Autobiographical Statement - Essay Example

ects of these on families at close quarters in my native land, I was determined to get a good education and get a slice of the good things in life for myself and my family. I was born in Sierra Leone, West Africa, one of the poorest countries of the world, but blessed to have a mother endowed with the grit and determination to make a better life for herself and her family. My mother brought the family over to the US in 1990 on a Certified Nursing Assistant paycheck. I was brought up by parents who are not educated, but who worked very hard and over time set up a small grocery store and restaurant.

My mother’s life reminds me of a story she told me as a child about an ant who kept trying to carry a sugar cube to its den, and failed so many times but never gave up trying till it finally succeeded. I think the story is an inspiration to me even today and I go back to remembering my mother telling me the story and how it probably gave her strength in her periods of crisis. I am a single parent to two daughters. After the birth of my first daughter in 1999, I enrolled at St. Paul Community College in St.

Paul, Minnesota. However, I was forced to drop out because I got no support or cooperation from my husband. I have had the misfortune of going through a traumatic relationship with an abusive and domineering husband, who would not allow me to finish college. After five years of physical, emotional and mental abuse, I decided to move to California to get away from him. In 2004, I put myself through Beauty College, completing the 1600 hours required by the state of California. In the same year, I passed my State Board Exam and became a licensed Cosmetologist.

I got a job with Fantastic Sam for a couple of years while attending El Camino College in Torrance, California. In the year 2006, I plunged headlong into business. I opened my own hair salon in Gardena, CA. At first it was a wonderful feeling being my own boss and setting my own hours, working hard and studying