I am a 30-year-old woman who is determined to finish her education. I have struggled to finish my schooling since I started college. Throughout the years, I have finished two Associate Degrees and currently, I am only a year shy of gaining my bachelor's degree in history. As I struggled to find the strength to finish college, life caused me to take pauses throughout the years. A few years before Covid-19 my parents went through a rough divorce and I took a break from college to help my mother move and settle in her new freedom. Together we went to Pueblo Community College to gain a degree in the Culinary Arts, we got it. It is a fond memory and one that I will always look at with a smile. My culinary degree has helped me gain employment during the years of Covid and now that those years have passed I have decided to follow my passion in history. While in school learning more about the world's vast past my AAS has supported me in putting through the semesters. I am grateful that my AAS supported me when I made the giant move from CO to TX. It was nerve-racking for me to make that huge move for it was the first time that I would be away from my family for long periods of time. During the first year away from my family I dived into cooking to keep me from slipping too far into a depression I found myself in. The AAS degree helped keep me sane as I slogged through the first semester at LCU. I am grateful for the memories and knowledge I gained in CO for it pushed me through and gave me the strength to make connections and relationships that I now have. However, challenges happen, Because of the struggle everyone had during COVID-19 tuition has gotten higher for all students across the globe and it has caused older students to look outside normal paths of gaining support to go back to school. I kindly ask for support. The passion I have for history is one I would love to share with others and future generations. In order for me to do that I need to finish my education. I am determined not to let the challenges that I had in the past stop me from sharing the wonder of the world and its past.

There are different types of giving that are all done for a reason. Most of the time, however, giving is done out of selfish reasons or because the person had no choice. That is not a good reason to give. To give means to take time out of one life to care about others for no other reason than the pure need to help. To give means helping those that need it, it means to bring joy and happiness to others. For me, I give my time. I volunteer at homeless shelters and food banks to give back to the community. I give my time and knowledge to those in need. If I can be a pillar of strength to those that need it then I have been what they need in that period of their life. It takes nothing to help out those that need it, and having been there in their shoes it is only fair that I help the next person. Giving is a part of life that is not taken as seriously as it should be.

To further one's goals should not cost so high. Dreams are meant to be reached and if the path to achieving that goal is semi-blocked then most will give up. Universities and colleges are slowly making it possible for those to achieve their dreams able, however, it is still hard for those in low-income households to reach their dreams. Those in low-income homes tend to give up halfway because they are working so that they can survive and pay for schooling. They should not have to give up their dreams just because they cannot live.

After I had graduated with my AGS and AAS depression hit me hard. For two years I did not work I did not go out and meet my friends, for two years I was isolated. Even my mother did not see me often and I lived with her. It was hard trying to find the will to get up each morning and face the day. Despite my depression, I still tried to do positive activities and in 2020 I found a job at Carl's Jr. Being there helped draw me out of the cage I had built around myself. At Carl's Jr. I had to interact with people on a regular basis, that interaction is what helped me slowly go back to my happy self. Seeing the smiles on grateful customers made my smile grow day by day, I am grateful that I got that position, for it helped me in taking the next step to further my education. I am now in Lubbock TX at LCU to gain a BSIS. I still deal with mild depression every now and then, however, I have a goal that each day I will reach no matter what happens.

"To be early is to be on time. To be on time is to be late. To be late is to replaced." This quote was on a sign behind my music instructor, when I first saw it, it sparked something in me; from then on I tried to live by that quote. I would arrive at least five minutes early to any event or interview I was going to. I to this day show up at least five minutes early to my classes and shift for work. As an adult, I now realize that my mother had taught us to live by the quote I saw when I was 12 years old. It is one of the many lessons that she taught me and it is also one of the lessons that I still live by and when I have children it will a lesson that I will teach them as they grow. This lesson/quote means that we as humans should not stop chasing our dreams, it one quote that everyone should have in their homes.

One Piece is an anime/manga about Friendship and achieving your goals no matter how long it takes. At first, it may seem that it is light-hearted, however, the more you read/watch it show that a happy person can have a dark past. Yet despite their background, the Strawhat crew pulls together and supports their crewmates, no matter what they go through they are always helping each other, and together they step closer to their dream. That alone has inspired me to go for my dream and no matter how long it takes I will keeping going forward just the Strawhats.

I am two years shy of 30 and I am finally going to college to be a history teacher. Being a teacher is something I always wanted to be, however, I was fearful of disappointing myself until I realized that if I did not start chasing my dream then I am disappointing myself, so I am headed to school in three days to chase my dream and reach my goal. I plan to get the best grades I can get at Lubbock Christian University(LCU). When I graduate I will strive to be the best history teacher to future generations. I want to be a beacon of hope and a pillar of strength for the children that I will be teaching. Seeing the light grow and flourish in a child's eye is the most wonderful thing. They are the hope of this world and it is our duty to guide them as the generation before us did. I look forward to teaching and guiding the next generation as they experience this vast world. I hope that from the experiences that I went through will help me be a proper role model.

I do not have a favorite book, I do however have a favorite series and that series is the Mercedes Thompson series by Patricia Briggs. The reason I love this series despite being an ongoing series is that it takes a not so simple mechanic and throws her headfirst into danger and she has to use her wits and stubbornness to survive the chaos her enemies give her. Not only does she defeat the enemies she does on top of maintaining a steady business and manages to find love. This series drags you into a world of shifters, weres, vampires, fae, and everything under the sky while keeping it real. The main character is a woman that just wants to be left alone, yet when she is not she defends those she claims as hers with such a ferocity that makes one admire her. For me, this series evokes all the emotions yet I cannot stop reading it and help but wonder what I would do if everything we call supernatural creatures were to come out. I love this series because I respect strong independent women that take nothing from no one. I love this series because as a strong independent woman it is nice to know that I am not alone even if the person is a fictional character. I love this series because it has an everyday slice of life in it. This series is one that recomned because it is about overcoming hardships while being there for the one you love.

Generosity, such a strong word. It is a word that invokes an emotion when said, yet it is not often used in action. To me, generosity means being a helping hand even when you are struggling with the day-to-day. Generosity is being a sympathetic ear and shoulder to cry on. Generosity is not judging someone when they come for help. Generosity is a way of life, one that every single human on this planet should embrace. For some, it comes naturally, for others it is a learned skill, yet is an action that people recognize when they see it. Most of the time when people are generous it is when they are volunteering. To me, generosity is also in the simple actions; holding a door open so others can pass. Returning a dropped item, a smile to one having a hard day. Generosity is not something that should be done in large gestours, generosity is small and sometimes overlooked. I have seen generosity all my life, I have had people help my family as a child when my parents were struggling to pay the bills and we needed a place to sleep. To me, generosity is a word that taught there is love in this world if one knows how to look.