Marina Arroyo

Paynich

NSS 101

5 October 2015

Blog #1

    Deciding to attend college was my top priority from the beginning of freshman year in high school. The odds were against me with an unsupportive mother and the battle of depression on my shoulders. At thirteen my biological mom was physically, verbally, and mentally abusing me on a daily basis. I was diagnosed as clinically depressed by a counselor who was allowing my mother to abuse me. While most teenagers were studying for tests, waiting impatiently for Friday night’s football game, or trying to socially fit in, I was stressing about when my mom would receive her child custody court papers from my dad, dreading about my next counseling session, and worrying if I would make it through one more day at my mom’s house. During my first year in high school, my grades dropped drastically. My second semester was focused on pushing through the pain so I could keep up my grades. But it’s not easy to stay motivated when you constantly have a parent telling you, “You’ll never make it out of Merced, or high school. The most you’ll do is end up stuck here like the rest of us. Don’t get your hopes up.” That is what motivated me to attend college. For four years, that was my motivation; to prove her wrong, to prove I was more than the average kid, to prove I had the potential to succeed.

    Los Angeles has been my favorite place to visit ever since I was in middle school. Coming to school in Los Angeles however, wasn’t always in my dream. I had planned on attending Fresno State until my junior year in high school. I hadn’t seen my biological mom since the summer going into sophomore year until we realized she had been stalking me. All of a sudden, she was at every soccer game sitting on the other team’s side, her car was in the parking lot of the school almost every day, she was trying to pull me out of school without permission. It felt impossible to escape her and that’s when I decided moving out of town was the better choice. There was no other place I would move to than Los Angeles and after researching CSULA, I knew it would be a great choice. Everything I did from that point on was done to ensure I was on the right track to being admitted into CSULA.

    Although I knew what college I wanted to go to, I didn’t decide my major until my senior year in high school. I chose sociology and psychology because I want to become a clinical psychologist in the near future. I hope to help individuals struggling to find happiness in the best way that I can. After experiencing all that I have, I never want to see a child struggle through what I did, or witness a person have a personality disorder and hurt others around them because of it. If I can offer a helping hand to these people in need, I will. I wish to graduate within four years and then continue on to achieve my Master’s degree. While in college, I’m excited to gain knowledge specifically about my major. It interests me to learn about the working of ones thinking process that leads to a decision and that’s what I hope to learn more about while taking classes for my major.

    To conclude, the decision to come to college was based mainly so I can succeed and create a better life for myself than what some people had pictured for me. Choosing CSULA was a better choice for my future because this school is providing me a great education and an escape from my normality. It’s exciting to be in a new city with new friends. I’m excited for what’s to come in my future.