I wanted nothing more than to work on Wall Street, drive a super nice car and, own a mansion when I was younger. Like many kids I had an obsession with living a nice lifestyle especially since I grew up dirt poor. I remember seeing my friends go on super nice vacations, go out to dinner, and even little things like drink soda at dinner and I was always so jealous I mean we didn’t go on even a trip to the beach because it was too expensive. With that said I had a fire under my butt to work hard so that my life would be vastly different and so my parents could eventually retire off my income. I believed in order to make a lot of money you had to go to college, and I knew my parents could not afford to put me through college, so I began to look for work and eventually started mowing yards because it had the best pay for a 6th grader at the time. A gentleman at my church heard I was mowing yards and asked if I could do some yard work around his house and his rental properties. I jumped on the opportunity and he threw all sorts of tasks like chopping trees, spreading mulch, and digging trenches for irrigation this is where I was introduced to the real green industry, I started to take more ownership of the job by researching products and methods to better maintain the properties i took care of and discovered I had a real passion for learning and saw his properties as my canvas. I took pride in making his lawns green and flower beds colorful. It was so cool to see the fruit of my labor so fast and get so much positive feedback from his tenants at his rental properties and workers at his restaurant. As I looked at colleges and majors, I began to realize I loved working outside and painting with that canvas. I lost the desire to work some corporate desk job, and I thought I needed a job where I worked outdoors or at least supporting the enjoyment of the outdoors for others. So that is why I picked landscape architecture I want to make the world more beautiful and work in an environment I grew up in with people I understand because they are doing something I once did. My dream is to work for a company like Ewing outdoor supply where I have interned the past two years. I want to serve the people working in the “trenches” who are trying to make a decent living to support their families. I was in their shoes once and I know how intense the labor can be in that heat. It is my goal to make their lives better by serving them at either a branch or as an account manager. I am drawn to the green industry because of the culture of the industry I have felt very accepted and when I express a desire to learn people are more than happy to help. I respect the hard work the workers do, and I feel a sense of pride since I have labored in a similar way since I was in 6th grade. With all of that said I no longer want to be rich and famous and have nice things. I desire to serve others and help make others' lives better and I want to do that through this industry I have grown up in which has taught me the value of hard work.