Melissa Brockington Senior Portfolio 2014

College Preparatory Academy Autobiography

My name is Melissa Brockington ! am nineteen years old and ! am enrolled at "reater
#glesten $igh School ! li%e &ith my mother and she is a single parent &ith fi%e kids ! am the
youngest of her fi%e children As a child' ! struggled &ith a lot of hardships and struggles !
struggled &ith asthma and se%ere allergies $a%ing these problems has been (uite depressing
from time to time ! al&ays felt incapable of doing things that other people could do
!t first started at school ! had physical education and ! had to sit out some days due to my
se%ere asthma ! also suffered from anaphyla)is' &hich is a se%ere allergic reaction Anaphyla)is
is a se%ere' &hole body' allergic reaction to a chemical that has become an allergen *nce the
body is e)posed to a substance such as food or seasonal allergies' the tissues in different parts of
the body release histamine and other substances +his causes the air&ays to tighten and close
*ther symptoms of anaphyla)is are hi%es' s&elling in the mouth' eyes' and hands' and loss of
breath ! &as diagnosed &ith asthma and anaphyla)is at 1, months old ! ha%e been struggling
&ith this e%er since
*ne day ! &as at home and my mom &as cooking dinner My mom and ! al&ays kne& !
&as allergic to seafood -e .ust thought that ! could not eat it But &e &ere &rong about that
because .ust the smell of salmon fish sent me into anaphylactic shock +his led me to the +rauma
/nit at Boston Medical Center ! &as intubated because my air&ays shut do&n 0o& ! ha%e a
damaged left lung Air does not mo%e through my left lung as much as the right lung My
medical condition is the most depressing thing that ! ha%e to face e%ery day My condition is a
chronic disorder ! &ill ne%er be normal ! am al&ays going to ha%e asthma and all ! can do is
take care of it and myself !t is hard kno&ing that you cannot breathe on your o&n and you ha%e
to depend on medicine to keep you ali%e
$a%ing these issues ha%e affected me a lot in school ! try to keep it a secret from
people ! am afraid of &hat people &ill think of me !t may sound silly' but ! &as critici1ed a lot
because of ha%ing asthma People made fun of me and insulted me As ! got older' ! learned ho&
to manage my disease a little better than before ! felt better as ! got older and learned ho& my
body reacts to certain things 2or e)ample &hen it is humid outside' ! try to stay indoors so that !
do not aggra%ate my asthma 2rom time to time' this gets hard because ! cannot go outside and
play &ith my friends like a normal teen
My asthma has pushed me to accomplish more in my life ! kno& that ! cannot get a real
.ob &ithout a college degree ! could ne%er &ork at a restaurant or a fast food place due to hypo3
sensiti%e allergies +his is hard because as a teen it is important to ha%e a .ob My .ob helps me
financially to purchase the things that ! need and it helps my family pay rent and bills !t is %ery
important for me to go to college because ! &ill not get a good .ob &ithout a college education
My illnesses pre%ents me from ha%ing certain occupations +o help me financially' ! am on SS!'
Supplemental Security !ncome !t is a supplemental income from the go%ernment for children
and adults ! ha%e recei%ed SS! since ! &as a kid ! do not &ant this ! &ant to be able to &ork at
a .ob and make money like a normal person ! &ant to go to college' get a degree and be someone
in life College is my ticket to start a ne& life and start my dream career as an early childhood
teacher ! &ant to get a degree because all my life ! ha%e seen my mom struggle and go through
hardships because of my illness 2or e)ample my mom cannot mo%e into certain apartments
because ! am allergic to carpet +he floors ha%e to be &ooden &here%er &e li%e ! &ant to get a
degree and salary so my family and ! can li%e better and be financially stable
My determination to succeed is &hy ! changed high schools Before "reater #gleston
$igh School' ! attended #)cel $igh School ! transferred from #)cel $igh School because they
pushed my graduation date to 4une 2015 "raduating from high school is %ery important to me
Coming to "reater #gleston $igh School has gi%en me the opportunity to graduate this year !
am going to /rban College of Boston in the fall for college ! ha%e had many struggles in my
life' but ! am e)cited to be an incoming college freshman