My college education is important, but I am not the only one it will benefit. Since I was a young girl in elementary school, I often dreamed about becoming a teacher. Becoming a teacher always appealed to me because of the impact I would have. I had always admired my teachers. They were often kind and understanding towards their students. If it weren’t for their education, I wouldn’t have been successful today, and I wouldn’t have this dream either. Helping students excites me, and even though many people say that I shouldn’t be a teacher and that the job doesn’t pay well, it has never drawn me away from my goals. Even though money is still important, having a job that will be meaningful and impactful is more important. Getting a college education isn’t about the degree itself or the salary to me. It is about the lives I will shape and the hearts I will touch as an educator. I am currently planning to attend college as an English major to later become a high school English teacher. English as a subject really encouraged me to think deeply about literature and gave me a chance to express my creativity through writing. It’s the joy that I feel every time I read a book, and the joy I feel when I write a new poem that I want to share with students. I want to show youth why reading and writing are important and that they can be fun. As a teacher, I do not want to only teach my students; I want to provide an environment where students can enjoy what they are learning. Part of being a teacher is providing support to students, something I greatly plan to do. As a female identifying as a minority student, I sometimes felt that there were places where people didn’t want me. I do not want anyone to feel that way about being at school. I firmly believe that classrooms are safe spaces and that all students should feel safe in my future classroom. I also want to make sure that they get support when needed, both academically and emotionally. As a teacher, I want to make sure that all students feel the positive impact they should in their education.

I never had diabetes—at least not yet—but it greatly affected me throughout my life, because of my mom. My mom was diagnosed with diabetes around the time I was born, so I cannot remember a single time when she didn’t have it. And even though I didn’t have it myself, I was always affected by it secondhand. Most kids my age grew up eating a bunch of sugar, even if it was bad in general. However, I never really had anything sweet easily available at home. My parents took care of me, telling me to avoid anything too sugary and limiting how much I could have. As a young girl, this was rather miserable, especially when I would compare my life to those on TV or even the kids I knew at school. My mom didn’t grow up with this amount of caution. Even though her side of the family is the one with the genes, it wasn’t the same for her. She often told me about how back then, they didn’t care about anything like diabetes or any other illness. She also recalled almost always having a bottle of Coca-Cola and putting way too much sugar into her coffee. It seemed crazy to me that the mom I knew would drink stuff like that, like she wouldn’t care. It was what led her to the way she is now, but it does seem like a super dramatic change. Now she mainly drinks her coffee black, and she hardly ever drinks a single thing of soda. At least she had the chance to live her life without worries like that. I only ever got to have a more careful sugar intake. In the long run, it would turn out to be great, but as a child, it was just sad. My mom’s diabetes has impacted me even when I’m not at home. I often don’t eat that much candy, even if it’s after Halloween or Easter, and I am more cautious about it. It has also taught me to care more about the people around me and about the struggles that people like my mom and my family have to face because of their diabetes. And there’s always the fact that I might get it too eventually in my life. That’s why my parents have fought so hard to take care of me, even if I would have rather wanted to be like every other kid my age. A part of me still greatly wishes that I had the same lack of consciousness of my sugar intake as everyone else. But at least it should do me better in the long run and help me to prevent diseases like diabetes and others. Having to care about a disease that I didn’t even have myself was annoying, but it has taught me the reality of what choices lead to and how I can make better and more impactful choices in my life.

I was catholic as long as I’ve been alive. I was baptised when I was about one year old. Both of my parents were catholic, although they never got married through the church. We went to church regularly when I was very little. I was little enough to the point where I didn’t really care about it because I didn’t know what was going on. Though at some point we stopped going regularly, and we’d only watch a Mass on TV. I still found it rather boring. When I was in 3rd grade, I was put into classes to do my First Communion. That was when we first started going to church in person again. And it was the first time I actually had to pay attention. However, after learning more about God and Jesus, I understood more or less what was going on. Mass suddenly wasn’t as boring. I was ten years old when I received my first communion. It was a moment that opened a door to my faith in God. Not long after, I was first offered the opportunity to be an Altar Server. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to take the opportunity at first, but I knew that I didn’t want to go back to the point where we’d only watch mass on a TV. So I figured it would keep my dad motivated to go to church. By June of that year, I was already starting out as an Altar Server at my church. And it wasn’t boring since things typically did happen, like my church’s Pastor splashing water in my face during the washing of the hands. The point is, it was actually pretty fun. Though at first I didn’t really imagine how much impact I would bring as an Altar Server. Around about a year and a half later, COVID happened. No more in-person church or altar serving. Though I had faith God would help us and everything would go back to normal. And it did—even though it took a whole year and a few months for that to happen. I was then able to start Altar Serving again, which made me happy. Especially when I was finally scheduled as Cross Bearer for the first time. Although things didn’t stay that perfect for long. The mass I served was the 8 am mass, which was obviously early by some standards. There were around five kids who were there constantly, but then, suddenly, almost everyone disappeared except another kid and me. One of the ministers of hospitality said one of the girls had fainted the week before. And then it just happened to be that I never saw her and her siblings again. So from there on, everything was up to the other kid and me. Hardly any other people showed up, and the times they did were rare. There were many other kids scheduled, but they never showed up. Even today, those lists are heavily outdated. So, I had to step up, be at every mass, and help the occasional new kids because, apparently, there was no one else to do it. Even months later, my one partner decided to quit and leave me all alone. I knew by then that God called me to do this job and to help. And that was what I had done for nearly eight years of my life. I don’t know what will happen in the next few months when I graduate high school and start college, but I have faith in God that He will help me and that this won’t end with me.

When I was younger, I didn’t know what the word gay meant. I don’t think I ever gave it much thought, and before middle school, I had no reason to question my sexual orientation. I didn’t even know the meaning of having one either. When I was in elementary school, everything started with the fact that girls liked boys and boys liked girls. There was no other option that was clear to me. Neither did I care for having an option; I never had a crush on anyone until 6th grade. When I did have a crush, it was on a guy, and good news for my dad: it seemed like I was straight at the time. Though what turned out to be bad news for him was that it wasn’t the case. Surprise, I’m actually bisexual. And don’t ask why, but I realized it after a breakup. Since I was in elementary school, I knew one thing for sure: I wanted to become a teacher. And as the years went by, that picture of my future further cemented into my head and became much clearer. Now I am trying to become a high school English teacher to share my love of literature and writing with the next generation. Without it, I wouldn’t have the same sense of identity I do now. Books helped me figure out what I wanted in life, some in more literal ways than others. They helped me find my purpose and figure out details in my life that never made sense to me. I’ve always wanted to teach because I want to have the purpose of helping others, especially those younger than me. Even before I knew that I was a member of the LGBTQ+ community, I was super supportive of it. That was, of course, after I had been explained everything, and I finally learned that straight couples weren’t the only norm. I was super supportive of my friends, and I loved supporting them for who they were. I want to do the same for all of the underrepresented students that I will be teaching in the future. As a teacher, I want to be both a support academically and as a person. I want to ensure that every student I teach feels welcome in my classroom and that they feel included. As of now, I haven’t come out to my parents because of their views on the LGBTQ+ community, but I don’t want my future classroom to be a place where students don’t feel like they can be themselves. I have a great belief that all minority students should have an education that empowers them to reach their goals. As a Hispanic bisexual girl, I have seen a lot of backlash towards people like myself, including in times like we are currently living. Things may be a lot different when I start teaching—I honestly really hope they will be—but my goals are still the same. Prejudices might never stop existing, so students may still struggle to find where they really belong. That’s why I want to help underrepresented students like myself to feel confident and loved. It’s a feeling that I didn’t completely receive growing up—not with homophobic parents and a society that hates people like me. Feeling more appreciated and free to be myself in every way, everywhere, is something that other students and I really need to succeed. As a future English teacher, I want that to be the case, and I want to be an inspiration for future students.

My inspiration to become a teacher started in elementary school. Throughout the years, I saw my teachers. I found them to be an inspiration because of how much they cared for the students, including myself. I just knew that helping kids succeed in school was what I wanted to do. Nothing else mattered. At the time, I was super shy, and my teachers always told my parents that the one thing I needed was to “talk more”. So to some people, including my parents, choosing a career that involves a lot of talking didn’t seem like a good fit at the time. I understand the reasoning for it, but it never deterred me from my dream. Becoming a high school English teacher is my goal because of how much I love the subject. Ever since elementary school, I have been super into reading. Over time, I’ve read more and more books and gotten better at it. Finishing a book that I enjoyed is such an amazing feeling, and I love reacting to fictional characters as I read. It’s this joy that I would love to share with future students. I want to show that reading is fun and that it doesn’t have to be only a chore to get your English work done. As an English teacher, I want to make reading fun and exciting. I have also gotten into creative writing. I love writing because I get to tell unique stories with my words. It all started with an idea in my head, and now I am hoping to turn it into a book too. I’m also into poetry and literary magazines. I write poetry pretty often about my feelings and life in general. I have also submitted and been published in youth-led literary magazines with some of them. I also hope to bring this love of writing into my teaching and to share that writing can be fun, too. As I mentioned before, I used to be super introverted. I still am, but not as much anymore. What really helped me was putting myself out there during high school. At the beginning of freshman year, I ran for Treasurer of my class. Surprisingly, I won, even though it was because my opponent quit. However, that first leadership position helped me to start getting out of my shell. I started talking to my AVID class about events and working with ASB members to complete tasks for my class and committee. Having that opportunity really pushed me to be more social and to talk to more people. Around the same time, I also joined Key Club. In my first few months in Key Club, I fell in love with the lively and inclusive nature of the club. I also attended division events where I got to meet Key Clubbers from around the Antelope Valley, not only from just SOAR. I also participated in various service events that further cemented my love for helping others. Experiences like these helped me grow as a person and a leader. Now, as a senior, I have been applying to colleges as an English major in order to reach this dream. My love for serving others will be a great asset in pursuing my education and becoming a teacher. Going into a career like teaching means so much to me, especially after several years of pursuing this goal. Now that I will be in college, I really hope to continue towards becoming a teacher and doing what I love. I also really hope to inspire students through teaching them writing and literature.

There’s something magical and therapeutic every time I write, whether it is when I am writing a story, a poem, or anything else. Writing is just something that inspires me to reach my goals while also setting me free. When I write, it’s something free and liberating, showing how just a bunch of words can quickly turn into a thought and then a story. When I was younger, I loved reading, and I later learned I loved writing my own stories as well. I would take a notebook and a pencil, and start writing something. And that something became the start to a future in writing, even if I didn’t know it yet. At some point in elementary school, I had once thought of writing a book. The idea was bad and did not last for more than a chapter before it was abandoned in that notebook. It was pretty much a knock-off of Harry Potter. But in eighth grade, I revisited the idea of writing a novel or fanfiction. At first, I wanted to do a Warriors fanfic, although that didn’t stick. But then, around the summer of that year, an idea hit. I had the inspiration to write a whole new novel about a dystopian fantasy world with a forbidden romance. It didn’t completely start this way, and it has become a lot more than that. But the ideas are there, and I have the motivation to bring them into the light someday. When I started writing, I never imagined getting into poetry. At first, I thought it was a very strict thing—everything I knew about poetry was that certain lines had to rhyme and there were different types. So I didn’t do it unless I had to. That was until I was reading a poetry book I was given for a book club, and we were encouraged to write a poem to share. So I wrote something, which I thought I’d immediately hate, but when I read it with my group, I was surprised to find out I didn’t hate it at all. That poem was my poem “Cats,” and that one poem opened me up to the world of poetry. Over the next two years, I started writing new poems. Poems that reflected my thoughts, or literally anything. I have even written about social issues in my current society. And the best part was that I didn’t have to worry about anything rhyming, I just kept going. Last summer, I learned about literary magazines, specifically many that are run by youth. I started making and submitting some of my poems to them, including some that are now published. It’s amazing to see something of mine out in the world. In college, I do not plan to stop writing. I actually want to continue doing it. I am going to major in English this fall, specifically concentrating on creative writing and education. My plans are to become a high school English and creative writing teacher and inspire teenagers to write and love writing just like I have. I also want to continue writing my stories and hopefully even publish a book on the side. Even if my main goal is to teach, I do want to continue my projects and keep going. Through college, I want to take advantage of whatever resources are available to me and gain more experience. Writing has become a very important part of my life, and I hope to keep doing it and inspire others to love it too.

I grew up in a Spanish-speaking household. My mom only speaks Spanish, and my dad knows both languages. I mainly knew Spanish for the first few years of my life. Most of my family spoke it, and English was not as necessary before I started school. However, I did learn it at some point before starting school. When I started elementary school, since I was placed as an English learner, I had to go through the reclassification process for the first two years. I do not remember much about it; I don’t even know if I knew it was going on. I wouldn’t blame myself; I was so young. All I remember is being called to the room where the graduation ceremony was happening, and I was reclassified. I was lucky enough not to have to go through all that for so long. I achieved it in first grade, while others took years. In elementary school, my mom started volunteering at my school around first or second grade. She did not know English, so she had some difficulty, but she was able to make friends with other volunteers who were quite similar to her. Soon enough, she had a whole friend group, and later, I was introduced to their kids and gained some friends. Some would likely say that having their mom volunteer constantly at their school is embarrassing, but I never found it so. Even now, she still accompanies me to school every day, even if we have to take the bus. I’m not ashamed of it. I will still remember everything she has done, even when it is time for me to let go and leave for college. Being a member of a minority population in the United States has shown me how disadvantaged my population can be. Especially now, with the ICE situation, where many are being treated unjustly. Not just with the current situation, oftentimes minority groups are put at a disadvantage just because of race. I do not like how things are currently going and I want to ensure that minority groups have a better life. I want to fight for a better life, one where people are not wrongfully accused or martyred, and one that has better due process. As a future educator, I want to inspire the next generation to know what is right and to fight for change in our society. People do not deserve this life, and minority populations should be able to have their voices heard and be treated justly. As mentioned before, I wish to become a teacher in the future. Throughout my school years, I have noticed that my mom often struggled to communicate with my teachers. Since I am bilingual, I hope to close this barrier and be able to talk with parents, whether in English or Spanish, to ensure they are informed about how their child is doing in my classroom. This also goes with immigrant students who may not know the English language and are struggling due to this language barrier. As someone who wants to teach English and is also bilingual, I hope to help all students when necessary so that they can have the resources they need to succeed. I believe that everyone deserves that chance and the chance to live peacefully.

Since I was young, I have always known that I would like to become a teacher. I have always loved being in the classroom, and most of my teachers have greatly impacted my life. If anything, I would love to do the same for future students, especially those like me who come from underrepresented backgrounds. Latino culture is very diverse and I am proud to come from this background. I have learned about my culture from a very young age. My mom was born in Mexico and immigrated from her country during an unexpected turn of events. My dad also came from a Mexican background although he was born in the United States. I have known Spanish my whole life and am very proud to be of my culture. Without my culture, I would not be who I am today. My culture has shaped my experiences and those experiences will also help me shape others. Spanish was my first language. When I started school, I had to go through the language reclassification system until I was proficient in the English language. At least to whatever the standards were at the time. I was lucky to pass as a first grader when many take even longer. I do not remember hardly anything about being within this system since I was very young. However, this is important to know because so many students currently experience this, and many may feel the stress of it, especially those who have to go through this for years. Although Latinos are often underrepresented in many fields, I would not think that is something to be afraid of. Our diversity can play a great role in making a difference to others. This is especially important when it comes to teaching and mentoring the future generations. Many students come from many different cultures and backgrounds. Some will even come from other countries and not know anything about the American school system. Some will even feel lost through the process. As someone who has come from a Mexican background, I can help these students by giving them support and motivating them in a way that feels comfortable. Being Latina has also helped shape some of my opinions regarding current events. I still remember being a third grader knowing hardly anything about elections but I was scared for someone to win because of deportations. I did not understand it at the time. All I knew was that it would affect a social group I was a part of. I am more knowledgeable now, and even now I still have parts of those ideas with me. I want everyone to feel safe, and that means the students I will teach in the future. I do not want them to feel like they are at risk for persecution or that they have to be discriminated against due to their skin color. I want them to know that they are appreciated and that they can do great things in life. I also want to help them succeed and to show that anyone can do great things in life.

If my year so far had a soundtrack, I believe the songs from 1989 (Taylor's Version) that would be on it would be Clean, and Shake It Off. Clean is a song about reflection. It represents having a terrible situation and then coming back clean from it. Since I first heard the song on the stolen version, it resonated with me, though I never thought it would hit even harder later on. Last year, I had my first breakup which was quite devastating. I never thought that it would happen and had happened suddenly, starting with just a text. Not to mention that the day before I had all of my work for a summer class due. So I thought I was free, but I was so wrong. I was so much worse than I was the day before. It took me a while to get over it. A long while. Sometimes I would think that I was over it but then once it was brought up in a conversation I would realize that I still wasn’t okay. However, at some point in the past year, I have mostly let go of it and moved on. Sure, I have not found anyone else but I don’t think I need anyone else at the moment really. Sometimes having yourself is better than any man could give you. When you let go, you can finally be clean. Though it is a lot of build-up towards it. And even this year my whole situation was brought up yet again, all starting with a simple story and then my ex’s mom texting my friend. I can just say that the text was probably one of the worst things since the breakup. Shake It Off is about not caring about what others think about you. I believe that it is very relevant in this world since let’s be honest, many teenagers are very preoccupied with the thoughts of others. There are times when people will not like you. There will be times when someone will say something terrible behind your back and you’ll eventually find out. No matter what, the truth is no matter what others say about you, you don’t have to care. Within Shake It Off, Taylor Swift mentions many things that people say about her, but she also says that she will just shake all of those things off. In my life, even in the past year, people have said bad things about me. Honestly, that is kind of how life goes. Not everyone will like you and you will not always get along with everyone. For example, I often feel left out or I may get put in the bare minimum in a Dance Club performance. I may feel sad about it, but in reality, it is only momentary. I can just shake it off and focus on other positive aspects of my life. This is where the two songs I picked are connected. They both have to do with going from something negative and then coming back positive and learning from it. And it is an important part for me because there have been times when I have gone though things like this and it is one of the most positive reminders to keep going.