What It Means To Be Me Essay Sample

A woman is defined as an adult human female, but this does not encompass half of what we truly are. In 49 years of living, I have been not only a daughter, sister, wife, mother, friend and business owner, but also a consoler, psychologist, family accountant and chief officer of the household.
I was born to well-educated parents. My father graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Engineering from the University of Texas in Austin, a Masters of Engineering from Texas Christian University and a Masters of Business from Southern Methodist University. My mother has a Bachelor of Science in Education from Texas Women’s University and a Master of Education Administration from the University of North Texas. Despite all of this, my parents never taught me the value of good education. They never led me down the paths of knowledge about needing to learn how to study and how this will lead to good grades. Also, that consequently, good grades can get you accepted into good colleges and finally, good colleges can change your life. You must understand, I am not angry with them, it is just ironic that with parents such as these, I had to learn this the hard way.
I started college right out of high school at TCJC South Campus, and I did poorly. I never learned the way to study appropriately, there was no one to guide me in this. I was unable to get B’s and C’s in college for just being there, like I had done in high school. Worst of all, I really did not have a goal of what I would do when I “grow up.” So, I attended TCJC for two semesters, and then I met my husband, marrying him within 5 months of meeting him. Then, I moved to Delaware after marriage, which was quite a culture shock. I worked at Hallmark for a couple of months as Christmas help and then was unable to find a job. After searching for a few months, I applied for a job as an emergency room clerk at the local hospital. Little did I know that this job would ultimately change my life.
I worked my first real 8 to 5 job at Kent General Hospital in Dover, DE. After a year working there, I had had enough of the horrible economy and the cold weather, and told my husband it was time for me to move back to Texas. When I got back to Texas, with a medical environment job experience, I was able work at a chiropractic, orthopedic and pathology office, as well as another hospital. I eventually started working at a billing service, and at that point I felt like I had found my niche. Therefore, after five years of working for the billing service, I split off with a co-worker to start up our own billing service.
During the time of working for the billing service, I had my first child: a daughter. She was perfect. Like most parents, I wanted more for her and knew that it would have to be through education that she was to be successful. Somehow, I was not sure that I would be able to love another child as much as my first born, but five years later I had another daughter. No words can describe the perfection that she denoted. This was when I learned that I had enough love to go around for another beautiful girl, and my life seemed perfect. Then it happened, six years later, that I had what is called an “oops” child. Truth be told, I never wanted a boy, because I was scared that I would have a hellion who would smell bad and be disrespectful. Consequently, due to my advanced maternal age of 35, I had an amniocentesis, which is a procedure where a long needle is thrust into the belly to draw out fluid out of the amniotic sack. Fortunately, I was not having a child with Down syndrome, but regrettably, I was having a boy.
This was devastating and I could barely believe the results. Having a boy was something I did not want under any circumstances. On top of it all, I did not know what to do with a boy child, and the remainder of my time being pregnant was the worst time in my life. I was in constant fear of what the future would bring. I cried daily and did not know how I would treat a male child. Obviously, their nature and character is much different than that of a girl, and I was at a loss how I would treat him.
Subsequently, some months after my son was born, his individual personality started emerging. He turned out to be a sweet, respectful child who loved his mother dearly. After some time spent pondering, I realized that this was the reason I got pregnant the third time: I needed to learn a valuable lesson. This God given lesson taught me that your child, male or female, is an extension of you. Not only that, in many respects, he is you. You spend time with them, shaping their outlook on the world, teaching them how to behave, and are showering them with love and affection. If all of this is done properly, they are bound to respond likewise.
So, it became my mission to rectify the mistake my parents had done. I wanted to teach my children to be self-sufficient, educated people, who would have a chance in this world to become anything they set their minds to. I imparted to them the sense that their studies were of extreme importance, as I witnessed their grades and helped with projects. With this help, they learned how to study properly, in order to get a not only a decent grade on tests, projects and papers, but an above average one. In connection to this, an interesting story comes to mind. My 6th grade son, at the end of last school year, was presented with a form to select his classes for the next school year. He said to me, “I would like to take pre-AP math and everything else not pre-AP, but I know that would not be acceptable to you.” Naturally, in order for him to do well in high school and college, he needed to start now with an advanced way of thinking. As a result, he got all “A’s” this year. Similarly, my daughters also did well in school, graduating in the top 3% of their high school class. Needless to say, this makes me one fortunate momma.
This is how it came to be that my kids became my life. My husband is a hunting fan and is gone many weekends of the month. I do enjoy the company of friends and family, but I mostly enjoy the presence of my kids. I try to instill the values of being a good person in them, since I believe this to be crucial. For instance, even when being bullied, my daughter held her tongue and did not verbally retaliate, while I myself probably would have. Still, these lessons are imperative because my children will eventually leave our home forever, and make all their decisions for themselves. That is when a parent can only pray that he or she did a good enough job, and that their kids know they can always count on them for anything.
It is interesting to point out the way life unfolds, as I almost did not take that job at the hospital in Delaware, the one that altered my life, so many years ago, because I had to have a TB shot. Being 19 years old, I was scared to death of needles, yet I managed to overcome this fear and I have not regretted it one bit. Since I accepted that job, I now own my second company, which is again a medical billing service. I have an office behind my home and this has afforded me the privileged lifestyle of being there for my children through all the basketball and volleyball practice and games, track, PTA meetings or lunches forgotten at home that needed to be brought to school. Also, I now make more money than I ever would with a Bachelor or Master’s degree, even more than both of my parents would make combined. However, I am still in want of something I do not have. I want that piece of paper that states that I completed something that I started. The degree will not change the amount of money I make or what I do for a living. Nonetheless, it will be a changing point in my life. Instead of marking the box “some college” on forms that have to be filled out, I will be able to mark that I have finished one, allowing me an additional sense of personal as well as professional gratification.