 19, but I was not really sure what I had wanted to do with my life. I had taken several courses, but never completed most of them. It was not until the year 2000 that I started realizing that I needed a higher level of education if I wanted to have a good career. I was tired of working dead end jobs and only getting paid minimum wage. When I decided to go back to college I was really scared because I did not know if I was going to make it. I kept on thinking to myself what if I do not make? What if I fail and cannot find my true calling? I had just gotten engaged at the time and asked my fiance for his opinion and he told me "why go to college, one does not need a college degree to learn how to change a diaper". I had gone against his wishes and started college anyway. My initial reason as to go to college and prove to him that I was a lot smarter than he gave me credit for, but after a while I had realized that I was going to college for me, to better my own life. I remember my mother telling me that I should never do anything because someone else wants me to or to prove a point to someone, but rather I should do something because it is important to me. Although when I went back to college in 2000 my college major changed a few times, in the year 2007 I knew that I wanted to be a teacher.
In 2004 I had moved to Idaho to be with the man of my dreams. I had met Randy on the Internet and after a lot of careful consideration I had decided to move to Idaho and find a college so I could continue my education. I was attending college full time while he was working two jobs to help me pay for school. He did not care what it took, but he wanted me to finish my education. He believed in me and was never going to let me give up on my goals. We had dated for a year and a half before we had gotten engaged and waited another year and a half before we got married. I was not quite done with my education before we got married, but he promised me that I was still going to finish school even if it meant working several jobs so I could finish. I had graduated from Brigham Young University-Idaho in 2010 with a degree in Elementary Education. After I had gotten my Bachelor's Degree I had hoped to find work, but because of the bad economy I was unable to find work. I had discussed this issue with Randy and we both decided that it would be a great idea to go back to school. I am now pursuing a Master's Degree in Early Childhood Studies while he is pursuing a Bachelor's Degree in Communications and Business. I feel that if it was not for his strong encouragement and strong belief in me I would not be pursuing a higher degree.
In addition to my Randy's support and encouragement he is also helpful to me. He helps me clean house and helps me with the improvements that need to be done on the house. There have been many times when I will go into the kitchen to start dinner to find out that he has already started dinner. There have also been times when he has done the laundry and the dishes. I think it is great that Randy likes to help me so I can get my homework done. Randy is currently working a part-time job and going to school. Money may be tight, but we still manage to do things together and manage to barely get by. I want to work as well, but Randy knows that the job market is bad and that I have been trying to find work. We have talked about moving a couple of times, but realistically we cannot afford it.
I feel that if I was not getting any support I probably would not have continued my education nor would I have bought a house. I am very careful with my money and do not like living in debt. I feel that if my parents had not encouraged me to do my best in school I would have never thought of being a teacher. I remember when I was younger I always played school with my stuffed animals and my parents never discouraged me from having play time. My parents felt that play is just as important as working. In life one needs a balance between work and play. I feel that if my support system was gone I would probably end up not being successful and I would probably give up on everything that means so much to me.
