Personal Story

To start off the personal narrative about my life, my full name is Suzanna Joy Fia. My life began in Lamour, CA, where I was born on December 15, 1999. I am the youngest of 4 sisters, we grew up in many different places due to my father serving in the military. My Dad retired in 2010 after 31 years of service, whereas my Mom moved on to become a Special Ed. teacher with a Masters in that field. My family and I moved to Alaska shortly after my dad’s retirement where he continued working as a bus driver and my Mom, a teacher at Reddington High School in Settlers Bay. I spent most of Elementary school in Texas and the rest of my academic career in Alaska.

The best memories I have from high school began with Fridays. Friday at my school wasn’t bad at all. Very rarely did we have homework to be done over the weekends. Classes were much more relaxed and often consisted of work days. Fridays were special because for each week that went by, the closer and closer you got to freedom. A big motivation for me to go to school were my friends. We worked hard together to get good grades while having fun. All of my current best friends are people I met in high school. When you’re going through the same kind of life problems, it’s nice to have a group of friends to help you along the way.

Although there were good times, high school consisted some of the worst. Something that goes hand in hand with friend groups is drama. Highschool can be very dramatic and can find yourself in the middle of it. I learned that sometimes it’s best to just ignore it and keep your thoughts to yourself. One memory I will never forget was going to gym, being surrounded by much fitter students and challenging obstacles. The dreaded mile run was one of the most difficult things I had to do in high school. For the life of me I could not get my time under ten minutes. Being the last person to finish your run with the longest time was one of the worst feelings and still haunts me to this day.
Growing up I had a love for art and creativity. I have been drawing since I was a little child.

I usually drew animals and landscapes with vibrant colors that were hung up in my room, taking up every inch of the walls. Painting quickly became my new obsession in middle school. I would spend days working on a piece for my own personal getaway from life. I have a secret respect a devotion for animals. I adore dogs more than any other animal, considering I’ve got 4 of my own at home. I have worked in a vet clinic and taken vet assisting classes, increasing my love. Volunteering at the local shelter is a hobby I will never let go of. Giving the animals a little bit a joy and seeing it in their eyes, makes every visit worth my time.

Attending college has always been a life goal starting in high school. People who graduate from college make more money and open up more opportunities and choices for jobs/careers. I decided to go to college because I am a strong believer in that education opens new doors of opportunity. I’m also finding new friends that can help me along the way to graduating. I hope I can start a tradition in the family line to attend college and move up in the world. To find a career that I love and will support me in life and give me the chance to grow as a person would be a dream come true.

Currently my life consists of school, family, and lots of napping. In order to keep everything on track, I must follow a strict schedule. Having my planner will help me finish projects in a timely manner, manage my time, and make sure my classes are in order. My goal is keeping a heathy balance between school and my social life. I hope by the end of this semester I will be more active and organized with my life choices. After a couple more years at Matsu College I plan on moving out of Alaska and pursue the career I’ve chosen.
College was definitely a step out of my comfort zone. The fear of change took over my life after graduating high school. I was scared of making new friends and having a professor instead of a teacher. Then the stage of loneliness started to set in as my time slowly began to consist of studying. I find it hard to get out of the acutance zone with people in class. There are so many different people with different backgrounds its difficult to find the right friends that fit me. The dreaded “What if?” haunts me every time I’m heading to class, thinking of the worst that can happen. Thinking like this gets my heart pumping at the chance of embarrassing myself in class, keeping me from new opportunities.

I started my first semester at Middle college with no friend’s, severe depression, and anxiety. I was in a slow decline of unhealthy self-care and kept many mental health problems to myself. I was only 17 and unprepared for a big academic step such as college and independent responsibility. I was scared to ask for help and communicate what was going on in my life with the counselor, principal, even my family. I pushed myself towards poor mental health, resulting in hospitalization. I have found the chemical imbalance causing my mental problems and am taking the necessary medications to keep my depression and anxiety stable. I have developed healthy coping skills such as exercise, mindfulness, the importance of asking for help and having many different support outlets. I am able to continue my coursework and improve my academic progress.    

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