Not long after my youngest brother was born, my mother was arrested because of mistakes she made in her life (as I believe any human being commits them at some degree depending on many factors). Because of this mistake, she was sentenced to 2 years of prison and a permanent deportation. Once she was out of prison, somewhere to stay was needed. Little was known when my family moved to Mexico, Ciudad Juarez more specifically, that we were getting ourselves into the most dangerous city in the world in 2010-2011. Living with constant fear of the cartels that roamed and ruled the city. But life still needed to go on despite this. Things got a lot worse around 2019, my first year in an American school, when my mother was diagnosed with colon cancer. At first, she continued working to save up money for treatments, however, she was ultimately unable to lift herself out of bed without help. She required a lot of attention and care, and someone had to be always home with her, keeping in mind as well that bills had to be paid, school had to keep going, groceries still needed to be bought, all without the help a government like the United States would’ve brought. My mother’s boss was, and is to this day, very attentive and helpful, she does very well financially, and therefore decided to help with the treatment’s cost, making it way easier on our side financially speaking. Nonetheless, her health kept getting worse with the passing of time, to the point where she only clinged to life because she did not want to leave her children alone, but clearly stated that she did not want to keep suffering, that she wanted it all to end somehow. 2 options were given to her, either leave all treatment and let the disease spread throughout her body without the effects that chemotherapy had to die a less painful death, or risk a surgical intervention in which 7 different surgeries were needed, and the probabilities of success were very close to 0%. For obvious reasons, she decided to take the risk as all she wanted was for the pain to go away as soon as possible; a trip to Guadalajara alone took place because no one could neither afford the trip, nor the hotel, food, etc. For an entire week without any communication with her, I kept going to school, attending practice, basically living my life as if nothing out of the ordinary was happening. Once the call received that my mother had done an excellent job of fighting for her life and that she had made all 7 procedures flawlessly, I had no sudden realization of that everything I had thought of was wrong, everything hit slowly, but the happiness I felt when I saw her again is not comparable to anything I’ve ever felt. Everything began to change back to normality once again. My desire to do better in life had never been stronger. Once I had analyzed everything, I came to realize that all the talent I have, both, academically and in football, had ignited a fire within me to pay back everything that was given to me. As cliché as it sounds, I learned a lesson from this experience, to value what I have, and to work just as strong as my mother, without letting things I can’t control affect me, just as me living in Mexico and its complications. My focus now has totally shifted towards school and football.

Not long after my youngest brother was born, my mother was arrested because of mistakes she made in her life (as I believe any human being commits them at some degree depending on many factors). Because of this mistake, she was initially sentenced to 20 years of prison and a permanent deportation. So many things in my life would be completely different had this sentence been final. A very good lawyer, an outstanding resilience from my mom, and what I thank God today, for changing this 20-year sentence to only a little more than 2 years, was enough to gratefully live my childhood along my mother, at the cost of living in Mexico. I am also very grateful to my aunt, who took care of me and my brothers in the time my mother was gone. Once she was out of prison, somewhere to stay was needed. Little was known when my family moved to Mexico, Ciudad Juarez more specifically, that we were getting ourselves into the most dangerous city in the world in 2010-2011. Living with constant fear of the cartels that roamed and ruled the city, everything done, from going to school to getting groceries, was done with extremely caution to avoid being found alone, or simply being seen, as we could have been seen as a target of these organized crime groups. I still vaguely remember hearing gunshots just around the block of my home, as well as a time when dozens of soldiers entered our house to search without a warrant or even a reason to do so. But life still needed to go on despite this. I attended elementary and middle school in this city, Mexico’s border with El Paso, Texas. However, by high school, I decided I would study in the United States, as it would bring me more opportunities for success. This is, to this day, something hard to achieve, as I have to cross the border multiple times per day, which requires me to wake up every day at 5 in the morning, to arrive at school in time at 8:45am. I also practice football after school, which is why I get home in Juarez around 8pm every day. I am very lucky to be recognized for my abilities to play the sport and am very grateful for having the talent to shine in the field and out of the field in school-related areas. All this done while being under the pressure of living in the most dangerous city in the world, having to cross the border, dealing with house chores due to my mom’s sickness and having the mental toll of feeling very close to losing the most important person in my life. I believe I am very fortunate, dedicated, and focused and I only look forward to keep on working hard as I’ve had to continue with my successful life without letting the things I can’t control affect me, just as I did not let living in Mexico be an obstacle towards my goal.

First of all, I was born in Denver, Colorado in the United States. My mother, born and raised until 7 years old in Mexico, was able to cross the border, eventually get a job and live there for many years, enough to give birth to my older brother (25 years old), me (18 years old, 19 in March 18 th , 2022) and the youngest of the men (16 years old). Thanks to her —And you’ll hear me thank her a lot throughout the story of my life, she is a very important, and key part of the success I have right now— I gained citizenship in the United States; in the eyes of some in a simple way, but in my eyes, thanks to the hard work and dedication my mother and grandmother put in being able to cross the border and settle. Not long after my youngest brother was born, my mother was arrested because of mistakes she made in her life (as I believe any human being commits them at some degree depending on many factors). Because of this mistake, she was initially sentenced to 20 years of prison and a permanent deportation. So many things in my life would be completely different had this sentence been final. A very good lawyer, an outstanding resilience from my mom, and what I thank God today, for changing this 20-year sentence to only a little more than 2 years, was enough to gratefully live my childhood along my mother, at the cost of living in Mexico. I am also very grateful to my aunt, who took care of me and my brothers in the time my mother was gone. I am very lucky and grateful for having the talent to shine in the field and out of the field in school-related areas as well as the support of my family. All my success done while being under the pressure of living in the most dangerous city in the world, having to cross the border, dealing with house chores due to my mom’s sickness and having the mental toll of feeling very close to losing the most important person in my life. I believe I am very fortunate, dedicated, and focused and I only look forward to keep on working hard as I’ve had to continue with my successful life without letting the things I can’t control affect me, just as my family tought me.

Gea, a Siamese cat, arrived at a very chaotic time of my life. I had no patience when I adopted her, I just wanted company. I knew I had a bond with her, but they didn't accept her in my house because they didn't have patience either. I had many arguments with my family to keep her in the house. Therefore, every time I went out, I had to take her along with all her things for her care. Everywhere I went, people loved her. She had a rebellious stage and left the house constantly. But wherever I went, she accompanied me. She was a very serious kitten; she didn't like to play at all. She liked being pet all the time, absolutely all the time. I felt like she looked a lot like me. She didn't behave like a normal cat, she would watch movies with me, she would even eat a little egg in the morning. Then she got in her period of heat, and I had to lock her in the house, but she always looked for and found the exit in any way, there were always cats outside waiting for her. Inevitably she got pregnant. I suffered a lot that time because I had to be careful not to go out or do things that could harm the babies and at the same time take care of their nutrition. The only day I didn't take her wherever I went with me, I arrived, and she had given birth. I cried because I didn't know where the kittens were. Until I found them in my closet after three days because Gea started crying a lot in there. The 5 kittens had greatly improved my patience. I no longer only took care of one cat, but 5 more that were smaller and more fragile. They were also very playful kittens; I couldn't take them out of the room. As with Gea, I had to take them wherever I went to take care of them. It hurt me a lot to put the kittens that I took care of so much up for adoption, but I ended up keeping a kitten, Milaneso. I moved house due to personal problems, and Gea distanced herself because she did not recognize the place and always returned to the old house on her own. One day when I returned from a trip, Gea was not there, she never came back. For health reasons, I couldn't leave the house to look for her, and it was like that for about two weeks. I never found her and the ads she put up for her search did not pay off. Gea left me with many lessons, I strengthened my patience, she taught me the love that I can have for other beings, she taught me that a pet can completely change your life, there is not a single day that I don't think about her She left me her baby, Milaneso, and it is the kitten that I currently have.

First of all, I was born in Denver, Colorado in the United States. My mother, born and raised until 7 years old in Mexico, was able to cross the border, eventually get a job and live there for many years Thanks to her —And you’ll hear me thank her a lot throughout the story of my life, she is a very important, and key part of the success I have right now— I gained citizenship in the United States; in the eyes of some in a simple way, but in my eyes, thanks to the hard work and dedication my mother and grandmother put in being able to cross the border and settle. Not long after my youngest brother was born, my mother was arrested because of mistakes she made in her life (as I believe any human being commits them at some degree depending on many factors). Because of this mistake, she was initially sentenced to 20 years of prison and a permanent deportation. So many things in my life would be completely different had this sentence been final. A very good lawyer, an outstanding resilience from my mom, and what I thank God today, for changing this 20-year sentence to only a little more than 2 years, was enough to gratefully live my childhood along my mother, at the cost of living in Mexico. I am also very grateful to my aunt, who took care of me and my brothers in the time my mother was gone. Once she was out of prison, somewhere to stay was needed. Little was known when my family moved to Mexico, Ciudad Juarez more specifically, that we were getting ourselves into the most dangerous city in the world in 2010-2011. Living with constant fear of the cartels that roamed and ruled the city. But life still needed to go on despite this. Things got a lot worse around 2019, my first year in an American school, when my mother was diagnosed with colon cancer. At first, she continued working to save up money for treatments, however, she was ultimately unable to lift herself out of bed without help. She required a lot of attention and care, and someone had to be always home with her, keeping in mind as well that bills had to be paid, school had to keep going, groceries still needed to be bought, all without the help a government like the United States would’ve brought. My mother’s boss was, and is to this day, very attentive and helpful, she does very well financially, and therefore decided to help with the treatment’s cost, making it way easier on our side financially speaking. Nonetheless, her health kept getting worse with the passing of time, to the point where she only clinged to life because she did not want to leave her children alone, but clearly stated that she did not want to keep suffering, that she wanted it all to end somehow. Memories remain of her pain-induced screams, of the floors filled with blood that needed to be cleaned by us—her sons, the only ones available for her at the time—of her skin that had close to no muscle within them, as if it was directly attached to the bone, and of her facial expressions, those that a person experiencing death through living has. Inevitably, the doctors put an estimated date on her remaining days on earth, October of 2019.

Living a healthy lifestyle is so important to stay motivated, keep your body in its’ best shape for any activity, and for overall happiness. I have lived my entire life a healthy way, and the difference I see between my mental health and others around my age is abysmal. Because of my dream of playing football professionally, I have been taking care of my body so much; I do not drink alcohol, smoke, do drugs, sleep late. I eat well, do intense workouts daily, and still look for other ways of improving me. My mental health, my self-esteem and my motivation are mostly always through the roof. I feel so eager to always wanting to be better. I constantly see people around my age complain about how they look, how they do in school, their relationship with other people. And all I can think of is how taking care of one-self can improve every aspect of life. Your self-esteem is high, which combats negative people around you to not let them bring you down along them. You look healthy, strong, and more beautiful, which emanates trust to others and help build connections. Your physical capabilities are stronger than most, which helps with everyday tasks such as lifting stuff. And more importantly, your mental health is always in undamaged shape. This allows for every task you do in your day to be productive.

I lived with my aunt and my grandmother until I was 6 years old. Then moved to Mexico to live with my mother, my father was never in the picture. My grandmother died the same day as my birthday in 2017. Things got a lot worse around 2019, my first year in an American school, when my mother was diagnosed with colon cancer. At first, she continued working to save up money for treatments, however, she was ultimately unable to lift herself out of bed without help. She required a lot of attention and care, and someone had to be always home with her, keeping in mind as well that bills had to be paid, school had to keep going, groceries still needed to be bought, all without the help a government like the United States would’ve brought. My mother’s boss was, and is to this day, very attentive and helpful, she does very well financially, and therefore decided to help with the treatment’s cost, making it way easier on our side financially speaking. Nonetheless, her health kept getting worse with the passing of time, to the point where she only clinged to life because she did not want to leave her children alone, but clearly stated that she did not want to keep suffering, that she wanted it all to end somehow. Memories remain of her pain-induced screams, of the floors filled with blood that needed to be cleaned by us—her sons, the only ones available for her at the time—of her skin that had close to no muscle within them, as if it was directly attached to the bone, and of her facial expressions, those that a person experiencing death through living has. Inevitably, the doctors put an estimated date on her remaining days on earth, October of 2019. 2 options were given to her, either leave all treatment and let the disease spread throughout her body without the effects that chemotherapy had to die a less painful death, or risk a surgical intervention in which 7 different surgeries were needed, and the probabilities of success were very close to 0%. For obvious reasons, she decided to take the risk as all she wanted was for the pain to go away as soon as possible; a trip to Guadalajara alone took place because no one could neither afford the trip, nor the hotel, food, etc. There we were, late in the night, saying goodbye to her in the airport, knowing very well that could be the last time we would see her. She departed, but not after having the entire family, small in number, but big in feelings of love towards each other, all together, united, having a good moment of quality time, chatting, just being there. After a week of not knowing anything, we received a call letting us know that she had made all 7 procedures flawlessly, the happiness I felt when I saw her again is not comparable to anything I’ve ever felt. Everything began to change back to normality once again. My desire to do better in life had never been stronger, without letting things I can’t control affect me, just as me living in Mexico and its complications. My focus now has totally shifted towards school and football.

At this point in my life I am taking the greatest risk I have ever taken. When choosing and applying to schools to go after high school, I never expected i would have been accepted by the University of Alabama. At that moment is when I stopped to analyze my situation. I thought about my dream to play football professionaly and how that university gave me the best chance to acomplish it. I though about the risks, the amount of money that university costs. The risk to maybe not be able to make it into the roster. I also analyzed my abilities, my skils, how I play football and compared myself to the Crimson Tide's players. I thought about how my personality traits and academic outstanding help me towards my goal. I put all those things that play a factor into my success into a scale to measure the risks of my decisions. I decided to be brave and live boldly, I commited to the University of Alabama and have now been able to register for my classes and am scheduled to attend on August 17th. All that is left now is for me to put all the work in to make it into the football team, and to keep searching for scholarships to help me pay for tuition.

Not long after my youngest brother was born, my mother was arrested because of mistakes she made in her life (as I believe any human being commits them at some degree depending on many factors). Because of this mistake, she was sentenced to two years of prison and a permanent deportation. Things got a lot worse around 2019, my first year in an American school, when my mother was diagnosed with colon cancer. At first, she continued working to save up money for treatments, however, she was ultimately unable to lift herself out of bed without help. She required a lot of attention and care, and someone had to be always home with her, keeping in mind as well that bills had to be paid, school had to keep going, groceries still needed to be bought. My mother’s boss was, and is to this day, very attentive and helpful, she does very well financially, and therefore decided to help with the treatment’s cost, making it way easier on our side financially speaking. Nonetheless, her health kept getting worse with the passing of time, to the point where she only clinged to life because she did not want to leave her children alone, but clearly stated that she did not want to keep suffering, that she wanted it all to end somehow. Memories remain of her pain-induced screams, of the floors filled with blood that needed to be cleaned by us—her sons, the only ones available for her at the time—of her skin that had close to no muscle within them, as if it was directly attached to the bone, and of her facial expressions, those that a person experiencing death through living has. Inevitably, the doctors put an estimated date on her remaining days on earth, October of 2019. Thanks to what doctors called a miracle, my mother survived. Everything began to change back to normality once again. My desire to do better in life had never been stronger. Once I had analyzed everything, I came to realize that all the talent I have, both, academically and in football, had ignited a fire within me to pay back everything that was given to me. My focus was now totally shifted towards school and football. Now, to showcase the accomplishments I’ve made despite my background, I will begin 11 years ago, when my love for football started. Among all the problems I had around my environment, this sport helped me get my mind off my worries for a couple hours every day. I put my heart, body, and mind into playing and practicing, and it ultimately paid off. I was selected as an all-star wide receiver for the state of Chihuahua and had the opportunity to travel to San Antonio for a 2-day tournament in which I helped the Selection win 2nd place. More recently as well, I received the honor of “Outstanding Defensive Back of the Year” twice in a row, and the “All-District 1st team Corner Back 2021”. I am very lucky to be recognized for my abilities to play the sport and am very grateful for having the talent to shine in the field and out of the field in school-related areas. All this done while being under the pressure of living in the most dangerous city in the world, having to cross the border, dealing with house chores due to my mom’s sickness and having the mental toll of feeling very close to losing the most important person in my life.

I learned about the sport of football around twelve years ago. Since then, I have fallen in love with the game and have practiced, played, and even studied it. For the first couple of years, this sport was not more than a hobby that I enjoyed. Then the idea of this wonderful sport being what I do for a living was introduced to me, football no longer was categorized as a hobby for me. I enjoy the game so much that I am eager, and enthusiastic about doing it professionally. No matter what my circumstances are, football will always remain that one thing that will keep my mind focused, concentrated, and ready There are unique combinations of triggers in my senses that are so meaningful to me; they indicate that the fun is about to start. To step on that field during practice, see the burning sun in the horizon light up the entire field causing it to release that distinctive smell coming from the flaming hot turf combined with drips of sweat dropped when only stretching. Going through the drills that the coaches smartly prepared beforehand, going through the same motions repeatedly until the point where my legs are barely able to keep my weight up, just to go one more time through the drill. And to hear the whistle signaling the beginning of the so much waited for scrimmage plays. All these preparations to culminate in a game at the end of the week. Dozens of heads analyzing, studying, and planning the many factors that affect the game. Analyze rival and own team’s strengths and weaknesses to gain advantage accordingly. Let the players all individually study what was analyzed for them by the coaches to understand their rival. And finally prepare a gameplan to follow in order to have the most chances of success. Football is more than just muscle; it is about brains. Once in the field with the opposing team, applying everything learned is just muscle memory, an automatic reaction. Events happening during the brief period that a play takes ignite a reaction in one that controls you. At this point it is all about fun, enjoying yourself, while being responsible for your duties in the team. The passion I feel towards football is not only described by words in this essay. My love for football has helped me through tough times, where giving up was the best option for many people in my situation. The sport gave me so much motivation to excel academically and to take the decision to try out for The University of Alabama’s football team.

I am working hard to accomplish my goal of playing football professionally, which initially was a dream. I can now say confidently that it has been slowly transitioned into a goal I have in my reach. Nonetheless, I have a second plan of studying computer science, which is something I am very passionate about as well. Studying computer science while playing football will allow me to have two options to secure a bright future. I have played football long enough to know things could go wrong in the time it takes to snap the ball. Working hard on the academic side of my college life will secure a successful future, regardless of what football has in store for me. No matter what, I have planned everything so that I can ultimately end up helping my family financially and I don't have to worry about not doing what I like for a living.

I am working hard to accomplish my goal of playing football professionally, which initially was a dream. I can now say confidently that it has been slowly transitioned into a goal I have in my reach. Nonetheless, I have a second plan of studying computer science, which is something I am very passionate about as well. Studying computer science while playing football will allow me to have two options to secure a bright future. I have played football long enough to know things could go wrong in the time it takes to snap the ball. Working hard on the academic side of my college life will secure a successful future, regardless of what football has in store for me. No matter what, I have planned everything so that I can ultimately end up helping my family financially and I don't have to worry about not doing what I like for a living.

I am already fully invested in growing stronger and smarter to be able to accomplish my goals; to either play football professionally or to become an important software programmer. However, the ultimate goal is to be able to financially sort my family. I believe The University of Alabama is the college that will help me achieve these goals. It is a very prestigious school in the United States and has a very successful football program in which I know that it can strongly help me achieve my dream of playing football professionally. Although I was in a very tough mental battle in my first couple of years in high school. I kept attending school and after school football practices. Not only did I attend, but I am very successful in every class and during every football game. I am proud of where I am. My hard work has earned me a 3.92 GPA. This isn’t easy, as I am dealing with 4 AP classes on my schedule. Moreover, stepping out of state for the college experience only enhances the skills I will be learning. The University of Alabama has an excellent computer science program in which I will be enrolling and gathering knowledge that will further my chances at succeeding in life. Academics are important, nonetheless, I stand out as a student-athlete who has been named a "two times Outstanding Defensive Back" of the Jefferson/Silva Foxes football team and a "2021 All-District DB". I believe I deserve this scholarship because of the commitment and dedication I have given to bringing back to all those people that have supported me.

I am very talented in football because of different qualities of my personality. I work hard for what I want, and I am sure of what I want. To play football and obtain something tangent out of it, by either getting scholarships because of it, or playing professionally. Not a day since middle school has happened where football is not in my mind. Every time I eat, I think in how it is going to help me get bigger for the sport. Every time I exercise, I think in how those different movements help me move quicker, and stronger. Every day I think in how what I’m doing can make me improve. This personality trait of mine allows me to keep getting better, and when I am in actual football practice, I give everything I have to demonstrate to myself how everything I’ve done has improved me. I have gained plenty of results until now. I was selected as an all-star wide receiver for the state of Chihuahua and had the opportunity to travel to San Antonio for a 2-day tournament in which I helped the Selection win 2nd place. More recently as well, I received the honor of “Outstanding Defensive Back of the Year” twice in a row, and the “All-District 1st team Corner Back 2021”. I am not satisfied with the results yet, although gratifying, I know I can do a lot better, and I will.

Around 2019, my first year in an American school, my mother was diagnosed with colon cancer. At first, she continued working to save up money for treatments, however, she was ultimately unable to lift herself out of bed without help. She required a lot of attention and care, and someone had to be always home with her, keeping in mind as well that bills had to be paid, school had to keep going, groceries still needed to be bought, all without the help a government like the United States would’ve brought because we lived in Mexico. My mother’s boss was, and is to this day, very attentive and helpful, she does very well financially, and therefore decided to help with the treatment’s cost, making it way easier on our side financially speaking. Nonetheless, her health kept getting worse with the passing of time, to the point where she only clinged to life because she did not want to leave her children alone. Inevitably, the doctors put an estimated date on her remaining days on earth, October of 2019. My mother decided to take the risk of a low-chance of survival surgery, as all she wanted was for the pain to go away as soon as possible. For an entire week without any communication with her, I kept going to school, attending practice, basically living my life as if nothing out of the ordinary was happening, exhibiting a smile among those that I was friends with. I did not know how she was doing, I had the constant thought in my mind that I could have already lived my last moments with my mother. I don’t remember this week with clarity, but I do know that an automatic reaction of mine was to keep on working hard in school and in practice, no vision towards the future in that moment, just an automatic sequence of events; I do recall still doing well academically once everything calmed down. Once the call received that my mother had done an excellent job of fighting for her life and that she had made all procedures flawlessly. The happiness I felt when I saw her again is not comparable to anything I’ve ever felt. Everything began to change back to normality once again. My desire to do better in life had never been stronger. Once I had analyzed everything, I came to realize that all the talent I have, both, academically and in football, had ignited a fire within me to pay back everything that was given to me. As cliché as it sounds, I learned a lesson from this experience, to value what I have, and to work just as strong as my mother, without letting things I can’t control affect me, just as me living in Mexico and its complications. My focus now has totally shifted towards school and football and I am working very hard to end all of my families problems.

I am very talented in football because of different qualities of my personality. I work hard for what I want, and I am sure of what I want. To play football and obtain something tangent out of it, by either getting scholarships because of it, or playing professionally. Not a day since middle school has happened where football is not in my mind. Every time I eat, I think in how it is going to help me get bigger for the sport. Every time I exercise, I think in how those different movements help me move quicker, and stronger. Every day I think in how what I’m doing can make me improve. This personality trait of mine allows me to keep getting better, and when I am in actual football practice, I give everything I have to demonstrate to myself how everything I’ve done has improved me. I have gained plenty of results until now. I was selected as an all-star wide receiver for the state of Chihuahua and had the opportunity to travel to San Antonio for a 2-day tournament in which I helped the Selection win 2nd place. More recently as well, I received the honor of “Outstanding Defensive Back of the Year” twice in a row, and the “All-District 1st team Corner Back 2021”. I am not satisfied with the results yet, although gratifying, I know I can do a lot better, and I will.

To create a picture in your mind of how much my life in Mexico has affected, or may I say, have I let it “not” affect me, I must first tell all the complications my life has had until now. First of all, I was born in Denver, Colorado in the United States. My mother, born and raised until 7 years old in Mexico, was able to cross the border, eventually get a job and live there for many years, enough to give birth to my older brother (25 years old), me (18 years old, 19 in March 18th, 2022) and the youngest of the men (16 years old). Thanks to her I gained citizenship in the United States; in the eyes of some in a simple way, but in my eyes, thanks to the hard work and dedication my mother and grandmother put in being able to cross the border and settle. Not long after my youngest brother was born, my mother was arrested because of mistakes she made in her life (as I believe any human being commits them at some degree depending on many factors). Because of this mistake, she was initially sentenced to 20 years of prison and a permanent deportation. So many things in my life would be completely different had this sentence been final. A very good lawyer, an outstanding resilience from my mom, and what I thank God today, for changing this 20-year sentence to only a little more than 2 years, was enough to gratefully live my childhood along my mother, at the cost of living in Mexico. I am also very grateful to my aunt, who took care of me and my brothers in the time my mother was gone. Things got a lot worse around 2019, my first year in an American school, when my mother was diagnosed with colon cancer. At first, she continued working to save up money for treatments, however, she was ultimately unable to lift herself out of bed without help. She required a lot of attention and care, and someone had to be always home with her, keeping in mind as well that bills had to be paid, school had to keep going, groceries still needed to be bought, all without the help a government like the United States would’ve brought. My mother’s boss was, and is to this day, very attentive and helpful, she does very well financially, and therefore decided to help with the treatment’s cost, making it way easier on our side financially speaking. Nonetheless, her health kept getting worse with the passing of time, to the point where she only clinged to life because she did not want to leave her children alone, but clearly stated that she did not want to keep suffering, that she wanted it all to end somehow. Memories remain of her pain-induced screams, of the floors filled with blood that needed to be cleaned by us—her sons, the only ones available for her at the time—of her skin that had close to no muscle within them, as if it was directly attached to the bone, and of her facial expressions, those that a person experiencing death through living has. Inevitably, the doctors put an estimated date on her remaining days on earth, October of 2019. 2 options were given to her, either leave all treatment and let the disease spread throughout her body without the effects that chemotherapy had to die a less painful death, or risk a surgical intervention in which 7 different surgeries were needed, and the probabilities of success were very close to 0%. For obvious reasons, she decided to take the risk as all she wanted was for the pain to go away as soon as possible; a trip to Guadalajara alone took place because no one could neither afford the trip, nor the hotel, food, etc. For an entire week without any communication with her, I kept going to school, attending practice, basically living my life as if nothing out of the ordinary was happening, exhibiting a smile among those that I was friends with. I did not know how she was doing, I had the constant thought in my mind that I could have already lived my last moments with my mother. I could be living without my main foundation, the woman that fought so hard to bring me where I am at, that despite the complications she has personally had, her priority was me and my brothers. She, the most important person in my life suddenly gone, was in my mind and nothing else. Once the call received that my mother had done an excellent job of fighting for her life and that she had made all 7 procedures flawlessly, I had no sudden realization of that everything I had thought of was wrong, everything hit slowly, but the happiness I felt when I saw her again is not comparable to anything I’ve ever felt. Everything began to change back to normality once again. My desire to do better in life had never been stronger. Once I had analyzed everything, I came to realize that all the talent I have, both, academically and in football, had ignited a fire within me to pay back everything that was given to me. As cliché as it sounds, I learned a lesson from this experience, to value what I have, and to work just as strong as my mother, without letting things I can’t control affect me, just as me living in Mexico and its complications. My focus now has totally shifted towards school and football. Now, to showcase the accomplishments I’ve made despite my background, I will begin 11 years ago, when my love for football started. Among all the problems I had around my environment, this sport helped me get my mind off my worries for a couple hours every day. I put my heart, body, and mind into playing and practicing, and it ultimately paid off. I was selected as an all-star wide receiver for the state of Chihuahua and had the opportunity to travel to San Antonio for a 2-day tournament in which I helped the Selection win 2nd place. More recently as well, I received the honor of “Outstanding Defensive Back of the Year” twice in a row, and the “All-District 1st team Corner Back 2021”. I am very lucky to be recognized for my abilities to play the sport and am very grateful for having the talent to shine in the field and out of the field in school-related areas. All this done while being under the pressure of living in the most dangerous city in the world, having to cross the border, dealing with house chores due to my mom’s sickness and having the mental toll of feeling very close to losing the most important person in my life. I believe I am very fortunate, dedicated, and focused and I only look forward to keep on working hard as I’ve had to continue with my successful life without letting the things I can’t control affect me, just as I did not let living in Mexico be an obstacle towards my goal.

First of all, I was born in Denver, Colorado in the United States. My mother, born and raised until 7 years old in Mexico, was able to cross the border, eventually get a job and live there for many years, enough to give birth to my older brother (25 years old), me (18 years old, 19 in March 18th, 2022) and the youngest of the men (16 years old). Thanks to her I gained citizenship in the United States; in the eyes of some in a simple way, but in my eyes, thanks to the hard work and dedication my mother and grandmother put in being able to cross the border and settle. Not long after my youngest brother was born, my mother was arrested because of mistakes she made in her life (as I believe any human being commits them at some degree depending on many factors). Because of this mistake, she was initially sentenced to 20 years of prison and a permanent deportation. So many things in my life would be completely different had this sentence been final. A very good lawyer, an outstanding resilience from my mom, and what I thank God today, for changing this 20-year sentence to only a little more than 2 years, was enough to gratefully live my childhood along my mother, at the cost of living in Mexico. I am also very grateful to my aunt, who took care of me and my brothers in the time my mother was gone. Once she was out of prison, somewhere to stay was needed. Little was known when my family moved to Mexico, Ciudad Juarez more specifically, that we were getting ourselves into the most dangerous city in the world in 2010-2011. Living with constant fear of the cartels that roamed and ruled the city. Everything done, from going to school to getting groceries, was done with extremely caution to avoid being found alone, or simply being seen, as we could have been seen as a target of these organized crime groups. I still vaguely remember hearing gunshots just around the block of my home, as well as a time when dozens of soldiers entered our house to search without a warrant or even a reason to do so. But life still needed to go on despite this. The actions my mother thought were the best to give her children the best life she could allowed me to learn valuable lessons that I have carried on throughout my life. I know that with hard work, dedication, heart to what is being done, and a little bit of luck can go a long, long way in how I shape my future.