Being Persistent Towards Your Dreams

By: Monica Rodriguez

Today, I can proudly say I made my dream come true, Three weeks ago when I became the first person in my whole family to graduate from California State University, Northridge and obtained my Bachelor’s Degree in Public Relations.

I had a long road ahead of me to achieve my dream of going to college, but I did not let anything stop me instead I kept moving forward.

It all started when I was in 2nd grade my class took a trip to UCLA campus I asked my teacher “what is this place?” and “who are these big kids riding skateboards and carrying heavy books?”. My teacher explained to me that the big kids were college students who were there to learn and follow their dreams. After the trip was over I ran back home as fast as I could and I told my parents that I wanted to go to college. At that time I don’t know if my family believed the words of an 8-year-old. I was persistent, I told my parents that I wanted to go to college no matter what.

I had to face many obstacles on my path to college. I was diagnosed with a learning disability at the age of 5 and repeated the first grade. Throughout my life, I told people about my dream of going to college but was always told that I would not be able to catch up with my classmates, absorb information at a normal level. People told me that I would always be treated as an outcast from my classmates and that I would not be able to attend or afford college– just because I was branded as a girl who had a disability. When I was a child, I decided that I would prove all those naysayers wrong. I made up my mind that I would achieve my dreams no matter what came my way.

As the first person in my family, I had to do my own research about college– how to register for college, what colleges were affordable, etc. Throughout this journey, my mother and father saw how passionate I was about going to college and pursuing my dream career. When the time came to graduate from high school, I told my parents that I wanted to go to College of the Canyons. My father sat me down and told me that he would pay for my community college classes but that I had to find a way to pay for University on my own. I agreed with my father and that is when I started my path towards higher education. From that point on, I’ve had wonderful teachers who’ve helped me discover my passion, helped me figure out how to pay for CSUN, and what classes I should take in order to guide me towards my dream. Without the help of my teachers, friends, and especially my family, I would have never made it this far. I deeply appreciate my parents because without them I would not have been able to graduate from college and accepting my diploma. Thank you, mom, for being my support and cheerleader. Thank you, dad, for letting me make mistakes, financially supporting my dreams, and encouraging me along the way. So this diploma is not just my victory of achievement, it is yours as well.

Don’t let anything stop you from achieving your dreams! The only person who can stop you is yourself. During my journey, I had doubts about myself and trying to figure out what did I want to do with my life. If I made the right chose in a major, or did I went on the wrong career path. I kept stopping my self from making a decision because I was afraid to make a mistake that can either change my life for the better or make it worse. That when I remember growing up I watched Walt Disney movies and the one quote I remember was to, “keep moving forward, opening up new doors and doing new things, because we're curious … and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths," said Walt Disney. In this statement, it is all true. I kept picking myself up and moved forward towards my dreams.

To the person who is reading my story thank you and I wish you all the best of luck. I hope you keep following your dreams and don’t be afraid to ask for help and guidance.

I am currently still looking for employment. That being said I am open to suggestions, advice, informational interviews, mentorship, and job openings. I wish all the best for the graduating class of 2019.