My Path, My Journey, and My Story 1

My Path, My Journey, and My Story

Anna Romero

Brandman University
My Path, My Journey, and My Story 2

My Path, My Journey, and My Story

Introduction

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step (Tzu, 4th Century). We all have a

unique journey that has placed us in the path we are on today. This path has shaped us into the

person we have become. Some journeys are successful stories while others might be a work in

progress. One thing for sure is that there is no right or wrong way to complete a journey. To be

able to find the right career is a journey itself. For some it is an easy journey while for others it

might be a challenging one. From my personal experience, it took me many routes in order to

find the path that best suits my career journey. It was not an easy path and my journey continues

today. There were many career choices that I wanted to pursue but I never knew where to begin

or didn’t know where to get the resources to help me pursue my career choices. I have learned

with some help along my journey but in reality, I wished I had more. That is a reason why I

decided to become a school counselor. I want to be able to help students with their journey and

provide them with support when it comes to making transitions in their lives.

Circumstances

My parents immigrated from Guatemala to the United States at a very young age. Both

were searching for the American dream they had heard so much about in the late eighties. They

both met and married in the United States and started their family. I am the oldest of three

siblings and the only girl. I was the first in my immediate family to graduate from college and to

receive my bachelor’s degree. Growing up there was a lot of pressure for me to do well in school

and set the example for my younger brothers. I grew up with the typical strict Latino parents with

high family culture values and was never allowed to go out with friends. I had to stay home and

do homework or learn how to cook and clean. My parents taught me to respect them and even
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sometimes fear to disappoint them. I was always afraid to disappoint them and to be honest I am

afraid to disappoint them today and I am almost in my thirties. My parent’s main goal was for all

three of their children to graduate from college and have the dream career they never had

themselves. My mom has worked as a housekeeper for more than thirty years and my dad has

worked in the back of the kitchen for more than thirty-five years. One thing I value the most is

the support they have given me throughout my journey. I was never allowed to work as they

wanted me to focus on school. They supported me financially and made sure that school was my

top priority. Since they never went to college themselves, they did not know how the college

process worked and they were very limited in their resources. My parents did not know how to

help me at all. I was just a teenager and I had no clue where to begin when it came to how to

apply to college or about the different types of universities or community colleges, California

had to offer. I just knew I had to go to college because it was embedded in my head from my

parents at a young age.

Background

I graduated from high school in 2008 and was ranked in the top twenty of my class. I was

a good student as I made sure I would get good grades and stay out of trouble. Things at school

did not come easy to me so I would work twice as hard to be able to get the grades that I had. But

things always came easy to me when it came to my choir and theatre classes. I always looked

forward to my choir class and my theatre class because I love to sing and to act. I made sure to

be registered in choir all four years and I always auditioned for fall and spring plays. I did not

know what I wanted to study after high school, but I didn’t care because at the moment all I

cared about was the arts and how happy it made me feel. It wasn’t until the end of my junior year

that my AP classes had me thinking about college. I still did not know what I wanted to study or
My Path, My Journey, and My Story 4

what college I wanted to go to. I do not remember ever talking to my school counselors about

college. The only times I would go see her was when she handed me my school schedule. There

was one time my junior year that my school counselor went over my grades and wanted to make

sure I was on the right path to graduating high school. She never mentioned anything about

college or my plans after high school. In fact, I was not even sure if she was the person I needed

to talk to about college as she never took the time to build a relationship with me.

My senior year, I took a senior class taught by Mr. Cooper that was supposed to help me

prepare for life after college. I remember taking my first assessment test to determine what

would be a good career for me. I kept getting teacher or actor in the assessment results. In the

senior class, Mr. Cooper would teach us how to prepare for an interview, tie a tie, how to eat at a

formal dinner and how to write a resume. He was the person who told me to visit the career

center when I asked him about college. When I visited the career center, I found out about all

these helpful resources about college. I met for the first time the career center specialist Mrs.

Emery. I had told her that I was interested in college but had no clue what to do or where to start.

She told me that the school was hosting a meeting with the parents to talk about college options

and financial aid and how to apply for the FAFSA. I had told my parents on the event and my

parents were on board and attended all the parent meetings after that.

I visited the career center often and after that I took advantage of all the resources it had

to offer. I started building a good relationship with the career center specialist. She had given me

a list of all the CSU’s and UC’s school and told me to create an account online at college board

and CSU mentor and do some research. Mrs. Emery had told me that the school was hosting a

career fair at the school and told me that was the perfect place to ask questions about college. I

attended the college fair and found a couple of schools I was interested in. When it came to
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filling out college applications Mrs. Emery guided me and gave me waivers so that I did not have

to pay to apply. I was not aware that I had to pay to apply. I only applied to three universities UC

San Diego, San Diego State and Notre Dame de Namur. I had learned a lot from Mrs. Emery.

She taught me how to apply for the FAFSA and to all the local scholarships. She encouraged me

to look and apply for as many scholarships as possible. If it was not for her help, I would not

have known the steps to apply for college. I had decided to study musical theatre because it was

the only major, I was interested in. I was rejected from both UC and CSU San Diego and

accepted at NDNU. I was also accepted at CSU San Bernardino, UC Riverside and UC Merced.

I found out that once you apply to a CSU or UC other schools can look at your application and

accept you.

After high school, I attended NDNU for a year and majored in musical theatre. I only

accepted to go to NDNU because it sounded so good on paper. I found that NDNU was not a fit

for me so I decided to transfer to California State University of San Bernardino. I wanted to be

close to home and my family. CSUSB was a fit for me and I finished the rest of my four years. I

graduated cum laude in 2013 and received my Bachelor’s degree in theatre arts with an emphasis

in musical theatre. I found out that I enjoyed doing children's theatre and was passionate about

how important it was to have the arts at K-12 school. Theatre certainly helped me boost my

confidence growing up. For me theatre was more than about acting and more of introducing

creativity to children. My dream was to open a community theatre in my hometown for children

to engage in theatre and music workshops. After graduation, I did not know what I wanted to do.

I knew that I loved working with children, but I could not be a theatre teacher because I had not

studied in education or majored in English. By the time I realized it was already too late. I

decided to apply to the Disney College Program right after college to see if any doors would
My Path, My Journey, and My Story 6

open for me. I did a six-month program at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. It was a

wonderful experience and program and I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in

working for the mouse. I had missed California too much and decided to come back home.

Personal Outlook

From the time between now and my college graduation, I was in a stage of limbo. I did

not know what I wanted to do career wise. I had to find a job immediately because I had student

loans that I owed. I only knew that I wanted to get my master’s degree but had no clue in what. I

did not want to do my graduate program right after college because I was not sure what I wanted

to study and I did not want to waste money and time on a program that I was not one hundred

percent sure about. I started thinking about getting a master’s in education, but I was not

certified. I hated the feeling of being stuck and not knowing what to do. I felt that I did not have

some guidance in choosing the career that best fitted me. I just kept trying new things hoping that

I would find my calling. It was not until a few years ago that I finally realized that I wanted to be

a school counselor, so I took the initiative to get my master’s degree in school counseling and

credentials in PPSC. I want to be the school counselor I never had growing up. I want to help

students when it comes to making transitions after high school. I know what it is like to have this

sense of feeling stuck and it is not fun. I do not want anybody to feel that way I did during my

journey. I definitely want to help students with their academic, social and emotional

development but I am more passionate about helping students with their career development. I

do not regret getting my bachelors in theatre arts because it shaped me into the person I am. I am

more confident now than I was ten years ago because of theatre. Of course, I will incorporate my

theatre background when it comes to my role as a school counselor. I want to let students know

that it is ok to not know what they want to do right after high school. Some people have it all
My Path, My Journey, and My Story 7

figured out while others do not and that is fine too. It took me a long time to finally figure out my

calling and I cannot wait to become a school counselor after my graduate program.

Present Career Status

I have worked a few jobs since my Disney College Program. I first learned about retail

during the Disney College Program as I was trained to work at one of the shops at a Disney park.

I did retail at Target for about a year and at the same time I was working as a teacher assistant

helping children with disabilities. I currently work in hospitality as a concierge at The Residence

Club at PGA West. The Residence Club is a fractional ownership property so our clientele are

well off people that own a fraction of a property. I take care of the needs of our owner such as

booking restaurant and golf reservations, answering phone calls and emails, filing documents and

providing local events information in the community. I also deal with checking in and checking

out our guests and providing them with any services they may need. I use my customer service

and communication skills on a daily basis. I enjoy my job and I am content with where I am

working at now and it pays well but it is simply just a job. I decided to go back to school so that I

can pursue my career as a school counselor because that is where I truly want to be. Until I

achieve that goal, I will stay at The Residence Club because it helps pay the bills.

I want my experiences to be able to help students find the path that best suits them. I

know what it is like to feel lost and it is not a good feeling. I went through an emotional roller

coaster and I almost gave up on myself. I felt that my journey had almost ended but realized that

it was not over yet. My decision to become a school counselor was made because I want to help

students, especially the students who are the first one in their family to go to college because I

can relate to their situation. I want to help students by providing them with helpful resources that

will guide them with their transition after high school. The resources will include college,
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financial aid, scholarship, and trade/vocational school information. If I had some transitional

guidance at a young age, I would have probably had a better understanding about college,

choosing my major, and finding the career that best suited me. I want students to know that there

are options for them after high school. I also want to let them know that it is okay to not know

right away if they are not sure about what college to go to or a major to do and to experiment

until they find the career choice that best suits them. It took me a while to decide what I wanted

to do and I am happy with the choice I have made. The Brandman school counseling program is

helping me learn about the resources that I can provide to students when it comes to making

college/ career transitions. I am learning as I go to become the school counselor I wished I had.

Conclusion

I cannot compare my journey to others as my journey is my unique story to tell. We all

have different paths and need to understand that it is okay to have a different journey than those

around us. I will make sure to share my journey to students so that they know that it takes a few

paths to find the one that takes you to your destination. I want to help students by offering them

the resources they need in order to start their journey that will lead to their destination. My

journey was not an easy one, but I learned from it. My journey led me to the decision of

becoming the best school counselor I can be and for that I embrace my journey. My path has

shaped me to be the person I am today and is also helping me become the person I want to be in

the future.
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References

Tzu, L. (4th- 6th Century B.C). Dao De Jing. Chinese Classical Text. Chapter 64.