I am like a marble rolling in life, dodging the obstacles from the challenges that appear in front of me. At the age of four, I watched as my immigrant father would work over fifty arduous hours per week, earning minimum wage while trying to maintain a steady income for my family, despite knowing little English. My mother, also an immigrant from India, worked as a cashier at Dunkin Donuts nearby while also sustaining our house. As the oldest, I made it my responsibility to assist my mom to take care of my younger brother. Since we were so close in age, we sympathized with topics we connected with being first-generation, watching our parents grind for our family, and our identity, following our religion, Sikhi, and being Punjabi, our heritage. Growing up I observed my dad working diligently as a dishwasher, which led to his becoming a chef and subsequently observed how he developed new skills for his business for which he worked grueling hours. Meanwhile, as a result of years of hard work, my mother transitioned from being a cashier at Dunkin to a general store manager. This taught me perseverance through observation. As I instructed them in grammar, I watched as both of my parents came to grasp a new language. Whenever I look into my parent's eyes I see determination, dedication, and persistence. Having these two prominent figures in my life has been inspiring, especially towards the end of my eighth grade school year, when I developed a painful cyst. The cyst made it painful for me to run, play sports, and participate in any physical activity, basically the things I enjoyed most. As I walked through the crowded halls of my high school freshman year, I wondered how I would be able to learn and focus. Sitting in the doctor's office during one of my many very concerning checkups, I pondered my situation. To make matters worse, during that school year, the Covid-19 pandemic began. During the pandemic lockdown, I caught up in school and attempted to recover from my illness. That summer my doctor suggested that I undergo surgery to treat my cyst. As I sat in the doctor’s examination room, I felt a twist of nausea in my stomach from the thought of getting surgery, but I hesitantly agreed to do it. My mother felt very anxious for me, but she wanted me to feel better, so she agreed with my decision. After two months of anxiously awaiting the surgery date, I sat in my hospital room. While the nurse prepared me for the operating room, she offered me words of encouragement to help me persevere. The nurse and I formed a bond, and she inspired me to enter the healthcare field to become a health assisting student in our vocational program that year. Knowing that healthcare will be the field I plan to go into in the future, I am glad I will be making a substantial influence on lives. Being a health assisting student taught me new skills that I further utilize while being a nursing student taking blood pressure, and checking the height and weight of children and senior residents. This series of events shows that in any challenging situation, my parents’ perseverance will always be in my mind and my heart. I will listen to them for advice and motivation for me to achieve my goals. No matter where I am, I will always believe, persevere, and I will keep on rolling like a marble.

I am like a marble rolling in life, dodging the obstacles from the challenges that appear in front of me. At the age of four, I watched as my immigrant father would work over fifty arduous hours per week, earning minimum wage while trying to maintain a steady income for my family, despite knowing little English. My mother, also an immigrant from India, worked as a cashier at Dunkin Donuts nearby while also sustaining our house. As the oldest, I made it my responsibility to assist my mom to take care of my younger brother we sympathized with topics we connected with being first-generation, watching our parents grind for our family, and our identity, following our religion, Sikhi, and being Punjabi, our heritage. Whenever I look into my parent's eyes I see determination, dedication, and persistence. Towards the end of my eighth-grade school year, when I developed a painful cyst. As I walked through the crowded halls of my high school freshman year, I wondered how I would be able to learn and focus. After two months of anxiously awaiting the surgery date, I sat in my hospital room. While the nurse prepared me for the operating room, she offered me words of encouragement to help me persevere. The nurse and I formed a bond, and she inspired me to enter the healthcare field to become a health assisting student in our vocational program that year. This series of events shows that in any challenging situation, my parents’ perseverance will always be in my mind and my heart. I will listen to them for advice and motivation for me to achieve my goals. No matter where I am, I will always believe, persevere, and I will keep on rolling like a marble.

I am like a marble rolling in life, dodging the obstacles from the challenges that appear in front of me. At the age of four, I watched as my immigrant father would work over fifty arduous hours per week, earning minimum wage while trying to maintain a steady income for my family, despite knowing little English. My mother, also an immigrant from India, worked as a cashier at Dunkin Donuts nearby while also sustaining our house. As the oldest, I made it my responsibility to assist my mom to take care of my younger brother. Since we were so close in age, we sympathized with topics we connected with being first-generation, watching our parents grind for our family, and our identity, following our religion, Sikhi, and being Punjabi, our heritage. Growing up I observed my dad working diligently as a dishwasher, which led to his becoming a chef and subsequently observed how he developed new skills for his business for which he worked grueling hours. Meanwhile, as a result of years of hard work, my mother transitioned from being a cashier at Dunkin to a general store manager. This taught me perseverance through observation. As I instructed them in grammar, I watched as both of my parents came to grasp a new language. Whenever I look into my parent's eyes I see determination, dedication, and persistence. Having these two prominent figures in my life has been inspiring, especially towards the end of my eighth grade school year, when I developed a painful cyst. The cyst made it painful for me to run, play sports, and participate in any physical activity, basically the things I enjoyed most. As I walked through the crowded halls of my high school freshman year, I wondered how I would be able to learn and focus. Sitting in the doctor's office during one of my many very concerning checkups, I pondered my situation. To make matters worse, during that school year, the Covid-19 pandemic began. During the pandemic lockdown, I caught up in school and attempted to recover from my illness. That summer my doctor suggested that I undergo surgery to treat my cyst. As I sat in the doctor’s examination room, I felt a twist of nausea in my stomach from the thought of getting surgery, but I hesitantly agreed to do it. After two months of anxiously awaiting the surgery date, I sat in my hospital room. While the nurse prepared me for the operating room, she offered me words of encouragement to help me persevere. The nurse and I formed a bond, and she inspired me to enter the healthcare field to become a health assisting student in our vocational program that year. Knowing that healthcare will be the field I plan to go into in the future, I am glad I will be making a substantial influence on lives. Being a health assisting student taught me new skills that I further utilize while being a nursing student taking blood pressure, and checking the height and weight of children and senior residents. Alongside this, I work as a certified nursing assistant (CNA) which highlights my determination and connection with nursing. This series of events shows that in any challenging situation, my parents’ perseverance will always be in my mind and my heart. I will listen to them for advice and motivation for me to achieve my goals. No matter where I am, I will always believe, persevere, and I will keep on rolling like a marble.

I am like a marble rolling in life, dodging the obstacles from the challenges that appear in front of me. At the age of four, I watched as my immigrant father would work over fifty arduous hours per week, earning minimum wage while trying to maintain a steady income for my family, despite knowing little English. My mother, also an immigrant from India, worked as a cashier at Dunkin Donuts nearby while also sustaining our house. As the oldest, I made it my responsibility to assist my mom to take care of my younger brother. Since we were so close in age, we sympathized with topics we connected with: being first-generation, watching our parents grind for our family, and our identity, following our religion, Sikhi, and being Punjabi, our heritage. Growing up I observed my dad working diligently as a dishwasher, which led to becoming a chef, and subsequently observed how he developed new skills for his business for which he worked grueling hours. Meanwhile, as a result of years of hard work, my mother transitioned from being a cashier at Dunkin to a general store manager. This taught me perseverance through observation. As I instructed them in grammar, I watched as both of my parents came to grasp a new language. Whenever I look into my parent's eyes I see determination, dedication, and persistence. Having these two prominent figures in my life has been inspiring, especially towards the end of my eighth grade school year, when I developed a painful cyst. The cyst made it painful for me to run, play sports, and participate in any physical activity, basically the things I enjoyed most. As I walked through the crowded halls of my high school freshman year, I wondered how I would be able to learn and focus. Sitting in the doctor's office during one of my many very concerning checkups, I pondered my situation. To make matters worse, during that school year, the Covid-19 pandemic began. During the pandemic lockdown, I caught up in school and attempted to recover from my illness. That summer my doctor suggested that I undergo surgery to treat my cyst. As I sat in the doctor’s examination room, I felt a twist of nausea in my stomach from the thought of getting surgery, but I hesitantly agreed to do it. My mother felt very anxious for me, but she wanted me to feel better, so she agreed with my decision. After two months of anxiously awaiting the surgery date, I sat in my hospital room. While the nurse prepared me for the operating room, she offered me words of encouragement to help me persevere. The nurse and I formed a bond, and she inspired me to enter the healthcare field to become a health assisting student in our vocational program that year. Knowing that healthcare will be the field I plan to go into in the future, I am glad I will be making a substantial influence on lives. Being a health assisting student taught me new skills that I further utilize while being a nursing student taking blood pressure, and checking the height and weight of children and senior residents. This series of events shows that in any challenging situation, my parents’ perseverance will always be in my mind and my heart. I will listen to them for advice and motivation for me to achieve my goals. No matter where I am, I will always believe, persevere, and I will keep on rolling like a marble.