My journey through college has been somewhat of a rollercoaster. The ladder part of my life is more related to Eddies story do to the fact that I’m a single parent and we both had jobs in the construction business. I have to say even though it was hard work it built character and taught me how to take constructive criticism. Construction let me see how something is started then ultimately finished, just like a college degree. Anxious is how I feel because I’m starting something I want to see finished. In the beginning my college career was so optimistic because I was on a scholarship for football and all I had to do was practice and go to class. This is where the rollercoaster started. I was doing well in my classes and football was challenging but I liked it. A death that happens close to you can take a toll on your over all wellbeing and that’s what exactly happened to me. My older brother passed away after a lengthy illness. My will to do anything was pretty much gone overnight After that I wasn’t going to my classes and I stopped going to practice, then I eventually dropped out of school just before my 1st semester ended. Now reflecting on what I chose to do, I should have used the things that were happening to me as motivation instead of self doubt. I know that’s what my brother would have told me and it took a long time for me to realize that. I also would of asked for help from a coach or a counselor, by this time I had completely shut out my family so they weren’t an option back then. What brought me to realize my mistakes was working in all those hard construction jobs, you tend to think deep about your life choices when your sweating and have a shovel in your hand. I learned that you cannot control certain situations in life and that you have to remember what made you successful in the first place. Asking for help is something I will do now and using all of the resources that are now available to me from Ashford. I found that using life experiences good or bad for motivation is something that can drive a person to succeed, maybe because I was young I just didn’t think of turning these incidents to a positive motivation instead I subconsciously turned it into self doubt. Now I know I can use that self doubt and turn it into self worth.