Helping the elderly in my community is such a blessing. I have been a caregiver, and I have met some amazing people with incredible stories. By helping them around the house, I also became a companion for them. Having a genuine conversation, watching television, eating lunch together, and running errands with them made them feel like they weren't alone. Some elderly people don't often get visits for their loved ones due to their schedules. For me to be able to bring the company and brighten their day makes it every bit worth it. Just simple gestures of kindness and a helping hand, make their quality of life that much better. In Addition, the elderly can't get outside work done. I have planted flowers, weeded the yard, and cut the grass. The glow on their faces to see their yard shine was worth all the hard work. Many elderly ladies I have had the pleasure of meeting love my company. Usually, after working on the yard, I would make them a homemade dinner. Some elderly people get microwave meals from meals on wheels, and I wouldn't give that to my grandparents, so I make them a healthy meal about their dietary needs. All in All, whether it be helping them with household chores, outside work, playing games, having a great conversation, or making them delicious meals, I try to do more for them around my community. With that in mind, I continue to make a difference in my community to give back to the elderly.

In life, one hopes to achieve many goals and lead the life they only dreamed of having. Achieving goals is a great accomplishment and It is a way to learn about yourself. We all hope to have a bright future, with hard work, and a positive outlook, it will be yours. With my greatest achievement being continuing my education, I have learned about myself and what the future has in store for me. I have a few great achievements, but the one that I am most proud of is getting back in the race and finishing college. After some hardships I had encountered in my life, it was hard for me to find the motivation to continue my education. I attained my GED in 2012, and with the excitement that brought me, I enrolled at my local community college. Successfully completing my first semester with a 4.0 ( another great accomplishment) I didn't realize that I needed to fill out financial aid each semester. Being new to that whole process, I learned that I wasn't going on to my second semester. It devastated me, and I gave up. Over the next few years, I was dealing with the loss of my husband. This made it hard to continue anything, and I felt at a standstill, I knew that something had to change for the better. I saw all the opportunities passing me by, and I couldn't sit back to watch it happen. I made the first step to request information at Charter College for their medical assistant programs. Immediately after speaking with the admissions representative, his enthusiasm while explaining the program, ignited my passion to pursue my education once again. This is the one achievement I find to be my greatest, despite everything, I haven't given up, and I made this my number one priority. Of all my achievements, this is the one that makes me the most proud. With having many obstacles, this experience taught me that my determination to pursue a better future is not lost. The dreams that fill my head as I lie awake at night, spark my passion to make it a reality. I have learned that I am strong, I am smart, and I am a fighter. Having this experience, has also taught me that I have the motivation to succeed, and the confidence to go as far as I wish to go. When it comes to my future, there are many things I hope to achieve and more. For instance, the self discipline and focused mindset I bring to my academics, reflects how hard I intend to work in all my studies. Excelling in my studies will ensure the successful completion of my higher education, and will then open up doors to many career opportunities to build a stable future. With that being a hopeful achievement for my future, I also hope to inspire leadership and integrity in others I have the privilege to encounter on my journey. I want to be able to make a difference in this world, and help others attain a better quality of life in my future career. Furthermore, my greatest achievement is getting back in the race to attain my degree. This made me realize, I have the motivation, determination, and confidence inside myself to achieve anything I set my mind to. And giving up my dreams is not an option, as I am hopeful to have a bright stable future ahead of me, to be able to inspire others in their journey towards success, and to make a difference in the lives of others I come across in my future career. Everything I will accomplish now and in the future is worth fighting and working hard for, and that will be my greatest accomplishment of all.

I have many hobbies that I love to do on my free time. It is a great way to melt away stress and clear my mind. Although, all the hobbies that I like to do, there is two that go hand in hand for that number one favorite spot. Those hobbies are writing and cooking. First, I will start off with why writing is one of my favorite things to do on my free time. Writing helps me with numerous things, like putting down all my thoughts and ideas, gives me a lot of practice, and writing letters to family and friends. I feel that since electronics made there appearance in the world, writing personable letters became a thing of the past, and I think more people should write letters once in awhile. Since I love writing, my note taking abilities are out of this world, and that comes in handy when it comes to study time. Writing also is perfect for practicing good handwriting, I am still currently finding a style that I love, when writing anything. Next, the next hobby tied with writing, is cooking. Cooking is a way for me to explore different foods from around the world. Since I am not able to travel at the moment, cooking is the best way for me to try the tasty food that others around the world get to eat everyday. I love to cook Chinese, Mexican, Korean, BBQ, and many other food. All the different spices that are in the dishes I make for my family are some that I have never heard of before. I learn different techniques while preparing dishes, different spice combinations, and enjoying the final results of my fine cooking skills. All in All, writing and cooking are my favorite hobbies.

Being a single mother of three beautiful children has been quite a journey. There have been many hardships, but also strength and love. My children are my world and without them, I would be lost. They push me to become a better version of myself every day and inspire me to fight hard to accomplish my goals. First, As a single mother, everyday life seems like an uphill battle with all the challenges that present themselves in brutal ways. My children are my main motivators to be the best me I can be, and give me the confidence to fight and work hard to make the best of each day better than the last. My children are the main reason I am currently in school working towards my degree and finding an amazing career that will allow me to start building toward a stable future for them. They motivate me to never give up, and keep pushing myself to reach my full potential to successfully reach my goals because it is worth fighting for. And I will use the motivation they bless me with to do whatever it takes to get where I want to be in life. Second, being a single mother has truly taught me a lot while still learning each day. Children have an innocence that is just so pure, and they radiate love and happiness towards everything they do and with others, they socialize with. They have shaped me to be a more patient, strong, understanding, and selfless person. Before I became a mother, I had a rough exterior. I was just looking out for myself, and I never let anyone in as I was unable to trust the compassion and intentions of others in my life. I am truly blessed for what my children have taught me through the years of raising them by myself. I am more selfless than I have ever imagined myself to be, I am more understanding of others that allow me to have healthy relationships, and also taught me to be a patient person. I am grateful for the strong person they shaped me to be, because if it wasn't for them I wouldn't be the best version of me that I am today. Finally, the support that has helped me most while pursuing a higher education being a single mother, is the support of my mom and dad. They support me tremendously by watching my children so that I can make it to classes each and everyday I have class. Childcare is out of reach for me, because I simply do not have the funds to cover it and to be able to have the that support from my parents have truly been a blessing. My parents and my children support me with love and give me the confidence to fight harder in everything I do. They are a blessing and to have that kind of support in my corner, I can conquer the world. All in all, the motivation and inspiration my children bless me with everyday to be the best that I can be, along with the amazing support of my parents, give me the strength and courage to keep fighting to reach my goals. I love who I became and how far I come being a single mother, because of my children. Everything I have accomplished thus far, and all that I am pursuing currently for our future is because of them. And I will continue to fight through hardships to succeed for them.

The most devastating loss that I experienced in my life, was the loss of my husband. This has always been an emotional subject for me, and this is the first time for me sharing with anyone. In 2009, I met my husband while my father and I were staying in a motel after my mother left my father. He was staying in the room next door to mine. Our friendship turned into a beautiful relationship after some time, and we were expecting our daughter. Four months after our daughter was born, he proposed! Our journey together as a family started, and we started to build our future. Marriage has its ups and down, you get to know that person on a deep level. He encouraged me to pursue my GED, and to follow my dreams. He Supported me in everything I wanted to accomplish in life, and never let me give up. He had a rough past, as his childhood was unfavorable to say he less. Trauma from his childhood caused mental health issues, and he suffered from bi polar, manic depressive, and had suicidal thoughts. He shared with me that he had attempted to cease his life years before I came along, and his roommates saved him. After that conversation, nothing else was said about it and I made everyday full of love, support, and encouragement. He was beautifully damaged, and was the most caring, loving, funny, and genuine person I have ever met. He worked in the oil field and was in the army, which required weeks sometimes months out of town to support me and our two children. I thought we had a beautiful life together and things were going perfectly, until February 2014 when he took his life. This forever changed me in ways that I cannot explain, the pain that I feel to this day is forever still fresh, and my longing for him still consumes me. Contemplating this tragic event, I turned my sadness and lose into determination and courage. This experience has shown me that I am strong and it sparked a passion within to become a upgraded version of myself. All of the struggles I have encountered on my journey thus far, has made me the person I am today. Family is what matters most in my life, and you have to cherish and love then often because you never know when it will be the last time you get to express your love to them. I am hopeful for the future, because I am dedicated to achieve my goals of having my certification as a medical assistant, to later study in psychology to become a counselor to help others cope with lose, and to finally be able to provide a stable loving future for my children. As I continue to pursue my dreams, my children are everyday reminders to never give up and that is worth fighting for.

Education is important to me because of the the ways it can help shapes me as a person, builds all different kinds of skills I need for life, the stability it creates, all the amazing things that I can learn, and it is something that no one can take from me. First, with so much out there to learn, opens up endless opportunities for a stable future. Having the ability to provide a bright stable future for my children are my number one priority. To be able to have many options to start my career in, I have a couple different career interests, that I plan on achieving throughout my journey towards higher education. Having a college education will shape me into a well-educated individual which will increase my chances for better career opportunities that will aid in my success to be able to provide the stable future for my little family. Second, my education so far has taught me communication skills through reading, writing, speaking, and listening. It has helped build my character, morals, and my values everyday I devote myself to my learning. I will always invest in myself to become a confident, well-rounded, open-minded, and well-educated individual that I aim to be. Everyday, I am learning and growing, being able to enhance my critical thinking that will aid in success with obstacles I face in my education and daily life. Additionally, my education is the key to my future. It is the glue that holds all my goals and aspirations together. I grew up in a poor family. My parents are high school drop outs, as well as my two younger sisters. Getting my education is a really big accomplishment, and I am very proud of myself. That being said, my education is a very important high priority for me. My passion for my education inspires my 12 year old daughter and my gifted 10 year old son. My daughter wants to go to college to become a plastic surgeon and my son wants to study to become an archaeologist! Huge goals for little people, and I must say that It makes my heart melt. I want to inspire, I want to help others reach their goals, and higher education is perfect for learning how to set goals for yourself. Finally, to sum up the importance of my education is to me. The sky is the limit, and you can reach as far as you want. Being well-educated, skilled, inspire greatness, and see the amazing future that awaits me at the finish line makes all the hard work totally worth it.

Care giving is a selfless act. The personal time required to care for a aging family member or a family member that had life altering health problems. In my experience as being a care giver professionally and for a family member, having three small children was extremely exhausting. Ill start with my experience working as a care giver for my past job. The amount of care one needs to successfully take care of the elderly with dementia was one that I will never forget. They are beautiful individuals, with kind hearts. It truly affected my emotions working with them. Seeing how they get discouraged not being able to do everyday tasks like they used to made me sad. Spending most of my time caring for these individuals, I became a companion for them. It also made me have less time at home with my children. Trying to pursue my education while working as a caregiver became to much trying to juggle spending needed time with my children and school. I made the choice to resign as it was affecting my goals and my relationship with my children being the only parent they have. Next, caring for my mother for years after she had a brain aneurysm became a hard tasks. It affected her short term memory, and she couldn't remember recent conversations. She would roam around trying to remember what she was doing, and it broke my heart. I was caring for her everyday of the week and stayed with her most of the time. This time I would bring my children to come keep grandma company while I got her house chores done. I always wanted to get back into school to get my college education, because I needed to secure a stable and bright future for me and my children. As time passed by I continued to care for my mother. I have had to pass up a lot of opportunities regarding my education and job wise, because I just couldn't stop caring for my mother. I love her dearly and I would do anything in this world to make sure my loved ones had the care they needed. I do not regret being able to take care of my mother and the elderly, because it is the most selfless thing one could do...love and care for others. I ended up getting her 24 hr care, because time passes, as well as the opportunities for me to focus on my little family, and it had stopped all my goals that I wanted to accomplish. Finally, my experience with being a care giver has been a difficult journey and an exhausted one, I know that my love and care meant a lot to them and I am glad I was able to give that to them. Now I am working hard on the education and career goals I pushed aside all these years, and I am ever so ready to finish these life long goals for me and my family.

My goals for the future are simple. I want to at least have two associates degrees in different fields, two certifications in different fields, I want to have a big house for me and my children, I want to have a successful stable career from all the hard work that landed me all the degrees, big house, and stable career. I want to be able to say that I'm an over achiever and that is okay. I want to be able to have plenty of knowledge and a few different options when it comes to finding that one career that I absolutely love to do. Then again all the degrees and certifications that I work very hard to attain would be the areas of study that peek my interests. There is so many things that interest me and with having the goals of getting a few different degrees/certifications with allow me to get that nice home for my little family, it will allow me to have many different career options. Why just have one, when you have have three or four? All of my goals that I have set for my future are there for the taking and all my hard work and dedication to make those goals a reality are going to be a huge accomplishment and that couldn't make me any happier.

The most inspiring book I have read would be "Creating Affluence" Wealth consciousness in the field of All possibilities By Deepak Chopra, MD. It is a book to create a step by step plan to creating affluence and fulfillment on all levels of our lives. He explains that affluence is our natural state in the whole universe with all the abundance is an unbounded with limitless possibilities for the taking and helps you tap into the wealth consciousness to create anything that you desire. I feel that this book is full of spiritual information for you to open up your mind to and realize your full potential and to be able to attain anything your heart desires. There are two goddess that live in our hearts to which we have to give all of our love and attention to. The first goddess is the goddess of knowledge and the second is the goddess of wealth. The more you seek out the goddess of knowledge the more the goddess of wealth will follow you. Knowledge is power, desire, and spirit. We all have these inside of us and that is the key to creating affluence. I read this book everyday because the message that I get from this is that the more I stay positive and become more knowledgeable the more that I can achieve wealth and attain all the things I desire in life. My journey now is seeking to attain as much knowledge as I can throughout my studies and other resources that I have at my finger tips. This book is amazing and It inspires me and lets me know that without failure there wouldn't be success.

What I do to let my family and friends know that I love and appreciate them is simply calling them often to see how things are, To help them when they need help, and never ask. I spend time with them even if it is doing nothing, but talking about anything and everything. Making them food, because who doesn't love homemade food made with love. Showing your loved ones that you love them comes from sharing your time with them, and cooking and baking is the perfect activity to share with them. Letting your loved ones know that I love them by telling them I love and appreciate them. Draw or paint something for them, offer them company on boring days. I believe that you show them you care for them simply by sharing your time with them and being kind and loving to them. Be there for them in their times of need. Give them advice when they are stressed and sad. My family and close friends mean the world to me, and how I show them that I love and care for them is by checking on them often, do things with them, and providing a listening ear when they have troubles.

I grew up in a poor family. Both of my parents did not finish high school, so they did not go to college. Seeing how hard my parents worked day in and day out to make ends meet, to get my siblings and I what we needed. It was really hard having to move around a lot to find a new place to call home. This has impacted me a lot and has giving me a lot to think about, like what I wanted to do with my life and what I needed to do to get there during my child hood. As I became an adult, tragic things have happened and made it harder to focus on the goals I made for myself. Knowing that I did not want to struggle like my parents did and I didn't want to be stuck going nowhere as an adult. With all of that in my life, I have decided that I will build the life that I deserve to have. I made goals that I am going to get my college education and be the first in my family to get that degree. Being enrolled in school now, I am working hard to accomplish those goals to build that amazing future. Everything happens for a reason and I don't have to let it define where I want to be in the next 5 or 10 years, because by then I will have that degree and I will have that amazing career I worked so hard for, being stable and knowing that everything that I experienced in my life made me who I am today and I will never give up on what I deserve.

Setting goals is the first step in figuring out what I wanted in life. They are there to motivate me and keep me focused on the bigger picture. I work hard each day to get that much closer to finally achieving the few goals that I have in place. The goals I have set are to first get back into school, work hard to graduate, and to finally get a career that I have always dreamed of doing and build a stable life for my children and I. The first goal I had set for myself is to get myself back into school. I decided that I need to make things better for my children and myself. I took the step on searching for different degrees and schools and found what i wanted to do. That was successful as i am now enrolled and going to school to become a medical assistant. Goal one was successful. The next goal that I have made is to work hard in all my studies and to never give up no matter how hard it seems. All the inspiration and love that I have around me, remind me everyday to keep going. Currently working hard to achieve this goal. After I successfully complete my studies that will be another goal checked off my list. The next Goal that I am going to achieve is building that amazing life and bright future for my little family. What I am doing to reach this goal is i am currently working hard, staying motivated, and have a positive mind-set.

How I stay committed to speaking my mind is to always speak my mind with honesty. Many people have their own opinions about many things. Not everyone has the same opinion about the same thing. I am a very blunt person anyways and have been told by others that I have a strong personality. If I feel strongly about something, I will be speaking out about what I think and how I feel about the topic. I will always stay committed to speaking out on what I feel is right because nothing gets accomplished about a problem staying silent. I am not sure what else to say, this comes naturally to me, and staying committed to speaking my mind is natural. I live to be bold and speak out, to live my life honestly and to the fullest extent of my capabilities. I wouldn't be me if I didn't speak my mind, It is hard-wired into my personality and I wouldn't have It any other way.

What motivates me daily is my chance to build a future for my children. Getting the chance to further my education and get my certification gets me one step closer to achieving my long-term goals of being able to put away for my children's education and to be able to live a struggle-free life. We all deserve to have nice things, to be able to go on vacations, and know that all the hard work I put in on a daily was worth every late-night study session, test, and exam. I believe in having goals because those goals give me the motivation to continue to work hard and strive for a better future for not only me, but for children as well. Seeing what is important to me makes my motivation stronger each and every day that I am blessed to be on this earth. Finding my true potential I know that I am capable of going above and beyond to make my hope and dreams of a better future a reality. Achieving one's goals are never easy. With all the resources out there in the world, the love and support of my family and friends, and dedication I know that I will make myself proud and everyone around me rooting for my success. Building a stable future for my little family and achieving a higher education for myself as well as learning many things along the way keep me striving to move forward in my journey. That's what motivates me everyday and I will never give up.

When it comes to relaxing and taking care of my mental health, I have found that there are many ways out there. I have tried many different ways that have failed. While on my journey finding what best helps me relax is music, art, and reading. In this essay, I will be explaining how they help me find relaxing peace of mind. Music is everywhere and there is all kinds of different styles out in the world. While I have wide range of musical taste from oldies, classical music, and rock, music is my go to when it comes to relaxing. The emotion you hear in the words of the artists take me away into my own little world, consuming my soul in the sounds of the music. There is something about music that make my worries wash away and in that moment all I feel is a feeling of complete peace and happiness. Although music is not the only way I find relaxing. Art is another way I find relaxing. Anything from paintings and sculptures by famous artists that make me wonder. All the greatness and the imagination in their art help me take my mind off all the problems that invade my mind. Instead fill my mind with admiration, seeing all the positive possibilities that flood in and take over. Finding the beauty in things, keeping a positive and hopeful mind bring peace. At last, reading books all snuggled up with some hot tea is amazing. I like to read about everything. Reading great books make you feel like you're in the story and your imagination takes you away to a state of bliss. We all have our ways for finding relaxation in the things we love to do. Music, Art, and reading are mine.

I became a first time mother 12 years ago. Beautiful baby girl so precious. As I was learning and she was growing, I became a worry wart. I was scared that if anything were to happen I wouldn't be able to do anything about it except call for help. That was a hopeless feeling and I didn't like it. Time passed on and I got my GED and soon after I became a mother again to a beautiful boy. I started to do research on becoming a nurse, because if my children are playing and they fall and break something or need stitches I wouldn't panic so much I would know exactly what to do and that was relief. As I was planning my next step in Education, I was also planning on where I wanted to begin my career at. I wanted to work in a children's hospital. To be able to love and take care of sick children and bring light into their day made my heart happy. Children are a blessing. So that is the reason I decided that nursing was the right field for me. As for my goals in this field, would be to know everything I can about everything there is to know. To learn and grow and utilize every resource that I have to excel in my studies. Being that there are different nursing roles as there is Rn, lnp ect. I'm a science nerd and with so much out there to learn in the Healthcare field is endless. With the passion I have that came from my children to be able to help them as well as other children brings joy into my life and I couldn't think of a better career path to take in this life. With this path I have taken, i will not only help others stay healthy or bring them back from sickness, it will also help me build a better future for my children and I. There are many reason people have to make their journey towards the Healthcare field and be successful. My inspiration came from my children, because without them I wouldn't be where I am today. The goals and passion that I have now are because of them. Be a better me for them, build an amazing future to show them it is possible to follow your dreams and achieve those goals. My children are the reason I am pursuing my certification in the Healthcare field and the goals I have for this education journey is to learn everything about the human body, diseases, and how to help bring up the quality of life for those who depend on people in the Healthcare field to make everyday count. I will never give up on my goals and my opportunity to make someone's day that much brighter.