Throughout my high school years, I always got Cs and Ds in my classes.
My teachers and classmates would constantly tell me that I would never amount to anything.
Halfway through my 10th-grade year, I dropped out of high school. I couldn’t handle the constant stress of being told I was a disappointment.
For a long time, I thought what those people said to me was true. I really struggled with my self-worth.
Two years later I finally got my GED and I began on the path of rebuilding myself and my confidence.
I began working up the courage to go back to school, but I still struggled with feeling like I would fail.
I thought college wouldn’t be the place for me, so I enrolled in cosmetology school.
I started to slowly regain that sense of self-worth, and I began to realize that grades do not define me.
Life got in the way and I ultimately decided to leave cosmetology school to pursue higher education at AACC.
I realized my passion was helping people, so I decided to pursue a degree in nursing.
I enrolled at AACC in fall of 2022, and began my journey, both excited and anxious.
My first semester here, I took 16 credit hours’ worth of classes—a full load.
I passed every class with As and Bs.
I was shocked and proud, but mostly, I was excited. I never thought I could accomplish what I did that semester.
Throughout my time here at AACC, I’ve continued this trend. Each semester, I pass all of my classes.
I’ve also been given the amazing opportunity to sit on the Board of Trustees as the student representative for the campus.
It took me a long time to realize that my self-worth wasn’t tied to my grades or my success.
If there is one thing I hope anyone can take away from my story, it’s that anyone can really do anything.
Some days, I still struggle, thinking back on all the times I was called a disappointment.
I just have to remind myself that I’m not that person, because nobody is that person.