In May 2007 all my friends and acquaintances graduated from Edison High School in Fresno, California. I did not. I dropped out of high school during my senior year. My family and friends tried motivating me but I didn’t believe in myself or think that I had potential. I dropped out of school because it felt like my teachers didn’t care about me or believe in me. As a result I gave up everything I had worked so hard for and stopped caring in almost every aspect of my life. It didn’t matter to me that I was giving up my education because I thought then that I didn’t need it and that I didn’t have the potential to succeed. I ended up letting myself down, as well as my family, especially my mom. My mom saw potential in me and she knew that if she gave me time then I, too, would realize it. One person, however, showed me that I was worth something and he changed my life.
I did realize the mistake that I made, but not until it was too late. That’s when I met my husband. He helped in showing me that I was a great person and that I had a lot to offer to this world. He gave me love, support and courage. It took a lot on his part to make me see how truly special I am. From everything that he did for me I learned to believe in myself and that that was one of the most important things in life.
Now I’m 18 years old, married and back in high school. I realized that if I went back to school then I would graduate and show those who love me how far I’ve come. I went from being self loathing and insecure to confidant. So far I have all A’s in my classes and it looks to be a promising year.
From all of this I’ve learned that the key to life is believing in yourself. If you don’t believe in yourself then no one else will. The power to succeed is self confidence, without it you’re just a high school drop out struggling to make it in the world.