Jessica Montgomery

Resurrected Dreams

Each of us, as we grow, develops a dream for what we want out of life. Our dreams are often shaped not only during our childhoods, but also sometimes by them. Some children grow up in happy homes and dream of being ballerinas and firemen. Some read books avidly and fantasize about the day they write their first novel. And other children, like myself, have lives filled with pain and fear. Some of those share my dream of helping others, like themselves, to overcome their pasts.

After decades of abuse, both physical and mental, my dream is to enable others to learn coping skills that will allow them to live useful, functional, productive, and happier lives. I want to become a counseling psychologist. My dream began as a child. While I was shuttled from home to home with little or no guidance,. The adults who had the job of “caring” for me abused me physically, sexually and emotionally. This abuse left me alone, uneducated, and the mother of four children. Dreams of helping others through a degree in Psychology were quickly buried under hours of work. Dead end jobs trapped me in the effort to feed my children and at least try to make ends meet. Often my children start school with limited school supplies, and dressed in secondhand clothing. We have lived in abject poverty, and we have struggled to keep going through the days and months that are empty of even the simple things that others take for granted.

As my children grow, however, I can see that they, too, have dreams. Without making my own dreams come true, the chances are, I will never truly be able to help them shape theirs. With a degree in Psychology, not only bring my clients expertise tempered with sympathy, compassion and deep understanding, but I will be able to support my children as they begin to realize their dreams as well.

I am laying before my children an example of hard work to achieve goals. They watch as I spend hours upon hours surrounded by textbooks, studying for exams and writing research papers. I am showing them that what we want not always is given to us in life, but must be reached for. They’ve witnessed their mother return to college, become the Vice President of Service for Phi Theta Kappa, and maintain an honorable 3.49 GPA before finally reaching the goal of a 4.0. My own college success will show them the extreme difference a degree can make in their lives, a stark contrast between the poverty they have known and a "middle class" life style. And, each day, as I head off to my job as a psychologist, I will be demonstrating the value of helping others overcome the trials we, ourselves, once faced.

I know that, with funding, I will achieve my goal. Years of hard work at hated jobs have taught me perseverance. Four children, age twelve, thirteen, sixteen and nineteen will teach anyone patience. Achieving a bachelor’s degree in psychology is my greatest chance to achieve my dreams. If I were to give up now, just throw it away, I would have to give up hope too... hope that there is a better life, and that I, too, can be a part of it. I am not the product of my environment, but the product of my labor. I intend to prove that the American Dream is real… that even the poor, the abused and the desperate among us can achieve it with enough drive and determination.