Being the first one in my family to go to college is a blessing. I feel really proud of myself to have made it this far and I know that my parents are proud of me too. It hasn’t always been this easy for me. Having my dad deported to Mexico when I was a kid put me in a dark place for awhile. I didn’t want to go to school or do my work, I didn’t want to eat, and I had a lot of breakdowns to the point where my mom didn’t know what to do with me. I envied all the little girls I would see all the time with their dads because I knew I couldn’t have that. I never got to participate in a daddy, daughter dance because my dad wasn’t with me. Or have my dad pick me up from school, or to take me to the park. When I was in 8th grade I realized my dad wouldn’t be coming home anytime soon, so I pulled myself together and got my act together. For the rest of the school year until now I began to do better in school and I reminded myself that my dad wouldn’t want me to live like that. For my father told me that a persons education is the most important thing in this world and I knew he would be mad if he saw me slacking in school. I decided after high school to go to college and be an example for my little sister, that anything is possible if you work for it. I am not only grateful to my mom for somehow moving forward and raising two little girls all by herself, but proud of her. I am also going to college for my older sister who had to work day and night to help my mom out with the bills and taking care of us, as she wasn’t able to pursue a further education beside high school. I know there will be ups and downs as being a first generation student. I know there will be days we’re I want to give up and stop, their will be days where the workload may be too much, their might also be days we’re I will be under a lot of stress, but I can’t let my dads, sister, and moms hard-work go in vain. That’s why these events have influenced and inspired me to continue my education.

I was so excited to start third grade when I was little. So excited that all of that summer, all I thought about was the school supplies I needed to get in order to be prepared for the upcoming school year. However, there was only one problem when it came to my school supplies and that was that we didn’t have enough money for my little sisters and mine’s school supplies. Coming from a low-income household where it was just my mother and older sisters working to provide for my little sister and me, I knew that the chance of me getting all the supplies that I wanted were at a slim chance because money was tight in my household. This became a problem for me and I needed to figure out a solution on how to make money in order to afford my little sisters and my own school supplies. Sure I could have gone to my mom or older sisters and asked them for money, but I had already seen how hard they worked to provide food, clothing, and a roof over my head that I didn’t want to burden them by asking them for money. This problem became important to me because of the finical situation we were in. So I decided that I would come up with a plan to make my own money for my school supplies. Many ideas came to mind. I first thought of selling lemonade but I realized I didn’t have the ingredients to make lemonade so that wasn’t going to work out. I then decided the have my own garage sell. One Sunday morning I put my princess table outside and filled it with clothes and toys that I didn’t want anymore to see if anyone would buy anything. I was outside for about two hours when I gave up because I sold nothing and realized that my plan was much harder than I thought it would be. I was on the verge of giving up when my mom one day sent me and my little sister outside to pick up the trash from the front yard so she could mow the lawn. As my little sister and I were picking up the trash I saw that there was a lot of aluminum cans that people had dropped on our yard and that’s when it hit me. An idea came to me and I told myself what if I collected aluminum cans and then sold them at the scrap yard for money, and that’s exactly what I did. For the rest of the summer I collected all the aluminum cans I could find. When my sisters drank soda I told them to give me their empty cans. When we had parties, I collected all the empty cans and made sure my mom didn’t throw them out and when she asked me why I was saving them, I told her it was for a surprise. By the end of summer I had collected two full gallon bags of aluminum cans and I asked my mom to take me to the scrap yard so I could sell them. She took me and there I was given fifty dollars for my cans and when my mom asked me what the money was for, I told her it was for school supplies for my little sister and me. My mom laughed and told me that would I did was amazing because I had the passion to solve my problem and I did.

To me my greatest achievement is graduating high school. High school to me in the beginning was just a place where I went to have fun and hang out with my friends. It wasn't until after my freshman year that I saw I had so much more to do at school then just talk and see my friends. I learned that I had to work hard in school to show my parents that their sacrifices of leaving their home country to come to another country that they knew nothing about was not all in vain. I'd be lying if I said high school was easy, it wasn't. I definitely faced some challenges along the way, one being my brother passing away my sophomore year of high school. His passing was hard on me that for a couple of months I entered into a really bad depression. I wouldn’t eat or talk to anybody. I just stayed locked in my room not wanting to come out. For some time it began affecting my school performance as well until one day I looked in the mirror and told myself that this isn’t what my brother would want me to do. With telling myself that it motivated me to do better in school and in my life so I could not only make him proud, but my parents and sisters as well. I am proud of myself for never giving up in school no matter how hard things got. Thanks to my hard work I graduated high school with good grades and decided to further my education by attending college and becoming the first person in my family to attend college. Being the first one in my family to go to college is truly a blessing. I feel really proud of myself to have made it this far and I know that my parents are proud of me too. Although it is not always easy being in college because I can’t go to my family for help because they wouldn’t know how to help me. So most of the time I have to figure it out all by myself. However, I wouldn’t trade my experience for anything because my experiences are what made me into the person I am today. My achievement is what has shaped me into the hardworking, kind, intelligent, go-getter person that I am today. It is not only because of my hard work, but also through my parents' sacrifices as well. In the future I hope to live a happy life and show future generations to come that hard work really does pay off in the end.

Being the first one in my family to go to college is a blessing. I feel really proud of myself to have made it this far and I know that my parents are proud of me too. It hasn’t always been this easy for me. Having my dad deported to Mexico when I was a kid put me in a dark place for a while. I didn’t want to go to school or do my work, I didn’t want to eat, and I had a lot of breakdowns to the point where my mom didn’t know what to do with me. I envied all the little girls I would see all the time with their dads because I knew I couldn’t have that. I never got to participate in a daddy, daughter dance because my dad wasn’t with me. Or have my dad pick me up from school, or to take me to the park. When I was in 8th grade I realized my dad wouldn’t be coming home anytime soon, so I pulled myself together and got my act together. For the rest of the school year until now I began to do better in school and I reminded myself that my dad wouldn’t want me to live like that. For my father told me that a person's education is the most important thing in this world and I knew he would be mad if he saw me slacking in school. I decided after high school to go to college and be an example for my little sister, that anything is possible if you work for it. I am not only grateful to my mom for somehow moving forward and raising two little girls all by herself, but proud of her. I am also going to college for my older sister who had to work day and night to help my mom out with the bills and taking care of us, as she wasn’t able to pursue a further education besides high school. I know there will be ups and downs as being a first generation student. I know there will be days where I want to give up and stop, there will be days where the workload may be too much, there might also be days where I will be under a lot of stress, but I can’t let my dads, sister, and moms hard-work go in vain. My achievement of a first generation student is what has shaped me into the hardworking, kind, intelligent, go-getter person that I am today. It is not only because of my hard work, but also through my parents' sacrifices as well.

For me the time I achieved something meaningful was when I graduated high school. High school to me in the beginning was just a place where I went to have fun and hang out with my friends. It wasn't until after my freshman year that I saw I had so much more to do at school then just talk and see my friends. I learned that I had to work hard in school to show my parents that their sacrifices of leaving their home country to come to another country that they knew nothing about was not all in vain. I'd be lying if I said high school was easy, it wasn't. I definitely faced some challenges along the way, one being my brother passing away my sophomore year of high school. I didn’t want to go to school or do my work, I didn’t want to eat, and I had a lot of breakdowns to the point where my mom didn’t know what to do with me. His passing was hard on me but it motivated to do better in school and in my life so I could not only make him proud, but my parents and sisters as well. I am proud of myself for never giving up in school no matter how hard things got. Thanks to my hard work I graduated high school with good grades and decided to further my education by going to college and becoming the first person in my family to attend college. Being the first one in my family to go to college is such a blessing. I feel really proud of myself to have made it this far and I know that my parents are proud of me too. I know there will be ups and downs as being a first generation student. I know there will be days where I want to give up and stop, their will be days where the workload may be too much, their might also be days where I will be under a lot of stress, but I can’t let my dads, sisters, and moms hard-work go in vain. This achievement is what has shaped me into the hardworking, kind, intelligent, problem-solving, go-getter person that I am today. It is not only because of my hard work, but also through my parents' sacrifices as well. The same positive impact that school and my family has had on me, I hope to be able to pass it down to future generations to come.

Being the first one in my family to go to college is a blessing. I feel really proud of myself to have made it this far and I know that my parents are proud of me too. It hasn’t always been this easy for me. Having my dad deported to Mexico when I was a kid put me in a dark place for awhile. I didn’t want to go to school or do my work, and I had a lot of breakdowns to the point where my mom didn’t know what to do with me. I envied all the little girls I would see all the time with their dads because I knew I couldn’t have that, or have my dad pick me up from school. However, my father told me that a persons education is the most important thing in this world and I knew he would be mad if he saw me slacking in school. I decided after high school to go to college and be an example for my little sister. I am also going to college for my older sister who had to work day and night to help my mom out with the bills and taking care of us, as she wasn’t able to pursue a further education beside high school. I know there will be ups and downs as being a first generation student. I know there will be days we’re I want to give up and stop, their will be days where the workload may be too much, their might also be days we’re I will be under a lot of stress, but I can’t let my dads, sister, and moms hard-work go in vain.

Being the first one in my family to go to college is a blessing. I feel really proud of myself to have made it this far, and I know that my parents are proud of me too. It hasn’t always been this easy for me. Having my dad deported to Mexico when I was a kid put me in a dark place for a while. I didn’t want to go to school or do my work, I didn’t want to eat, and I had a lot of breakdowns to the point where my mom didn’t know what to do with me. I envied all the little girls I would see all the time with their dads because I knew I couldn’t have that. I never got to participate in a daddy-daughter dance because my dad wasn’t with me. Or have my dad pick me up from school or take me to the park. When I was in 8th grade, I realized my dad wouldn’t be coming home anytime soon, so I pulled myself together and got my act together. For the rest of the school year until now, I began to do better in school, and I reminded myself that my dad wouldn’t want me to live like that. For my father told me that a person's education is the most important thing in this world, and I knew he would be mad if he saw me slacking in school. I decided after high school to go to college and be an example for my little sister, that anything is possible if you work for it. I am not only grateful to my mom for somehow moving forward and raising two little girls all by herself, but proud of her. I am also going to college for my older sister, who had to work day and night to help my mom out with the bills and taking care of us, as she wasn’t able to pursue a further education besides high school. Through my career I hope to inspire and help those who come to me for help, and to be able to support individuals just like how my family has always supported me through everything. I want the passion that I have for my work to be shown through not just myself, but through the work I can do for those around me. I know there will be days where I want to give up and stop; there will be days where the workload may be too much; there might also be days where I will be under a lot of stress, but I can’t let my dad, sister, and mom's hard work go in vain.

Being the first one in my family to go to college is a blessing. I feel really proud of myself to have made it this far and I know that my parents are proud of me too. It hasn’t always been this easy for me. Having my dad deported to Mexico when I was a kid put me in a dark place for awhile. I didn’t want to go to school or do my work, I didn’t want to eat, and I had a lot of breakdowns to the point where my mom didn’t know what to do with me. I envied all the little girls I would see all the time with their dads because I knew I couldn’t have that. I never got to participate in a daddy, daughter dance because my dad wasn’t with me. Or have my dad pick me up from school, or to take me to the park. When I was in 8th grade I realized my dad wouldn’t be coming home anytime soon, so I pulled myself together and got my act together. For the rest of the school year until now I began to do better in school and I reminded myself that my dad wouldn’t want me to live like that. For my father told me that a persons education is the most important thing in this world and I knew he would be mad if he saw me slacking in school. I decided after high school to go to college and be an example for my little sister, that anything is possible if you work for it. I am not only grateful to my mom for somehow moving forward and raising two little girls all by herself, but proud of her. I am also going to college for my older sister who had to work day and night to help my mom out with the bills and taking care of us, as she wasn’t able to pursue a further education beside high school. I know there will be ups and downs as being a first generation student. I know there will be days where I want to give up and stop, their will be days where the workload might be too much, and their might also be days where I will be under a lot of stress. However, I can’t let my parents, and sisters hard-work go in vain. For when I go to college I not only go for myself and my education, but I go in my family’s place as well to know that they are with me every step of the way in my journey.

Being the first one in my family to go to college is a blessing. I feel really proud of myself to have made it this far and I know that my parents are proud of me too. It hasn’t always been this easy for me. Having my dad deported to Mexico when I was a kid put me in a dark place for awhile. I didn’t want to go to school or do my work, I didn’t want to eat, and I had a lot of breakdowns to the point where my mom didn’t know what to do with me. I envied all the little girls I would see all the time with their dads because I knew I couldn’t have that. I never got to participate in a daddy, daughter dance because my dad wasn’t with me. Or have my dad pick me up from school, or to take me to the park. When I was in 8th grade I realized my dad wouldn’t be coming home anytime soon, so I pulled myself together and got my act together. For the rest of the school year until now I began to do better in school and I reminded myself that my dad wouldn’t want me to live like that. For my father told me that a persons education is the most important thing in this world and I knew he would be mad if he saw me slacking in school. I decided after high school to go to college and be an example for my little sister, that anything is possible if you work for it. I am not only grateful to my mom for somehow moving forward and raising two little girls all by herself, but proud of her. I am also going to college for my older sister who had to work day and night to help my mom out with the bills and taking care of us, as she wasn’t able to pursue a further education beside high school. I know there will be ups and downs as being a first generation student. I know there will be days we’re I want to give up and stop, their will be days where the workload may be too much, their might also be days we’re I will be under a lot of stress, but I can’t let my dads, sister, and moms hard-work go in vain.

To me being the first one in my family to go to college is a blessing. I feel really proud of myself to have made it this far and I know that my parents are proud of me too. It hasn’t always been this easy for me. Having my dad deported to Mexico when I was a kid put me in a dark place for awhile. I didn’t want to go to school or do my work, I didn’t want to eat, and I had a lot of breakdowns to the point where my mom didn’t know what to do with me. I envied all the little girls I would see all the time with their dads because I knew I couldn’t have that. I never got to participate in a daddy, daughter dance because my dad wasn’t with me. Or have my dad pick me up from school, or to take me to the park. When I was in 8th grade I realized my dad wouldn’t be coming home anytime soon, so I pulled myself together and got my act together. For the rest of the school year until now I began to do better in school and I reminded myself that my dad wouldn’t want me to live like that. For my father told me that a persons education is the most important thing in this world and I knew he would be mad if he saw me slacking in school. I decided after high school to go to college and be an example for my little sister, that anything is possible if you work for it. I am not only grateful to my mom for somehow moving forward and raising two little girls all by herself, but proud of her. I am also going to college for my older sister who had to work day and night to help my mom out with the bills and taking care of us, as she wasn’t able to pursue a further education beside high school. I know there will be ups and downs as being a first generation student. I know there will be days we’re I want to give up and stop, their will be days where the workload may be too much, their might also be days we’re I will be under a lot of stress, but I can’t let my dads, sister, and moms hard-work go in vain.

Being the first one in my family to go to college is a blessing. I feel really proud of myself to have made it this far and I know that my parents are proud of me too. It hasn’t always been this easy for me. Having my dad deported to Mexico when I was a kid put me in a dark place for awhile. I didn’t want to go to school or do my work, I didn’t want to eat, and I had a lot of breakdowns to the point where my mom didn’t know what to do with me. I envied all the little girls I would see all the time with their dads because I knew I couldn’t have that. I never got to participate in a daddy, daughter dance because my dad wasn’t with me. Or have my dad pick me up from school, or to take me to the park. When I was in 8th grade I realized my dad wouldn’t be coming home anytime soon, so I pulled myself together and got my act together. For the rest of the school year until now I began to do better in school and I reminded myself that my dad wouldn’t want me to live like that. For my father told me that a persons education is the most important thing in this world and I knew he would be mad if he saw me slacking in school. I decided after high school to go to college and be an example for my little sister, that anything is possible if you work for it. I am not only grateful to my mom for somehow moving forward and raising two little girls all by herself, but proud of her. I am also going to college for my older sister who had to work day and night to help my mom out with the bills and taking care of us, as she wasn’t able to pursue a further education beside high school. I know there will be ups and downs as being a first generation student. I know there will be days we’re I want to give up and stop, their will be days where the workload may be too much, their might also be days we’re I will be under a lot of stress, but I can’t let my dads, sister, and moms hard-work go in vain. College is so important to me because when I go to college, I not only go for myself but I go for my parents, my siblings, for the opportunity to tell them that it was possible for someone like me to attend college and further my education no matter what my upbringing was.

Pursing my education career to me is so important because being the first one in my family to go to college is a blessing. I feel really proud of myself to have made it this far and I know that my parents are proud of me too. It hasn’t always been this easy for me. Having my dad deported to Mexico when I was a kid put me in a dark place for awhile. I didn’t want to go to school or do my work, I didn’t want to eat, and I had a lot of breakdowns to the point where my mom didn’t know what to do with me. I envied all the little girls I would see all the time with their dads because I knew I couldn’t have that. I never got to participate in a daddy, daughter dance because my dad wasn’t with me. Or have my dad pick me up from school, or to take me to the park. When I was in 8th grade I realized my dad wouldn’t be coming home anytime soon, so I pulled myself together and got my act together. For the rest of the school year until now I began to do better in school and I reminded myself that my dad wouldn’t want me to live like that. For my father told me that a persons education is the most important thing in this world and I knew he would be mad if he saw me slacking in school. I decided after high school to go to college and be an example for my little sister, that anything is possible if you work for it. I am not only grateful to my mom for somehow moving forward and raising two little girls all by herself, but proud of her. I am also going to college for my older sister who had to work day and night to help my mom out with the bills and taking care of us, as she wasn’t able to pursue a further education beside high school. I know there will be ups and downs as being a first generation student. I know there will be days we’re I want to give up and stop, their will be days where the workload may be too much, their might also be days we’re I will be under a lot of stress, but I can’t let my dads, sister, and moms hard-work go in vain. I hope to leave a legacy where my future family can see that all my sacrifices where possible and that thanks to my community, they were able to come true!

Being the first one in my family to go to college is a blessing. I feel really proud of myself to have made it this far and I know that my parents are proud of me too. It hasn’t always been this easy for me. Having my dad deported to Mexico when I was a kid put me in a dark place for awhile. I didn’t want to go to school or do my work, I didn’t want to eat, and I had a lot of breakdowns to the point where my mom didn’t know what to do with me. I envied all the little girls I would see all the time with their dads because I knew I couldn’t have that. I never got to participate in a daddy, daughter dance because my dad wasn’t with me. Or have my dad pick me up from school, or to take me to the park. When I was in 8th grade I realized my dad wouldn’t be coming home anytime soon, so I pulled myself together and got my act together. For the rest of the school year until now I began to do better in school and I reminded myself that my dad wouldn’t want me to live like that. For my father told me that a person’s education is the most important thing in this world and I knew he would be mad if he saw me slacking in school. I decided after high school to go to college and be an example for my little sister, that she would see anything is possible if you work for it. I am not only grateful to my mom for somehow moving forward and raising two little girls all by herself, but proud of her. I am also going to college for my older sister who had to work day and night to help my mom out with the bills and taking care of us, as she wasn’t able to pursue a further education beside high school. I know there will be ups and downs as being a first generation student. I know there will be days we’re I want to give up and stop, their will be days where the workload may be too much, their might also be days we’re I will be under a lot of stress, but I can’t let my dads, sister, and moms hard-work go in vain.

Being the first one in my family to go to college is a blessing. I feel really proud of myself to have made it this far and I know that my parents are proud of me too. It hasn’t always been this easy for me. Having my dad deported to Mexico when I was a kid put me in a dark place for awhile. I didn’t want to go to school or do my work, I didn’t want to eat, and I had a lot of breakdowns to the point where my mom didn’t know what to do with me. I envied all the little girls I would see all the time with their dads because I knew I couldn’t have that. I never got to participate in a daddy, daughter dance because my dad wasn’t with me. Or have my dad pick me up from school, or to take me to the park. When I was in 8th grade I realized my dad wouldn’t be coming home anytime soon, so I pulled myself together and got my act together. For the rest of the school year until now I began to do better in school and I reminded myself that my dad wouldn’t want me to live like that. For my father told me that a persons education is the most important thing in this world and I knew he would be mad if he saw me slacking in school. I decided after high school to go to college and be an example for my little sister, that anything is possible if you work for it. I am not only grateful to my mom for somehow moving forward and raising two little girls all by herself, but proud of her. I am also going to college for my older sister who had to work day and night to help my mom out with the bills and taking care of us, as she wasn’t able to pursue a further education beside high school. I know there will be ups and downs as being a first generation student. I know there will be days we’re I want to give up and stop, their will be days where the workload may be too much, their might also be days we’re I will be under a lot of stress, but I can’t let my dads, sister, and moms hard-work go in vain. I am not only going to college for myself, but for my father, my mother, my older sisters, and my younger sister.