I am writing this to explain my academic downfall at UCSB. To explain, I would like to detail my background and family history. Born in San Diego, California I come from a small family that includes my mother, grandmother, and brother. My father left my mother leaving her to be a teenage single-mother. It would be easy to say that not having my father in my life has affected not only my life, but my family’s lives as well even up till today. Being a single-mother has taken a toll on my mother for as long as I can remember. Yes, we were the stereotypical poor family, but that should not detract from our struggle. I can vividly remember nights where me and my mother ate spaghetti by candlelight because we couldn’t afford the electricity bill. …show more content…
She was in and out of the hospital, and at first there was not an urgent concern for me. The only time I have ever really seen my mom in a hospital was when she was giving birth. However, one trip to the hospital turned in two and next thing to it was weekly trips some even trips lasting almost a week at a time. My mom was missing weeks of work and could not actively care for my younger brother or grandmother. Additionally, with my mother being out of work there was less income our household. The reason this affected my grades was the way in which I had to deal with the situation. It’s demanding trying to be at two places at once. I tried continuously to balance my coursework with being concerned with my mother’s help and trying to help my family stay afloat. I was making daily multi-hour phone calls and facetimes to check in. However, as her health deteriorated i got scared. I got scared that I could loose my mom the only thing in person in my life I count on, my everything. I started making monthly trips by train just get home even missing classes to do so. As the school year was winding down my mother’s health wasn’t getting any better. It didn’t know what to do or who could help, and that made me severely depressed. My mom being the woman she is would never ask me to make the sacrifice I decided to make. I decided that I would drop out of UCSB and return