An obstacle I had to overcome.

The most challenging obstacle I have faced in my twenty years of life is the death of my mother. My mother died on July 3rd, 2002. I was eleven years old when she passed away approaching the transition from elementary school to middle school. My mother was the foundation of my family; she kept us on one accord, beating to the same drum. My academic achievements were based solely on the desire to please my mother. I would rush home to give her report cards, willing extend the invitation to award assembles, and eagerly recount the events from that day of school. Throughout my childhood, my mother instilled in my brother and I that higher education was the way to future success. However after her passing away, I did not have the desire to excel because she would not be around to celebrate with me. The thrill associated with educational achievement found in me was buried with my mother in July of 2002.

Transitioning from elementary school to middle school was extremely tough because I was deeply grieving over losing my mother and overwhelmed by the independence required of a middle school student. I had been a straight A student in elementary school, receiving medals and certificates for academic superiority. Once in middle school, I had to have a math tutor, however, continued failure in the advanced math class lead to forced withdrawal. I received my first D letter grade in sixth grade which aided to the detachment between myself and my education. A series of bad grades such as frequent D letter grades and occasional F letter grades continued until I was in tenth grade of high school. Although I was an advanced studies student, my high school guidance counselor, who was a longtime family friend, noticed that my potential for academic success was far more extensive then my grades proved it to be. She began meeting with me regularly to discuss post-secondary aspirations, possible extra circular activities, but more importantly how I had been coping with the loss of my mother. Prior to tenth grade, my guidance counselors had not asked me about family matters nor had they noticed the immediate decline in my academic performance after my mother passed.

My high school guidance counselor helped me realize I would still be able to share my academic achievements with my mother. After several conversations with my counselor, I made a personal commitment to excel in the remainder of my high school career. I became involved with extra circular activities, designated president of career-technical dental assistant class for two consecutive years, and graduated with an advanced with honor seals diploma. I learned that to overcome the obstacle of losing my mother I would have to regain academic excellence. The thought of making my mother proud, propelled my continued success in high school.