Trying To Become A Teacher, But I Need to Explain My Past Academic History. Help?

I'm applying for Graduate School to become a teacher. In my state, candidates are required to have at least a 2.7 GPA (B-) to be admitted into a teaching program. I only have a 2.5. However, I believe I meet the qualifications for the waiver. The waiver application states that you must write a personal essay explaining your academic history and prove that you have overcome one or more of the following:

1) Family Crisis
2) Personal Illness
3) Hardship

To make a long story short, I commuted as an undergrad and lived at home. Around this time, my parents鈥?25-year old marriage ended badly. One of my parents cheated. The other didn't take it well. A few times, the police had to come to our home due to domestic disputes. I even ended up having to take a restraining order on one of my parents, because they were constantly calling me drunk and saying horrible things about the other parent. The parent that I was living with also moved their new partner in to our house. I moved out and went to live on my own for 6 months, which ended badly. I was working two jobs and going to school full-time. I ended up having to go to a counselor about my issues, because I was suffering anxiety and stress. My grades were horrible and I even lost my financial aid one semester, because of my poor academics. I ended up moving back home, because I had no money left to pay my rent, my mental health was poor and my grades bad. I was only 22 years old.

When I moved back home, my parent had kicked out their partner, because the relationship wasn't going well. We were working on our family issues. Then, my other parent (the one I took the restraining orders against) was diagnosed with cancer. I had a lot of guilt about everything that had happened in the previous months. I ended up reconciling and caring for my sick parent. I took them to doctor's appointments, treatments; I ran their errands and drove them around. I still went to school, but I was still struggling. I was also still seeing my counselor.

I want to include this in my personal essay, but I'm afraid of giving too much information. It's been two years since all of this and I'm doing really well. I鈥檓 family is doing well too. I finally finished college after 6 years. I've learned from everything that has happened to me and I鈥檓 a much stronger, more mature person because of everything. I plan on making that clear in my essay.

I'm just not sure how to present everything. It's very, very personal. Any suggestions and do you believe I am a good candidate for the waiver?

Be honest but be professional. Don't specifically indicate that they called you a drunk, instead, call it, "verbal abuse." I think you need to be specific and thorough, but consider the audience and modify your choice of language appropriately. What they want to see, and what you should stress, is that it was a temporary situation and you were able to handle it in the end. This will no longer be a problem, making you a prime candidate for graduate school.