I am a college student (on hold now for military service commitment) who has been through college on my own expenses. I attended Heald College in Honolulu for two years and obtained an Associates degree in computer technology and graduated with a GPA of 3.25 in June of 1999. This has been a very high acheivement for me being that in high school I barely received my high school diploma. At the time I was a young person who had no goals in life and did not grow up with much positive influences from my parents. My dad was a drunk and I was physically abused growing up and did not have much self confidence being that he beat it out of me. I also grew up around drug use being that my parents were regular users of pot and used them around myself and younger siblings. My parents were never good role models. My mother dropped out of school at the age of 13 to give birth to a child which later did not survive. My father on the other hand finished high school by the minimum grade point average.
I graduated high school with a grade point average of 1.7 which I now look at and am embarrased. Relations with my father was not good and I got kicked out of my father's house a few months after graduating high school. I was a kid who was very lost and did not have a positive person to show me what direction I should take in life. All I knew were the negative friendship influences I surrounded myself with. Working two full time jobs I ended up paying bills for a year in a low income housing unit. I rented a room for $350 a month. During the entire year I finally came to the realization that I would have a really difficult time raising a family with just a high school diploma and bad friends who were frequent users of drugs and illicit activity.
When a year passed I finally built up the courage to explain to my parents that I wanted to go to school and needed a second chance to live under their roof and rules. My father accepted and I moved in and put myself to college. I applied and was granted student loans for myself being that my parents did not make much income to put me through school. My dad was a construction worker and my mother was a telephone operator and we had a family of six which they worked hard to raise. Money did not come easy in my family. We were poor.
A year passed and I was half way through obtaining my Associate's degree at Heald College Honolulu and the arguements with my dad started up again. At that time I met a girl named Hazel who had an Uncle who just became a Christian who was willing to let me stay with them while I finished my enrollment at Heald College. I stayed with them for a year and they showed me the joys of living with the word of the Bible and most importantly showed me how to pray. It was a spiritual uplifting and a renewing of my life. I began to see the world differently. My negative outlook on life began to take a complete turn around. I also learned to be more confident and my confidence level went from almost zero to a sky rocketing level thanks to the teaching of my new parents.
I always tried to avoid military service because I did not want to do what my father did. I always thought I could do something else. Well I graduated Heald College and ended up not having a job. I was still living with my girlfriends family at the time and my welcome was about used all up, so I needed to find some work. I was then forced to look to the military to find a way to make a living. I later decided the Air Force was a wiser decision. After joining I realized how wonderful it was to serve my country and it turned out to be the best thing I have ever done. I not only served my country with pride but also learned why the government functions the way they do. Without dedicated men and women to do their work in the military the country would not be what they are today. I deployed a month after 9/11 and got on a cargo C-17 jet to an unknown destination in the middle eastern desert. I served with pride and learned freedom does not come free. I spent six months in the desert in the country of U.A.E.
I served six years and was forced to reenlist for another four because of bills in which I have a responsibitly of paying.
I am a veteran who wants to continue my education and obtain my bachelor's degree and hope to serve my country once again but work for the FBI or get commissioned in the U.S. Air Force and serve as a prior enlisted experienced officer.
I have figured out expenses for me to be a full time student would be approximately $1000 a month for four years which figures out to $48000. This is a number I came up with if I had rent to pay $800 a month and utilities for $200 a month.
