Thinking about "the future" scares everyone, especially those like me that are just one step away from facing the real world. As a senior, I'm afraid of not being well-prepared to face the real world in about five months. My goal after graduating high school is to pursue a degree in accounting. I plan to attend a community since I want to be more involved at the school and focus on getting to know the environment at the college. Being in a small place benefits students by focusing better on their studies. I'm currently residing in the U.S, but my first language is Spanish. I've been learning English as my second language for over seven years. My goal is to speak in public without feeling ashamed of my perceived accent. But speaking two languages makes me proud; I know it will be beneficial in the future. I want to be a role model, not only for Hispanic girls that want to be involved in the business major. But the community as a whole. I also want to prove that immigrants are the key to the U.S of America to function and be considered as a World Wide Example.

All students should have the opportunity to go to college. As a senior, I want to continue my education despite the adversities in this country. Being an immigrant certainly limits my opportunities to continue studying. I came to the U.S at the age of ten years old in 2014. I can still remember those days when I was genuinely happy. I grew up seeing my grandparents as if they were my parents; even though ten years have passed since we haven't seen each other face to face, those remarkable memories will stay with me forever. People in Mexico believe that everything is easy living in the U.S. But the reality is that "we" as immigrants face constant challenges since the first day we arrive. Language is one of the many challenges for immigrants. I remember feeling frustrated in my first year going to elementary. Most of my classmates were Hispanic, but they didn't speak Spanish in the classes. As time passed, I paid close attention to my teachers when they were teaching; I began to comprehend the language by following the reading as my teacher read to our class. The sounds of the words were now making sense to my ears and mind. Now that I remember those moments, I get a bitter feeling because I faced these difficulties at such young age. Poverty, violence, and lack of opportunities forced my family to move to the U.S. We all immigrated in search of a brighter future to get the American dream. Unfortunately, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) does not apply to me since one of the requirements states that you have to be living in the U.S since 2012. This situation limits my chances of getting permission to work and study. Even though I may not be a citizen, some colleges help low-income and non-citizen students. My plan when I graduate is to attend a community college since it's much cheaper, which would save me earnings to later transfer to a university. I want to become an accountant, not because of the money, like say, but because it's what I want. I've always liked math, which is currently my favorite subject since I was little. Being an accountant would mean helping others manage their money for their family's future. As of now, I prefer to enjoy my senior year, but most of my serious thinking goes to the "future" plan of my life after high school. I'm not the type of person that goes partying every weekend. I prefer to stay home and watch a movie with my family. For me, a typical day is waking up from bed, then my morning routine such as washing my teeth, etc. Around 9:00 A.M, my mom makes breakfast for us. After we eat, I sit in the living room. I watch TV or go through social media on Instagram for about thirty minutes. Then I help my mom clean, sometimes I wash dishes and sweep, but sometimes when I have homework, my mom does that. Around 5:00 P.M I go feed again to my bunnies before the sun hides and gets darker. Then, after I finish with my bunnies, I play for a little bit with my dog called Betsy. Proper research and school projects have benefitted me by acknowledging how college works. Being the first person in my family to graduate from college would be the nicest accomplishment, not only for me but my family. When that time finally arrives, I'll be paying a portion of all the sacrifices my parents have made for us. Visualizing these scenes makes me hopeful on that awaiting day.

The future scares everyone, but we can only be responsible for the choices we make from today until that time arrives. Being the firstborn child is complicated; we must make the role of the third parent. Especially in the Hispanic community, you must serve that role to your younger siblings. Now that I'm a senior, I'm starting to see what my future is going to look like in a few years. It's the first time that we are all learning about how college works; when I say "we" I'm referring to my whole family and me. But we are all learning, I understand that my parents aren't responsible for not knowing because they didn't even get the opportunity to go to a community college. But I feel proud for getting to that level; being a senior and almost graduating makes me feel blessed for my parents and god; which are the only ones that are always there for me. My experience as a first-generation child going to college would mark a significant difference for my siblings to make their pathway much easier. I would advise them better by giving them tips to find scholarships and give them pieces of advice in general to find their best university/ college. Hopefully, better opportunities get presented to undocumented students. Nowadays, more people are aware of the necessity for financial aid for the undocumented community. I think every student has their own inspirational story to be at the point where they are. Experience makes us powerful to acknowledge and make better decisions at any point in our lives. If anybody ever needs help with college, I would be glad to help that person because I know that myself is reflected in them; right now I wish I had somebody with experience that would help me, guiding me in the right direction. I wish a cousin of mine would have gotten a better education. Unfortunately, not every young adult can pursue their dreams due to the limited resources. I don't want myself to be determined to be just another " undocumented, which is not bad, but I want to challenge myself to pursue my career. Being the" first" child could be considered blessed since you're the primogenitor. But for others is hard to deal with so many things going on. I see it as the first piece to try something; you'll learn from it by making mistakes. This is why I feel somehow pressured because I don't want to let my parents down. But I learned that is fine to make mistakes, at the end of the day it's all about learning....

What is loyalty? Being loyal is giving or showing firm and constant support or allegiance to a person. I always considered myself a valuable person in terms of being there to support my friends. When I started high school many things changed: my best friend moved schools, we were now starting the last four years of school. After she moved I felt lonely, we would not see each other everyday at school from now on. One day at a Latin market we saw each other, she was at a shop looking for a photographer. I remember I saw her mom too. It was amazing seen her again after a long time. She invited me to her fifteen birthday party, but unfortunately I couldn't go. I texted her wishing her a happy birthday and a great day. I like that I had the courage to tell her my situation and her capacity to understand it. Our friendship is wear, but is because we have a unique connection that hasn't last over the years. Even with challenges such as the distance. The key to being appreciated to a person is showing them that they matter to you. Through time friends become part of your family.

"Letting go means to come to the realization that some people are a part of your history, but not a part of your destiny.”- Steve M. If we don't feel comfortable at the place where we are, we should move on and continue on those things that in fact matter. Those things force us to build character to say "That's enough, I'm not staying here no more". Myself, always thought that people that I loved the most would never leave me, but we all have different paths that take us to our destination. Even though I didn't wanted that person to leave me, they'll did it because they had to. Everyone can be happy, but it's a decision each one of us has to make everyday. Loneliness comes then and reminds you that we are individuals that came by ourselves to the world and by ourselves must leave this world too. I learned that we must adapt to the conditions that we are put in just like we adapt to the winter.

Since 2019, our lives have change dramatically. Personally I never imaged I would be wearing a mask on public places to prevent, me and my family from getting infected from a virus called Covid-19. It's still unbelievable that some people in and outside of the U.S don't believe this virus is real. Most of these people that don't believe that Covid-19 is real, they don't believe on the vaccine. It's true that it was made faster than the ones in the past due to how dangerous this virus started and still continues. But this is why people don't feel comfortable vaccinating themselves and their kids. Life is all about taking risks, but not in terms of risking their lives and their families. I strongly agree that all lives matter because we are all important and have feelings. Our health is very important to our family. Especially when people depend on you to survive; this is the case of the older ones in our home. The mom and dad most of the time work to sustain their family and provide them with what they need. By loosing them, this kids and young adults have no role model no more and they don't have a close member like their parents to get support from. I think we should consider the fact that it had shown results that it really protects us from getting the virus and even from death. There are always agreements and disagreements on a family, but we should all take in consideration those older ones. Younger and adults may have different opinions on the vaccination topic; but it's true that we want the better for all of us, especially to be healthy and alive.

Something I've learned is that everything must pass. Every day is a new beginning to start over on whatever that we want to do. It all depends on us and the circumstances that we encounter ourselves. We choose to be happy or stay stock on whatever challenge we encounter on the way. Some days we may have difficult days, along with frustration and anger. But those things make us gain experience to knock everything else out. My priority as of now is to finish high school with the highest GPA possible. There's competition, not with my classmates, but with any other challenge that prevents me from succeeding at my expectations of getting a good position on my class rank. Most teenagers can't make decisions for "eternity". But why is that? Well, our minds are processing information that later will make sense. For now, we must learn from the mistakes we made and will throughout our lifetime. These will make us stronger and wise as we get older. Success comes along with other things behind it. Such as it is suffer, disappointment, risks, mistakes, etc. But at the end of the day we appreciate those challenges and motivation quotes and advices that took us to where we are placed now.

Who likes to be worrying about their money all the time? Properly managing your economy makes it easier to save up money for future necessities. I like to maintain most things in my control, such as my emotions and organization in all that I do. So I don't have to worry about getting something done at the last minute, which frustrates me the most. Planning is a way of organizing ideas to come up with a solution to certain situations. Making a budget would be a great idea to visualize the reality, which may be the cost of the items we need in our daily lives. Paying off credit cards and paying on time creates more trust between the consumer and the producer since there's credibility that the consumer will be responsible for its payments. In addition to the accumulation of credit as you make your payments on time. Having an emergency fund ready could be one of the best ideas you could have because nobody knows what will happen in the future. In 2019 nobody knew that Covid-19 could come from "nothing" and take many people's lives. Many lost their jobs due to the lockdown all around the world. The most damaged were those small businesses; many of these businesses were the only jobs that many families depended on to survive and sustain their families. Many families did not have an emergency fund that would help them. Credit is in charge of determining the interest rate you'll get to buy a car or financing a house in the future. These are situations that matter to our lives; a home is fundamental for a family to live since each one of the family members needs their space. Maintenance is required to maintain an object last longer; this could help save up money. For example, if you're not financially capable of buying a new car, buying another one would not be an option. Instead, you may want to keep it in good condition by checking its parts and oil. The best cars aren't always the "newest" but the ones in good condition to take you wherever that you want to travel. Everyone has the option to decide whether they want to keep on the current management of their economy or modify some of their practices. But the ones that have a plan always have a better understanding of their purchases and make the best decisions.

Education is a universal topic we should all talk about since it goes hand and hand with the wealth of each country. The U.S is considered the richest country in the world, but many are concerned about the number of homeless people living on the streets. All or most parents want their kids to pursue a career. But unfortunately, many don't have the money or tools to go straight to college. Usually, large families have disadvantages due to the not well-paid jobs. These parents around the world can only give their kids education until the twelve-grade, then they'll work for their benefit and their families. While some kids study, others have to work to help their family with rent and bills. Many schools around the world have the best tools and technology that help them succeed academically. But unfortunately, for many, that's not the case. Poor communities don't even have a smartphone to investigate or do research. These disadvantages put these kids at a lower level of education. When Covid-19 got into our lives, worldwide statistics show that even with zoom meetings between students and teachers, wasn't enough to have the average understanding academically. "Education is the key to success" I'm pretty sure this quote is correct. Education can take you farther by allowing you to experience and help others around the world. Every student who wants to pursue their dreams should seek the tools if they can.

I always dreamed of becoming the "change" or an opportunity for my family to grow financially. When growing up in Mexico, I understood the impact of poverty and the needs that many people without opportunities have. When we finally came to the U.S, I was about ten years old. I remember my first day of school in the U.S, I felt out of my zone. That day was just the beginning since English wasn't my first language, and it was the first day that I heard English spoken all day. I had "English class" in Mexico but just common words, I wasn't ready to start a conversation. When dealing with homework was even more difficult, because at that point I couldn't understand what the teacher was saying. In my mind, I was just saying "what is she saying"what does that mean". I remember crying at night because I never accept failure right away. I consider myself a hard worker student, I don't accept a "No" easily. As growing up educating myself in this country, I learned a lot and I'm still learning. This knowledge has helped me adapt to this system of education. This country may not be where I was born, but I have suffered or has challenged me the most. I adapted from the types of food given at the school to the language, and different activities they include at the schools. Every time I find out that a kid that is almost my age at my school doesn't speak English, I see myself in him/her. Immediately I go to that person trying to let them know that if they need my help , I'll be there. From my experience, I didn't have a classmate that would tell me "If you need help, tell me". But I thank god and my teachers for trying to get me to understand the lessons. I want to serve as an inspiration for not only those kids, but my whole Hispanic community. I want them and my family to be proud of how far I have come so far and even more when I accomplish my dreams. Whenever I help someone, an amazing sensation gets transmitted by just saying "thank you" . Being stressed is not good for kids and teenagers. Especially because growing is hard because changes are happening in our body and our minds, new things are being developed.

Covid-19; a pandemic that isolated everyone from their daily activities and everything that we were used to. Definitely one of the saddest things is to feel lonely; especially when a big pandemic is around and you must faced by yourself. My family and I were used to going to parties and socialize with friends and family members almost all weekends. This really hurted us because we were now at home all the time without having to go to school, shopping, etc. But one thing I'm thankful in this chaos is that I got to spent more time than ever with my parents since they couldn't go to work for a period of time to the point to get bored of being 24 hours seeing the same faces. Everything got worse when my parents got positive for Covid-19, I felt lonely and scared for my parents health, they are my biggest support in this earth. But thanks to our neighbors they were there to support us, they bought mint candies for my parents as well as other things for them to cure. Whenever the day ended I would only see darker, I remember on those days the power went off in Dallas and they finally fixed almost in a week. But thanks to god , my mom and dad tested negative for covid at that time. To have a mental illness there's no need to be in a pandemic, as a teenager I know that we are constantly changing in emotions and our role according to our age. As a 17 year old girl, I'm sure that we all have experienced something that impacted us significantly. With the help of family and friends, I was able to conquer my fears and got to be brave enough to control my emotions because I got to understand the impact of me being good to transmit that to others.

At the age of ten, my family and I had to move to the U.S. A big hole in my soul and heart was created by the lost of my grandpa .My dad immigrated three years earlier before we did .Not knowing the language and at the time experiencing worse economic needs, made us stronger as we were growing up in this country. Through the years I have seen injustices happened to my hispanic and Latino community as it is of immigration status and of course economic disadvantages. Fortunately I 've never experienced direct bullying of any type, but of course at first the feeling of being foreign to this country made me feel nostalgic and lonely. I made friends and created a strong bond with my teachers who were always there to support me and served as a guide for me. I'm really proud of myself to keep fighting against the different challenges that have crossed on my way; such as disappointment and frustration with myself for not knowing how to complete my homeworks when I was in fifth-grade. I basically was on my own but I always tried to persist and not give up at the start of my path in here. Not knowing the language made me eager to take the effort to work the double to learn english. I'm still learning everyday and I really try to practice the writing and speaking to become better each day. Being an immigrant made me stronger in the way that I have to work even harder to search for financial aid and opportunities to enter to college. I know that at the end of the tunnel there's going to be a prize. Everything is for that one day I can return to my parents something of the many things they have sacrifice for us. I would also like to serve as a support to give my siblings also a tool to help them keep walking on their path to chase their dreams.

We all have ups and downs every day in our lives. But every day is a new beginning to start over and change something about yesterday in ourselves. "Every day may not be good, but there's something good in every day"-Alice Morse Earle; this quote helps me to find hope whenever I'm having difficulty. School may be stressful sometimes and not everyone is prepared or doesn't want to take the effort to do what it needs to be successful. I concentrate on this mantra, some days may be fun but others especially when tests arrive, we as students feel stress and anxious. But not only this quote is applied to school, but we also face challenges in our homes, and with the people that surround us like our friends, and community. We must appreciate those people that are always there when we are tested in our patience and our character in general. Personally, as a teenager, I know that we are exposed to so many things out there. Our body and mentality are changing as we grow up, we must start thinking about what's next "for our future".This can scare everyone, I have been stressed about the next couple of months on trying to search for information about colleges. My total appreciation goes to God because I consider him my savior and confidence even though I trust my mom to tell her anything, God is my protector. He forms part of the past, present, and future of my life on this earth. He is the best friend and is an important part of that "something good" that happens every day. and carers, etc. I think "Well tomorrow is a new beginning and the past must be remembered not lived". Then, I realize the fact that I'm blessed by being supported by my family members and the total love that they could do anything for my well-being.

Life hasn't been easy for my family and me, we were born in a place where help is not offered to the people. Poverty and along with other factors caused my dad to leave his place of living in Guerrero, Mexico. He would send us money to live and buy what we needed for my two siblings, my mom and me. Three years later after working and borrowing money my dad finally could bring us to this country where several opportunities are offered to whoever wants them. When we got into the U.S my dad worked outside of Dallas; we just got to see him on the weekends. The five of us lived in a studio not even an apartment but that was a lot from what we asked for because we were together and alive. Without much clothing and an emotional shock really affected the way from what I expected it to be like living in the U.S. I changed my mentality from a confused one to a positive mindset especially to focus on my education as a fifth-grader. I never liked my parents to buy me expensive clothing or shoes because I know that they have other priorities such as it was paying the rent, bills, and food. That is one of the reasons why I want to give back my parents a little of all the sacrifices they have made for us. I want to become someone important at least to make myself and my parents proud of the daughter they raise, I know that by going to college I would be doing what I love which is helping people and working in something that I like, plus helping my parents. This good amount of money would help me get closer to meet my goals of becoming a professional or at least going to college and get a career. I know that I have disadvantages if it could be called like that but being a non-citizen affects me in the way that I cannot access everything a U.S citizen teenager of my age can access, but this country has given me the opportunity to learn a new language and has given my parents a job. My heart is in Mexico but I'm living here, so I feel like the U.S and Mexico are part of me. I never imagined coming to this great country but I thank god for the opportunities out there and I'm sure that I will contribute to all; this country, Mexico, and my family.

I remember my first day of school in the U.S as if it was yesterday when being a 10-year-old student I didn't even know how to ask for permission to go to the restroom. I felt so scared of the environment I was in, without friends and not knowing English. In sixth grade, I was in the ESL program from which I understood a lot of things from hearing my teachers and friends at school. It was hard for me to adapt to this new environment, my mom and I remember when I used to cry because I struggled with my assignments because I couldn't understand the lessons at school. I started as a three-year-old child to learn the basics; such as the alphabet, numbers, and the animal's names. I inspired myself in people that went through this same process; my sixth-grade assistant principal gave me the confidence to continue. The next year I was put in a normal English class, I felt nervous to encounter challenges on the way, but I gave everything I could and ended with pretty good grades. Many doors have closed for me because I'm an immigrant student, not even been able to apply to DACA since I entered in September 2014. I have experienced so many positive and negative things that they have impacted my life significantly. Music helped me relax when I felt sad and frustrated going through this with my English. I love to hear music that makes me want to dance because it put me in a better mood to start the day. I love to dance cumbias, bachata, and pop; music has also helped me learn new words, and the feeling that is transmitted cannot be translated into words. My dream is to graduate from college and get a career that I feel passionate about. I hope that my work pays off and I can graduate and celebrate with all my family members that appreciate me, especially those who have helped me up to this day.

Being an older sibling can be hard whenever you realize that other people are to follow your steps too. As the daughter of low-income parents, I had to basically babysit my siblings, especially my youngest sister who is currently 9 years old. I remember my parents had to leave to work at 6:00 AM, then we had to leave for school. My parents used to get out of work at almost six or seven PM and sometimes they had to go to the store to buy something we needed, so it made it even later for them to come home. I understood the situation we were going through, especially when we needed that money since we all came to find better opportunities here leaving everything of our place of origin. I wanted to do more than just cleaning, and sometimes helping my siblings with their homework. I was the "older one", so I was more acknowledged of not to open a door to everyone who would knock it, I was the protector at about 11 years old. I'm thankful to my siblings that saw the effort we were all putting in to succeed in this country, we all struggle either with the language, adapting to our new lifestyle, different people, etc. Of course, there is pressure not to make mistakes when everyone is watching at you as the star or someone that trusted you to do something, which in this case were my parents who trusted me. There is not a specific age to be considered a leader as long as the person is capable of making all tasks and shines by its own brightness with the help of their team. I think leadership means everything that a leader can do to help their team succeed no matter if challenges come through. A leader should be responsible, willing to hear everyone's ideas, passionate about their work, and comprehensive to their teammates. Big businesses have been successful thanks to their team that puts all of their effort, extra time, ideas into what they love to do. More than a professional relationship there is a bond and even friendships in the team. I hope that at some point in my life I can confirm how my job as the leader of my siblings has helped them as they grow up. But for now, I'm starting that path to be a leader in the outside world, hopefully, I can go beyond and work with a team and get to really have an interaction that would help show what we are capable of.

The best relationship is the one existing between you and yourself. Accepting yourself just how you are along with your virtues and defects will help shape our way of thinking, friendships, etc.Before telling someone to be “happy”, ourselves need to be happy first in order to feel the word when we say it to someone.Personally I love to take time for myself to think and look to the mirror to analyze myself.Everytime I may see the same physical expression but only we know how we feel in our interior.I haven't had a boyfriend,but it doesn't make me feel sad, I know that in the past I wasn't prepared to be in a relationship.Instead I was learning to love and appreciate myself, I believe the famous phrase of “What is meant to be for you, will be for you “.I'm still in the process and learning to put myself first in order to be the mentor or at least give a good advice to other who may need our help.Part of accepting ourselves is to recognize what we don't like of ourselves, I don't like to be shy but I learned that is also a virtue since it forms part of how am I.Some people may like it but others will see it as an offense that you don't talk much to them.But I have understood that everyone is unique, a shy person may be seen as weak but in reality, most shy people have gone through a lot that they prefer to be reserved and not show “weakness” to the public.

My quinceañera or my fifteenth birthday was a very especial day in which I enjoyed dancing with all my family members.This is one of the memories that I will keep forever with me.

Life is full of challenges which can be on our path, but the family will be always there as well as true friends who have been there in good and bad times.My values given from my parents whose education isn't the best one, are my everyday inspiration to wake up and put all the effort even in times where I don't feel the best motivation.My parents have taught me to fight for what I want to accomplish maintaining myself humble and loyal no matter on how far we get in life.I admired them for all they have done for us and the hard work they do everyday to give us the education we need.I appreciate every sacrifice such as it is the extra hours they have work to bring us, my siblings and I to this beautiful country where Hispanics have fought continually against all adversities.

My family is the motor that inspires me to keep fighting every day on constant challenges.Each of my family members is very especial to me since the first moment they entered in my life.My mom has been my friend and companion at all time , as well as my hard worker dad, who is always trying to be the best teacher so we can learn from him on how to be hardworkers and work for whatever that we want to pursue. I’m the leader in terms of siblings since I'm the oldest one but every leader needs people to lead.They are unique in all aspects, which is why I wouldn't change them.I love the family I have, they have helped me find myself and have find the way to make happy just by been us a normal family.

My grandparent was a very special person in my life. He and I were very close to the point that I considered him a second dad. Since the minute he died ,up to this point I’ve always remembered him as a hard-working man. When he died I was just 8 years old, I remember each detail from that day that took innumerable tears from my eyes. It made me feel as if the world would have fallen on me. Since that day, I feel a big hole in my interior, every time I remember those memories I feel nostalgic. But I told my grandpa who was already dead, that he was going to be my best inspiration to become an honorable and successful person.The day I felt that promise close to becoming reality was when my mom and siblings arrived here in the U.S.At that time I was 10 years old, still a young girl with dreams and a long path to go through. I want accomplished my goals and be the first one in my family to graduate and get my degree from college. Not only as a promise to my grandpa but because it's going to pay off some of the many sacrifices my parents have made up to this point in my existence. Many challenges have come to my path, such as it was learning a new language or adapting to a completely different environment.But one thing I’m sure, from wherever my grandpa is at now he will be proud of the little girl he raised almost as his daughter.