Well to start off, I would like to say that I love everything about myself, my lifelong goals, my determination for success, my flaws, and my strong-willed personality. I'm a 22 year old junior at University of South Alabama whom is studying to become a great educator. I graduated from Blount High School with honors in May 2006 where I was also apart of the Elite Program & captain of the dance team; my goals after graduation were to join my best-friend at University of Alabama and become a registered nurse, but with my financial situation I had to start off at Bishop State Community College. I attended there for two semesters and to be completely honest I dreaded everything about it; the environment had no positive influence at all, their staff was horrible from the office on down to the professors, and worse of all if you needed additional assistance outside of class, well let's just say that you were on your own. So, with me not having the guidance that most college students had I left Bishop with no where to turn, with no transportation, no job, and no knowledge of knowing that there was so much more out there for a young lady like myself.
It's now February 2008 and my life took a dramatic change once I discovered that I was about 5 weeks pregnant, I had only been working a little part-time job and I had been out of school for about a year now, I just knew my life was over. But I went to God and asked him to guide me and that's when I realized that not only was it time for me to become stronger and stop feeling sorry for myself but I alse had another human life lying in the line of my decisions. Even though my child's father and I had broken up by that time we both did agree that we wanted nothing but the best for our child morally, mentally, physically, spiritually, and of course financially. Over those few months I had been talking to my best-friend and like always she continued to boost my spirit reminding of my intellectual ability and pushing me to start back in school, so I enrolled Summer 08' at the South University and surprisingly my application was still in the system from graduation so I didn't have to pay a thing. I only went to summer semester because I knew that my daughter would be born within the next two months and I didn't want to have that stress on me, but seeing that I did well for the summer I just knew that I must go on, with me being the first of my mom's three kids to go to college I vowed to myself that I would finish with a fulfilling career. Madison Emeri Dale was born October 15, 2008 and I can honestly say that that was the greatest experience in me and her father's life then and it still is til this day. Now as time went by her father and I grew closer once again and things were fine, except the thought of me being unhappy with myself for not keeping my promise and going right back to school. Family and friends were telling me that I was putting too much on me after having a baby but I knew my limits and what I was capable of, and 3 more semesters out of school was enough! So July 2009 we bought our first home which was a blessing because we got way more for our money than we expected, I had enrolled back into South and I started back in August 09'. A month later I was asked to go back to my job at Ashley Furniture from which I was laid off and I just knew things couldn't get any better, that was until he proposed to me on my birthday December 28 2009.
Life is a journey, but it's up to you to determine if the journey is worth it. I have had many disappointments in my 22 years of living but I don't regret them one bit because I have learned a great lesson from them all. It's been a year since we have been in our home, it's been almost a year since I have been back at my job, our daughter will be two years old in October and honestly I can see my independent character coming out of her, and best of all I'm still at South doing great knowing that there really is light at the end of the tunnel. I say how I'm ready for graduation in a year and a half from now but I will still continue on to receive my masters, because even though I know teaching is going to be fun I can see a world of opportunities the higher up the educational road I travel. In addition, I know that money doesn't buy happiness, it will make things for us and our daughter must easier when it's time for her to go to college and become successful and well until that day, I will continue doing to things I love such as teaching her, cleaning up after her, shopping with her and of course allowing her to make mistakes and learn from them afterwards.
