Growing Up In A Small Town Essay

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“ I was from a small town, and nobody really expects you to leave, especially before you graduate, that just doesn’t happen.” (Taylor Swift) Hattiesburg, Mississippi, a city in the most poverty stricken states, ranked number 51. 44% of the population lives below poverty level, that is almost half of the total population. The median salary being 16,000, you’re lucky if you make more than that. The graduation rate from high school is at 76%. Higher education attainment is at a shockingly low 32.1%. My mother and I made it our mission to not be another disappointment growing up in the small town. I knew at a young age that the city I was in was somewhere that I could not stay. I wanted to be successful, I wanted to be able to experience new things, be able to prosper in my field of work. I couldn’t do that in Hattiesburg. There was no room to …show more content…

I knew I had to make it. The moment we moved was the moment I knew I couldn’t give up no matter how hard it got or how much I missed home. My mom always kept encouraging me even when I would go through stages where I would miss home so much being that I had absolutely no family or friends in Houston. Giving up was never an option in our family, whatever mission you start you don’t give up until you accomplish it and you always know that everyone in the family is 2 steps behind you in everything you do. When we actually got out of there everyone was so happy for us, even if they couldn’t leave yet. I knew to get where I needed to be I had to be dedicated I didn’t care what I thought I couldn’t do. I didn’t care if I wasn’t the best student in math or the best student in physics. I knew that I was always putting my best foot forward and if I didn’t do my best I always had an opportunity to do better. Where I grew up created a drive deep inside me to always be the best that I can be, it taught me that everyone can’t be that one superstar in the classroom but you can work as hard as you can to get

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