I decided to pursue an education in criminal justice because of all the dangers and threats police officers receive daily. I see multiple posts and stories on social media that police officers are discriminatory, racist, xenophobic, and untrustworthy. However, as an immigrant from Mexico, I would constantly see military soldiers in uniforms with machine guns patrolling the streets. In the United States, I never see that in any city or town. I thought to myself, why is that? Growing up, I realized that Mexico's public saw the police as corrupt and could not help protect their country. The lack of trust in the police was so profound in Mexico that the military had to step in and patrol the streets. This lack of confidence in law enforcement has made me want to make a difference and change the perspective of the public view. Many in the United States forget that police officers are people with emotions, goals, and passions, not just a uniform. The main reason why people think that way is because social media does not show what law enforcement wants to show to their communities. Each officer wants to help the communities and make their environment better. An education in Criminal Justice would allow me to keep people safe and give the public an environment where they can trust law enforcement more. To give that environment, I plan to get into a graduate program for criminal psychology to become a criminal analyst. Once I complete my Master's in criminal psychology, I would apply for Federal agencies such as Homeland Security federal, the Bureau of Investigation, Or US Customs and Border Protection. In a position of authority, I would speak with my supervisor to be more present in society, such as hosting social events, conversating with civilians, and showing a good impression of confidence and ability that the public can trust. With trust, the people of the united states will understand law enforcement is just a profession rather than the whole person. In addition, I would like to improve my community by requesting police more training in negotiation, crowd control, and bias reduction. The training sessions can help officers acknowledge their internal biases and reduce the incidents of aggressive confrontations between officers and civilians. Lastly, I plan to improve my community by teaching civilians gun safety procedures and what to do in case of shootings. Because of the current trend of school shootings and mass shootings, civilians receiving this training would prove beneficial and improve social trust with law enforcement.

Recovery to me means to heal. To return or grow to a state of mental or physical health that improves life. When I was 14 years old, I got in a fistfight in 8th-grade middle school. Before the fight, insults were thrown that caused me to wrestle with that other student. Teachers stopped us, and both of us were sent to in-school suspension. I wasn't hurt physically, but I was hurt emotionally. It has been over five years, and I now consider it a learning experience. What could I have done to prevent that moment? Why was I so aggressive? The answers to these questions at my age were evidence of recovery. I could have ignored it, contact a teacher, or reach an agreement with that person without violence. My way of thinking changed for the better. I grew up from my experiences and adapted to act healthily. Recovery to me means to heal and move on. To grow to a state of mental or physical health that improves life further on.

A little about myself is I was born in a house of 3 sons (me included) in Mexico, where we grew up to be Catholics, and I had a lot of friends in Mexico. I plan to impact the world positively by entering a law enforcement department (hopefully the FBI) as a clinical psychologist and defending the country and its citizens. I want to help the people who help preserve the law and keep the peace because I know what it's like when there is constant struggle and fear of failure. I was always active since birth, and I would always get myself in trouble. I was very mean in my youth, and I was so problematic I needed to go to therapy to fix my anger issues. At some point, my family had to put me in martial arts so I could learn some disciple and tire myself out. After three years of martial arts and therapy, my temper got better. My family and I then moved to Michigan when I was eight years, which was a drastic change for the family. We had a hard time learning the language, had no friends, and we didn't have anyone that could support us. But over time, we learned how the school worked in the states, my English became much better with the help of a school assistant, and I gained friends from ethnic groups such as Indian, Italian, and Venezuelan. My parents would sometimes have a hard time figuring out English terms, and I was able to translate for them. After another three years in Michigan, my family moved to El Paso for my mother's work. My family and I had to repeat the same struggle of meeting people, making friends, and feeling awkward being new again. The family had a hard time finding our social group and getting used to living in the new house and climate. Middle school was a great moment as I entered, but challenges arose. I would get bullied for my accent, physique, and about me being in martial arts. After telling my parents about the situation, my parents explained to me that people will be rude for no good reason. They also said that I should move on without reacting to them because they mock me to get a reaction from me. So I took their advice, and after a month or two of not responding to their bullying attempts, they left me alone. My brothers and I use this tactic of not responding to negative responses to this day because we all want to relax and enjoy our day without anyone ruining it.

Learning about martial arts changed my perception of discipline. Before I entered martial arts at the age of 5, I was very unmotivated and was a troublemaker. I didn't listen to my parents, didn't do my assignments in school, and hated to do anything I didn't want to do. Ever since I entered martial arts, not only did I learn how to fight, work out, and follow directions and forms, but I was also able to dedicate myself to a routine. I forced myself to clean my room, brush my teeth, do my chores on the weekend, complete my assignments by myself, and pay attention to my superiors when they are speaking to me. Martial arts taught me that I had role-related responsibilities as a son, brother, friend, student, and member of society that even if I do not want to, I must do them. Martial arts gave me the discipline to work hard, focus on my education, and complete tasks I believed once that I could not complete.

1. I think I deserve this scholarship because I like to party, get into fights, not mention I love skipping classes and missing assignments! 2. My academic/career goals is to be a penguin with a fancy suit with a bachelor's degree in espionage, engineering, and in martial arts. 3. A time I've overcome an obstacle was when my mother told ME to pick up a soccer ball and put it away, so I told my little brother to do it.

When I am with my friends, I always talk with them about their daily life and make jokes.I talk about how a certain moment was funny, or how life is hard so they feel better. I also do little dance moves when walking, and give them other angles of how to look at certain things in life such as the argument of gun control and abortion. In school, I realized that I could be more effective with my activities by adding creativity, such as making my class presentations more vivid and flashy. I always change my daily routines to make sure not every day is the same because I can see more of my surroundings and learn something else that I wouldn't have learned if I had the same the routine. I write down my notes underlining words and highlighting titles and terms to remember. I also like to dance and let loose to the music that I am listening. Emphasizing certain notes and lyrics helps me create a strong impression on that specific moment for the audience to notice and to be hooked into the dance. I learn from others and ask experienced dancers how to do certain moves and once they do, I can apply it to the choreography or have a small variation of the movement.

The wisest thing I have ever heard is "slow is smooth, and smooth is fast". I have heard this saying in martial arts by my master which means you have to first do something slow so it can be proper, and once the form or act is proper it can be done faster. Ever since I listened that sentence I truly used that method of thinking in anything that I did. I used that lesson in my classes in school, understanding the lesson step by step, mastering it and applying it with ease later on. In dance, I had to see the routine slowly before I could actually go into the dance. Once I knew what steps I had to do I had to move in rhythm, and finally I danced in full speed. Relationships were also affected because of that saying! I would talk with people about general topics such as the weather, favorite hobbies and activities, and with more time I spent time with the person I could speak about specific details such as their job, how is their family, how was the party last night? Being slow doesn't mean you are bad, it just means you are beginning at something. All you need to master a skill is time.

Since I was a Sophomore in High school, I loved to dance! At the beginning of my dancing career, I didn't like it so much that I would spend over ten hours a week practicing, but since the summer of 2020, I fell in love with the art. I want to travel all over the world to compete and perform. I also have goals to be financially stable not only through dance but also through my psychological career. I want to discover the secrets the mind has and understand our own emotions and urges. Working under a government organization such as the CIA or FBI to identify, track down, and arrest possible criminals. Make the world a safer place for me, my family, friends, and those who need protection the most. Finally, I would like to live a life that's full of excitement. Spend time with friends, graduate college to the best of my ability, marry a beautiful woman I love, and enjoy every day as if it was my last.