Growing up within a large family, the understanding of financial circumstances has been well formulated in my sense of the world. By this, I mean that I have been educated about budgeting, income, and spending habits. I have learned to make choices between wants and needs while taking into consideration the wants and needs of the other members of the family. My parents, although they made certain that every member of the family had their basic needs covered, often neglected their wants in order to provide for the children of the home. This included having to forego their higher education and enter the workforce. This caused them to often have to work late hours and miss many family activities. I believe that pursuing my education will greatly improve my ability to avoid such financial circumstances and allow me to improve the quality of life for myself and my parents.
Achieving a higher education and increasing my potential for a higher income will allow me to provide for myself and my family by eliminating the need to make difficult choices about needs and desires. I remember watching my mother look at clothing in the stores for herself but always returning the items to the racks when she noticed one of her children looking at something as well. I do not want to have to make such decisions in my life nor do I want her to have to continue to do so. Once I obtain my degree and improve my financial status, I look forward to taking my mother shopping and both of us leaving the store with our choice of clothing.

Also, by pursuing a degree, I will be able to choose a career that allows me to have a work schedule that will be more adaptive to raising my own family. This is very important to me as I watched my parents miss many family activities in order to provide the financial support for those activities. I want to be able to participate in school functions, family vacations, and holidays while still having a career that supports these activities. Without a degree, I would most likely have to miss such events in the same way that my parents had to do.

A higher education can open doorways that will allow me to improve the quality of life for both myself and my parents. I feel that they have shown me what is important in life by having to make decisions in life. My childhood was full of love but my family often struggled. Education can help me to change this and will greatly improve my life.