New draft – Persistence

Persistence by definition means a continued effort; to keep trying. I would say I have always been very persistent in life. This would be a trait I seem to get from both my parents. I grew up in a middle class family, where both my parents never finished high school or even went to college. They were teenagers when I was born and not much help from their parents.Then they were in their early twenties and also had my sister Taylor and my brother Ryan.

When I was younger I really didn’t realize how much they had to struggle, but as I became older I can see how hard they tried to make sure we always had food to eat and a roof over our heads. My dad always would worked hard jobs with long hours, just to make sure all three of us had all the new gadgets and electronics. Just like all the other kids had, he never wanted us to feel left out, but to achieve that he would work from before the sun came up and didn’t get home until after it went down. My mother later returned to school to receive her GED, then took classes to study to receive her license to become a certified nurse aide. This was another job with long hours and much labor. She still managed to work a full time job and still have the time to be the best mom to all three of her children.

My point is growing up I have seen how persistent both my parents were. When everyone else doubted them, they still managed to make sure the bills were paid and the food was always on the table for all of us. We always managed to get what we wanted for Christmas (except the time I asked for a Porsche. . . I was 12!). And yet we still was able to go on beautiful family vacations.Our first, was a family trip to Hershey park in Pennsylvania . We even went on cruises to places like Ocho Rios, Jamaica and Cozumel, Mexico and the Cayman Islands; we did it multiple times. I guess that’s when I really started to realize I was fortunate because a lot of my friends never even had the opportunity to leave the state never mind travel abroad, visit other countries and see other cultures – an experience I am truly grateful for. I was able to do those things because my parents persisted on making sure we had those opportunities in our lives. No matter what they had to do to give it to us, even if it was working late or working extra hours, they did anything they could to give it all to us.

I get my persistence from them, they inspire me, they push me to work hard, to stay in school and make the right choices. They have shown me what persistence does, and how it does not matter where you come from or how little you may have but rather the harder you work the bigger the payoff is. I have had the same job since I was sixteen, I moved up from crew member to crew trainer. I have saved all my money, sometimes never even touching my pays just to be able to pay for my own licence and buy my own car. Which I did, I bought myself a Pontiac Grand Am 1999 all on my own with my money. I even save money aside after buying the car to get a radio system and have money in the bank in case anything happens to it. It took a lot of persistence to get those things on my own. I didn’t want help instead, I wanted to do it by myself. I also wanted to show that I had responsibility. I also graduated high school even though I struggled my four years. I received my diploma and graduated in the trade of Auto Mechanics at Diman Regional and now I take classes to work towards being involved in law enforcement at Bristol Community College.

Persistence is the key to a solid foundation of achieving your goals, whatever they may be. Whether they are big or small. My mother always has said, ” You have never failed until you quit trying”. Persistence is the opposite of quitting, I believe because of my persistence one day I will have a better paying job, own my own home, be able to hopefully live life without struggling. Even one day be able to take my parents on a vacation paid by me. It would be my way of saying thank you for everything they have done.