Support System
Before I take you through the bumpy road I've traveled that has created me into the person and writer that I am today, I think it is important to introduce my family, the people that have stood by my side throughout the homework assignments, report cards, laughs, tears, and the lessons that life brings to us.
My family is made up of my mom and dad, older brother, my younger sister, and of course our very special dogs Spookie our toy poodle and our big girl beagle, Sadie. Recently we welcomed a little man shitzu named Charlie to my personal family of two :) My family is my whole world. Each of us have our own special relationship with one another that differs entirely from the relationships formed with the other family members. My siblings and I have been raised to value the importance of family. Growing up it was definitely annoying to hear the repetitive phrase, "Now you two are being silly fighting. When you're older you're all one another has." However now that my siblings and I are older and have developed our own individualities our relationships with one another have grown immensely.
Both of my parents sought out English during a portion of their college careers. While my dad excelled in writing for detail and capturing the image within the text, my mom mastered the skills to perfecting the writing of a journalist. One can only image growing up in a household of two very different writing styles and asking for someone to help edit a paper. Lets just say I stopped choosing a parent at random and began seeking out the parent better suited for that particular writing assignment :)
My older brother, Chris, is holding onto his twenties at 29 years old. Unfortunately for him the big 3 0 is right around the corner this upcoming July. Chris graduated from NIU with a psychology major and shortly after received his masters. For the past couple of years he has found himself in an advising position for a university. Throughout his journey to discovering the person he was to become Chris definitely experienced extremely difficult obstacles and hardships along the way. When Chris was born he was three months premature and incredibly sick as a child. As my brother is seven years older than me I never truly recognized the struggles he faced or the meaning behind it all. Now as I'm going into my final year in college and sadly not so young myself I am able to see each challenge that was presented to him and how he found a way to overcome it. He is and will always be someone I look up to.
My younger sister, Maureen, is 19 years old. College was a difficult transition for Maureen during her first year away. Fortunately my parents were able to pass along their smarty pants genes to at least one of their children and well lets just say she got them all. Maureen began her first semester of college at ISU with a focus in political science. <---- That was what I was referring to when I said she got the smarty pants genes ... enough said. As myself and many others have said college just isn't always for everyone and that is perfectly okay. In this particular scenario ISU just was not the right home for Maureen. She finished her first semester and transfered to NIU for her second semester. NIU was a bit of a bumpy ride for Maureen as she attempted to make a home for herself there. Just when she was about to accept defeat and reevaluate her life Maureen was accepted into UoI. Finally the light at the end of the tunnel. With a clean slate and the motivation to excel Maureen couldn't be more excited to attend school in the fall. As each other's sister we've experienced it all together from the good, the bad, and the ugly. At the end of the day Maureen is my best friend and I would be lost entirely without her.
My family is made up of my mom and dad, older brother, my younger sister, and of course our very special dogs Spookie our toy poodle and our big girl beagle, Sadie. Recently we welcomed a little man shitzu named Charlie to my personal family of two :) My family is my whole world. Each of us have our own special relationship with one another that differs entirely from the relationships formed with the other family members. My siblings and I have been raised to value the importance of family. Growing up it was definitely annoying to hear the repetitive phrase, "Now you two are being silly fighting. When you're older you're all one another has." However now that my siblings and I are older and have developed our own individualities our relationships with one another have grown immensely.
Both of my parents sought out English during a portion of their college careers. While my dad excelled in writing for detail and capturing the image within the text, my mom mastered the skills to perfecting the writing of a journalist. One can only image growing up in a household of two very different writing styles and asking for someone to help edit a paper. Lets just say I stopped choosing a parent at random and began seeking out the parent better suited for that particular writing assignment :)
My older brother, Chris, is holding onto his twenties at 29 years old. Unfortunately for him the big 3 0 is right around the corner this upcoming July. Chris graduated from NIU with a psychology major and shortly after received his masters. For the past couple of years he has found himself in an advising position for a university. Throughout his journey to discovering the person he was to become Chris definitely experienced extremely difficult obstacles and hardships along the way. When Chris was born he was three months premature and incredibly sick as a child. As my brother is seven years older than me I never truly recognized the struggles he faced or the meaning behind it all. Now as I'm going into my final year in college and sadly not so young myself I am able to see each challenge that was presented to him and how he found a way to overcome it. He is and will always be someone I look up to.
My younger sister, Maureen, is 19 years old. College was a difficult transition for Maureen during her first year away. Fortunately my parents were able to pass along their smarty pants genes to at least one of their children and well lets just say she got them all. Maureen began her first semester of college at ISU with a focus in political science. <---- That was what I was referring to when I said she got the smarty pants genes ... enough said. As myself and many others have said college just isn't always for everyone and that is perfectly okay. In this particular scenario ISU just was not the right home for Maureen. She finished her first semester and transfered to NIU for her second semester. NIU was a bit of a bumpy ride for Maureen as she attempted to make a home for herself there. Just when she was about to accept defeat and reevaluate her life Maureen was accepted into UoI. Finally the light at the end of the tunnel. With a clean slate and the motivation to excel Maureen couldn't be more excited to attend school in the fall. As each other's sister we've experienced it all together from the good, the bad, and the ugly. At the end of the day Maureen is my best friend and I would be lost entirely without her.