29 Aug 2016
As a child, my Mother always tried to encourage me to get into the Medical field. She always knew I enjoyed helping people, but I was not sure if the Medical field was for me. My Grandmother raised me as a little girl and she had Diabetes and High Blood Pressure. Thanks to my Mother, I manage to learn how to take my Grandmother’s blood pressure, monitor her glucose and inject insulin into her arm and stomach. She was always willing to help me learn. Shortly after, my Mother then became Diabetic and she had to go through the same thing, like monitoring her glucose and injecting her insulin. A couple year ago, I was diagnosed with High Blood Pressure. As you can already tell, these diseases run in the family. However, even after going down my family timeline and realizing all my ancestors suffered through this, I was still not convinced enough to get into the Medical field. My passion has always been Law. I love everything about it, from the initial procedures, preparing the documentation, representing the client in court, retrieving the results, sharing it with the client etc. My Mother was a bit disappointed, as I did not study what she wished, but I am helping people, just in a different aspect. No employer was willing to give me the opportunity to work at a law firm, due to not having the appropriate education or experience. I decided to take the first step and enroll into college, I told myself “Perhaps if I was to earn my Associate’s Degree, I will hopefully get an interview.” I am proud to say that I am an alumni from Brown Mackie College, with my Associates Degree in Paralegal Studies. Shortly after graduating, I tried once again to apply at several firms and surprisingly, my Associates was still not enough. Not only did I need an education, but I also needed training. How was I supposed to get the experience and training, if no one was willing to give me an opportunity? I did not give up. I decided to take a break, but enough was enough. I did not want to keep wasting time. I went ahead and enrolled into Post University for my Bachelor’s Degree in Legal Studies. I also decided to become a Notary Public for the State of Florida. Although I am only a few classes away from
graduating, I bumped into a very bumpy road – my Grandmother who I love dearly was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. When she was in the beginning stages, I figured out on my own that she was losing her memory, but not to the point that this horrible disease was ready to take her away from me. I started missing class, as I was the only one in the family who was taking care of her. I was constantly taking her to all of her appointments, taking her to the grocery store etc. It came to a point that was abandoning herself. She would not clean her home, she would not bathe, and she would leave the gas stove on overnight. She even abandoned her dog because she thought her diseased Mother was feeding her. I had no help from the family, her three kids abandoned her, her middle son used her for all that he could, even taking her car away, and completely left all the decisions and suffering up to me. I had no other option than to make the biggest decision of my life. I had to take her away from her home and place her into an Assisting Living Facility. I worked at a tool company named Rubi Tools USA, Inc. for five years. I began to miss so much that it became a burden on the supervisor and my co-workers. The human resources manager called me into her office one day and gave me my last and final warning. Shortly after I remove her from her home, she became immobile – I knew the disease had progressed. She gradually stopped eating, unable to digest her food. She suffered from incontinence, unable to do things for herself. Months would pass by and she would not recognize my face. I had to get a Durable Power of Attorney done very quickly, before her son would take every possession she owned. I had to close her bank account, before he would take all her money. He managed to take advantage of her sickness and took her to the bank, so she can include him on her account. I could not allow such a thing. How can you completely take advantage of your Mother? This was probably the most difficult thing for me to ever have to deal with. She raised me, I woke up every day by her side and shut my eyes at night next to her. She would feed me, I would make her favorite Cuban coffee. I was her pride and joy; and knowing how special I was to her, my face later became a blur. I never really knew how difficult it was to lose someone, but after so much heartache I’ve gone through, I later came to realize that I lost her a while back. This has in fact been the longest goodbye. She went from eating a huge plate of Cuban food, to only drinking two nutritional boxes of milk a day. She went from weighing over 200 pounds, to weighing less than 100. She is bedbound, dependent and her brain is literally being deteriorated by this horrible disease. Despite everything I am currently going through, I was finally able to land an entry-level job at the Law Offices of Alex Hanna. I began February of this year as a Ticket Processor. Two months after being with the company, I was
promoted to the Pleadings Department. This department is what has changed my outlook in my future. We work with many attorneys, and I have confidence when I say that I will have my very own firm someday. I’ve manage to change my Mother’s mind about the field I’ve chosen and she is beyond proud of me and my achievements. Sadly, my financial aid has reached its limit before I can graduate. I will only be able to participate in the next two classes (next two months). I do not want to lose my education now, I am determined more than ever. I’ve come so far and really look forward to walking across that stage and receiving my degree. I am the first and only one in my family to ever attend college. Unfortunately, my income is certainly not enough for me to afford my education. I had to pay out of pocket on my own to be able to afford my Grandmother’s facility. I also spent a lot on pampers, nightgowns and baby food – the only thing she is able to digest. I want to make both my Mother and Grandmother proud. I want to prove to my future children that just because you’ve bumped into a bumpy road, it does not mean you should quit. There is always help out there. When you really want something, you will go to the extra mile to find it, and this is why I am writing this essay. I need assistance, I want to earn my Bachelor’s Degree and go straight into Law School. God willing, I will enroll into Florida International University School of Law and earn my Juris Doctor. I feel that after having to create the Durable Power of Attorney, it has encouraged me to practice Estate Planning. I want people to have their processions distributed to those whom they wish. I look forward to hearing back from you, any little bit counts. I know I owe a lot to financial aid, but once I earn my Juris Doctor, I know I will be able to repay that and so much more.