I am a single mother. My daughter was born in October 2010 at the beginning of my sophomore year of college at Saint John's University. I had just turned 19 years old forty-six days prior and here I was responsible for someone else’s life. I was scared out of my mind, but I thank God for my mother every day as she was the one who held me down that first year. December of 2010, the same year my daughter was born I failed out of all my classes and had to withdraw from school. This was devastating to me and led me to one of the lowest points of my life. I was a person who was used to getting good grades, often excelling in my classes, so this was a huge blow to my ego. That was when I knew that I needed to take a step back and figure out what direction I wanted to go in. It took three years for me to return to a college classroom, the year that I was originally supposed to graduate from college. In September of 2013, I attended a medical assisting program at ASA College. I graduated in 2015 with an AAS maintaining a 3.76 GPA. Then I set a goal of obtaining my bachelor's and was accepted to NYIT, but that soon derailed as my mom got sick. I took a step back to take care of the woman who sacrificed a lot for me, but in 2017 she passed away. As a tribute to my mother, I returned to school in September 2021 to pursue my bachelor’s degree in respiratory therapy. My daughter has been cheering me on every step of the way as I navigate trying to work full time, be a full-time student, and take care of her. I can paint a good example for my daughter by showing her that I always reach any goal that I set for myself. I always include her in any decision-making process, or when I set a new challenge for myself. I want to show her that by working hard you can achieve success. But she also knows that not everything is sunshine and rainbows in this process. I can’t count the number of times she’s seen me staying up late to study for an exam, only to pass it the next day. Or the times when she’s caught me crying because, between work and school, I’m utterly exhausted both physically and mentally, but I can’t afford to quit. She knows that I’m ambitious and that no matter how many setbacks or challenges I may come across, I am determined to overcome them. Another way that I can paint a good example for her is through my leadership. I have a strong work ethic and I tend to take on challenges head-on. That is a quality that I hope she can adopt from me. I want to show her that by being consistent, and disciplined, I will achieve the long-term goals I set for myself. I want her to know that you can be successful if you put in the effort, time, and dedication. I want her to know that self-improvement Is an ongoing process and that if you continue to promote healthy habits such as good communication, active listening, celebrating the small victories, and using the setbacks as opportunities to grow then you can be successful in life. I want her to look at me and say, “If she can do it, so can I”.