Growing the Voices of Our Future
The Westside Gazette Newspaper is honored is feature these editorial contributions made by local
By Samara Rawls
Today I wanted to write an article about perseverance, and a great example of this is my grandmother, Janice Jackson who this past May graduated college from Old Dominion University.
Many people believe that after you graduate high school, you head straight to college, then get a job. That is the traditional route, but not all people are able to go that way due to obstacles.
For my grandmother, she didn’t go because she was afraid to go. My grandmother didn’t do the best from elementary school all the way to high school and she feared college would be even more challenging. But in 2016, she was determined to go back to college and get her degree in special education.
The one thing that motivated her was God. She said God was the one who pushed her to go to college and achieve her best. I remember many times I would visit my grandmother in Virginia, and she would study so hard for her assessments coming up. She would cook and take care of us, then go off to her studying.
My grandmother worked so hard to get where she is today! I am telling her story to inspire anyone who feels too busy, ‘too old’ to go back, or you feel it’s too hard. You shouldn’t let anything limit you because you can do it as long as you apply yourself to it.
Don’t let fear hold you back because the sky’s the limit!
