All in all, I have lived a pretty good life. I was born in Tucson, Arizona. As a young child, I remember doing a lot of swimming. Family members tell me that I was swimming without assistance before I could walk. Almost two years after I was born, my brother came into the picture. I was not happy that he was taking the time and energy of my parents. My mother stayed at home, and my father worked. He was not home a lot because he traveled all over the state for work. When I was five, my parents divorced, and my mom decided to move us to Atlanta to be closer to her parents.
My grandparents were terrific. While we were staying with them, either one or both would walk me to kindergarten and then pick me up. They also taught me to tell time and bought me my first watch. (It’s a Snoopy watch that I still have.) After about six months in Atlanta, we moved into a condo about three miles away from my grandparents. Looking back, I am so thankful that we were able to spend so much time with them. As a child, I did very well in school. In third grade, I received a “B” in cursive. I was devastated. Through elementary and middle school, I continued to excel academically. I also played basketball and ran track and cross country. Although my father was across the country in Tucson, my brother and I were lucky enough to see him three times a year. We traveled to Arizona for spring break, summer break, and either Thanksgiving or Christmas. We also got to speak with him on the phone every Sunday after church.
Things began to shift when I entered puberty. My mother decided to take a leave from her job and return to school. I wanted more freedom and thought I knew everything. While my mom was in school, money was tight, and there was underlying stress in our house. I know she returned to school to better both our lives and hers, but it was hard to acknowledge as a teenager. My mom and I began fighting a lot. When I was 15, I announced that I wanted to live with my father in Arizona. I called him and asked him if I could move in with him. He did not hesitate and responded, “Yes.”
After I finished my freshman year of high school, I moved to Arizona to live with my father. My mother was devastated, and I was ecstatic. My father had to go from being the fun, vacation dad to a year-round dad. His parenting style and my mother’s were very different. My mother was overprotective and very structured. My father was very loose and just expected me to do what I was supposed to do. Without the oversight of my mother, I began to lose my way. When I did go to school, I was bored and could not bear to be there. Luckily, as high school progressed, I could turn it around and still graduate on time, if by the skin of my teeth.
After high school graduation, I quit the job I had had and spent a lot of time hanging out with friends. I began college in the Fall of my graduating year. I went to college because that was what I thought I was supposed to do. I did the bare minimum and did not do well in my classes. I was more interested in working and hanging out with friends, which shifted my focus away from academic success. After three years of subpar performance in college, I stopped attending altogether. I was focused on work to earn enough money to pay my bills and have fun but nothing else.
For the next four years, that was the path that I stayed on. About three months later, I reconnected with a friend I had known since high school. We had initially met during summer school, where I ended up tutoring him. After that, we remained friends but lost touch after graduation. He had gone away for college while I stayed in Tucson. We kept running into each other, and one day he invited me over to his brother’s birthday party. He likes to say that after that, we have not been apart since. We have now been married for almost fourteen years.
Just over sixteen years ago, I began working in the financial aid department at a cosmetology school. During the years I worked in that industry, my desire to return to college grew stronger and stronger. I always came up with an excuse as to why “now was not the time.”
In 2016, I was inspired to begin volunteering with the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program offered by the United Way. I took training classes and became certified to prepare taxes for the low to middle income and senior populations. In the spring of 2017, I started thinking about how much I enjoyed preparing returns and educating taxpayers. It was then that I decided that I was going back to school – no matter what.
I enrolled in Cochise College for the summer 2017 semester and have not looked back. I am slated to graduate from the University of Arizona Eller College of Management with my Bachelor of Business Administration. This achievement has not come without sacrifices, tears, and missing sleep. My husband and I have made adjustments to our spending and lifestyles.
I am looking forward to what my future brings after I complete school!