"As you educate a woman, you educate the family. If you educate the girls, you educate the future" (Queen Rania). Life as a girl in my culture is not so easy when it comes to being independent and getting all the education needed. For example, many girls are not allowed to go to college after graduating high school, that is if they finish high school. One of the main reasons I have worked so hard during prior years of education is because no one in my family has their high school diploma. I will be the first one to graduate with a diploma. I would also like to accomplish the many goals I have set for myself for the present and the future. However, most of my goals cannot be reached without a college degree. When I get the college degree, I will be an independent woman. I will also be able to care for my family and be an inspiration to others.
The past couple of years were life-changing for me. I got a taste of how life could be in the future. I became more responsible. When my mother got sick, I was the only person she could depend on. My father was overseas, and we had no one else to help us. We spent most of our days in the hospital, especially since she had two serious surgeries done. We had no help from family or anyone else. I balanced my time between having to help out my mother, taking care of her, and working on school. As days went by, my mom started getting better. By the time my mom was almost fully healed, my dad had come back. Not a long while after that, my mom wanted to take a break and go on vacation overseas. So I was left again to care for my father and siblings. During my junior and senior years, I had to balance out my time between going to school and taking care of the family. Taking care of my mom taught me things like interacting with other people in the outside world. I learned to fend for myself and not rely on others. Taking care of my father and siblings taught me other things like balancing out my time and cooking.