This is my personal statement:

This is my personal statement:

This is my personal statement: 

The first little girl I’ve known her for as long as I’ve known myself. She is a quiet, withdrawn and sad little girl. My aunt always told “behind every strong independent woman is a little girl who had to learn how to stand up alone without depending on others.” That quote resonated with me then, and has stayed with me since because I know that little girl well. I started getting physically abused at the age of 10. It seemed like the abuse got worst and worst every year. There were days my mom would cook and she would put the food in containers and take it to her room just to make sure i couldn’t eat. I always made sure so ate at school and would stay as long as i can in school so when i got home maybe i can shower and go straight to sleep. Most days weren’t like that. I remember on a weekend i was home and i was really hungry and she cooked and she ate, let my brother eat and then took the food in her room. i was so hungry, i didn’t have any money. when she went to the bathroom i went in her room and snuck some food but as i was leaving the room i got caught. she took the food from me and she beat me so bad to the point where she didn’t send me to school for a couple of days because of the bruises i had. I didn’t think I was going to make it out that day. I was always able to handle all of the other beatings and punishments because I always told myself it’s not for much longer and i have to deal with it now. The last beating almost killed me and that was when i realized i could not survive if i stayed there. I was fourteen when my mom kicked me out. I went to my aunts house and the next day my mom came to my aunts house and told me everything would change and everything will be better but i knew she was saying that just so i can go back home. i stayed with my aunt for about 5 years. She was a nurse. She made sure I never went without anything, she was my biggest supporter. I am who I am today because of her. she passed away my first year into college. I couldn’t go back home so I joined that Army National Guard. Days immediately following, that’s when I took ownership of my journey. I decided then that I’d speak up, I’d fight for me, and more importantly the abuse ends with me. I always said If I had a child I’d love and protect them the way I had wanted my mom to love and protect me. The way my aunt loved and protected me. Her memory reminds me every day to push past circumstances and create my own opportunities. Having a career as a Nurse will help and build me into the woman I always wanted to me for everyone around me and everyone i’ll ever come across. I know that they’re are little boys and girls that go through what I went through. I want to be able to inspire them and let them know that it doesn’t last forever and you have to do everything in your power to get out of the situation. I will always encourage them to go to school... stay in school because it’s really rewarding at the end! I want to create the life i never had but always wanted for my son. Everything i do is for him now. I want to attend Stony Brook School of Nursing so i can provide a level of care to people and give them support, love and to care for them in a way they’ve never been cared for before, to provide a beautiful life for my son. At the end of it all, when you look at me with my Bachelors, a successful nursing career, and a beautiful family and anyone ever asks me what makes me strong? I’ll quickly answer — the little girl who survived abuse and somehow stayed sane. And the little boy who needs to see his mom succeed. Every day I fight and stay strong for him. I want people to know that there’s two ways you can end up in situations like this. When i share my story I want people to know that you can take everything that happened to you and let it make you bitter and angry or you can let it make you a better person. and I will always choose being a better person over everything