Don't you fret, for there will be a day When all your worries and troubles fade away Poor or rich, you'll find your way Days may seem hopeless, even bleak But don't retreat Push and pull for your dreams Even though it may seem impossible Don't fear, God will be here Along by your side to watch you So swallow that pride and get ready to run Take your stride Inbrace that dream Don't let it go Through the rain, wind, and snow One day you'll find All your struggle will be worth it It's an up hill battle at times But just imagnie On the way to a new life~ This is a poem I wrote. I'm struggling along with the rest of my family to make my own dreams come true. Regardless of if I get the money I need from here, or somewhere else, I want to insire others to presue their dream. Whether you want to be an arist or a constrution worker. No matter what the dream is, don't put it off. Take action now. My family is on a fixed income, due to my grandmother being disabled. I'm currently employed, but only part time. I'm working hard so that maybe I can get to college. I want to be a game designer. I want to work with animations and be able to create my own characters in a game one day. I've always been insired by anything creative. I've applied for Arapahoe Coumminty College and Denver University, but there's a $60 application fee for DU and I don't think I can afford it. I would have to move in order to go to my dream college, which is expensive. Ideally I want to get my bachalors at Denver University. If I do pay the application fee, it would make it hard on my family since I have a child I have to support as well. It's just me, my grandmother, and my two month old son living together and all together she makes about 700 or 800 dollars a month. The rent is 400 a month. Our home burned down when I was about 10 and now I'm 17. Ever since then we've struggled, but some how we make it. Out-of-state tution is expensive. We already get help from government programs like WIC and Stamps so I'm thinking that I will have to get a loan. I'm scared about that because you have to pay loans back and I know at ACC the cost is about 7,000 a semester. I'm not sure how I'll pull through and get to college, but I worked hard through school and I lived with a family friend in order to go to a high school where I could do extra work. I stayed at school from 8:30 am to 6:00 pm 4 days a week. The school was closed on Friday or I would be there then as well. Through moving I lost some credits I could have gotten, but I finished all my classes a week before I turned 17 still. I never gave up. I stayed up all night studying for my finals and making sure I was passing. I worked hard in school because I have a passion for learning. I take school very seriously because of my family situation. We currently don't have a car so we have to rely on a friend for a ride to anywhere we want to go. We had a car, but my grandmother had a wreck and our car was totaled. It seems like we run into one set back after another but I swear that one day, things will be better and I can get my grandmother the home she deserves and she won't have to worry about the bills. I'm considering taking online classes if I can't afford things like room and board. Whatever it takes, I'll make this happen. I'll work hard and keep good grades so that I can do more for myself. I'm one of the only people I know from my family that will graduate from high school, and definately the first to attend college. Failure isn't an opition in my book. I have to do what I need to so that I can make my grandmother proud. As far as the actually cost, the college I wish to attend is $40,000 or so in total. Actually, if I went to college closer to home it would be expensive still. Auburn University's cost for just books and tution its 11,052 for just 12 hours. A bachloars is 120, if I'm not mistaken. That's why I'm applying for scholarships. My family can't help me so I have to help myself. I'm hoping if all else fails, in a few years if I save as much as I can, maybe I can pay for college myself. All I know is the sooner the better. I'll have to be on my own soon because my grandmother has been dignosed with 3rd stage lung cancer. They said she has about a 12% chance of recovery. It's stable for now, but cancer's very scary and if anything happens to her, I don't have anywhere to go other than family friends which are all pretty much in the same boat as us. Howeever I have hope! This is why I can't give up. I'll push through whatever comes in my way and I will make it. I have her and my son to think about, not just me. I'm looking on taking on a second job and I've already put in some applications of places I can walk to if I have to. It's only 2 or 3 miles to town. Things are hard and it feels like the whole world is crashing down, but I will make this happen. Some way, some how, for them if no one else.