I was born into debt. When my family ran from the poverty stricken Philippines to find safety in America, they started a business to keep us afloat. It's a small, humble Mom and Pop courier business that makes deliveries to food chains. But my grandparents weren't always the best with finances. They ended up taking out unnecessary business expenses and gambling away the company's funds, leaving my mom and dad to clean up what they started. But with the spread of Covid, we we're struggling to make ends meet. I remember going days without seeing my parents, as they were holed up in their offices doing their best to keep us alive. The work broke them. Their relationship was strained as my parents had to be each others coworkers, caregivers, and partners all at once. There were times where my father would sleep at the office, reluctant to come home. It kept going on until he decided that coming home wasn't worth it. He packed his bags and drove all the way up from California to Seattle, and I never saw him again. Now, my father's out of the picture, my mother's a single parent doing her hardest to manage the business. My sister helps her to the best of her ability, but I know that we could do so much more than what we have now. I'm lucky enough to have taken courses like Intro to Business and Financial Literacy so that I can help educate my family on how to make money work for us instead of the other way around. I've started my own small businesses during school that were incredibly successful, and I plan to continue to do so. I plan on furthering my education as a business major to learn as much as I can about the flow of commerce and the marketplace as a whole. I don't have a concrete goal in terms of where I'll end up as a result of my pursuit of business. All I know is that I want to go as far as my confidence and hard work can take me. I know that I have a bright future ahead of me, no matter what I choose to do. Its more of a matter of when and how I choose to pursue it. With this scholarship I can make attending the school of my dreams, Harvard Business School, a reality. Anyone can dream, but I believe I can achieve.