True appreciation comes from recognizing what remained during your lowest moments. I’ve kept this as something to remember throughout high school. Mine was when my whole family (family of 5) was living in an inn for a week, and I didn’t know what to do to help move out of that. What stayed with me during this time were my family, my ambition to be someone out there in the world, devices for communication, a sewing kit, and my wardrobe. I felt limited during this time because I had the necessary items to live, but I lost the primary items that helped me progress. My family moved every year after my freshman year during my high school years, so this feeling was no stranger. My stuff was either still in storage or just left behind. I felt like I couldn’t be of help to anybody, even myself. I wanted to keep everything I had in my room, but I slowly realized that would never happen. I have two younger sisters, so they were going through the same situation as me but didn’t understand how to handle it because it was a new experience. As the eldest, I felt I needed to set an example and comfort them so they know they will never reach a point where they are nothing. They were depressed about it (as was I). Regardless, I put my emotions to the side to let them know that “You are still living; this will not limit what you want to be in life, because if I am alive, I will support you to the very end. I still believe you will have this memory of where you came from and a reminder to actively pursue what you love that will benefit you.” Everybody has a low point in their life, but only a few people will analyze what is of value to them and have the ambition to get out of it. Besides this, ambition is a crucial factor in elevating from your low point and putting a gap between it. I feel I will never remember a time when I was at my best if I keep trying to improve myself. My resolve helped shape what I want to do with my life. I want to be a C.P.A. (Certified Public Accountant) one day. I will use all my resources and seek out new opportunities. Learning new skills and building connections will help me during tough times. This demeanor even contributed to my acquiring small skills. My sisters, seeing me, wanted to learn how to do it too. I undermined sewing because it wasn’t convenient for me. My sisters cherish it greatly, and I also appreciate it. They are the primary drive for success, to be honest, so if I don’t discipline myself, they will be the go-to reason for it instead. In this world, there will be people struggling regardless of what is happening, so if I can help, I’m compelled to assist. Help is very appreciated because when it is absent, you only have one perspective to receive guidance from. Appreciation is one of the biggest forms of validation, and you should show it greatly to everything that supported you at the bottom. When you do, you will be aware of what sticks the closest to you, just like the sewing kit.

Having so much going on in my life, being diagnosed was a myth due to the financial struggles with my family. I am a very self-reflective person, so thankfully, I was able to second-guess my actions, but I still had some very concerning issues I was dealing with. Moving every year during high school was a difficult thing for me. I knew the main reason why we were moving (we couldn't afford to live there), and then when we shifted to living in other people's houses, I started to shift that reason towards me. I started to question the person I was then, like, am I weighing my parents down? How can I explain to my friends and teachers at school that I might have to take some time away from the clubs? I want to help contribute to my family, but how can I keep having hangouts with my friends and keep high grades? It got to a point where one night, I was helping my family move out of the second place we lived in and move most of my important stuff to storage because my sisters and I had school in the morning. I felt powerless, moving our valuables into a storage where we can't touch them till who knows when. Even working two jobs couldn't have prevented this from happening. That night, I silently cried once we got to the place we stayed in. I thought I should commit suicide because I felt the strings I had in my hand did nothing once I pulled them. Still, I was self-aware, and two weeks later, I realized it would be worse for my family because it would still cost to bury/cremate me. Once we moved from that place, I didn't know where to go, so we stayed in an inn for a couple of weeks. We hoped that someone we knew would take us in before we would have to resort to going to a homeless shelter. All 5 of us were in a room with what clothes we had because we also lost the storage. This was a dark moment for me coming into my senior not knowing where I would live during the school year. Not knowing if I would have been able to graduate with my friends, much less them finding out that I was living in an inn for most of the summer, it was probably the most depressing time for my family and me. Towards the end, though, I was listening to an album by Denzel Curry (Melt My Eyez See Your Future) and on the first two songs they opened my eyes(no pun intended) on my situation. On the first song (Melt Session), he is addressing the struggles he is going through mentally and how they affected his past. With the key theme that "if you melt away the things that didn’t allow you to see the truth, you can start to see the future". The second song (Walkin), it talks about confronting problems in your darkest corners. Announcing not to let your struggles paralyze you, walking in the acknowledgement of the unpredictability you will face. Since you can't stop it, you have to walk through it. These songs allowed me to have the drive I have now to accomplish my goals. With these songs, I have expressed my struggles with the person my family has lived with now. She is a disabled veteran and has ptsd so she is able to talk with us about how we deal with our struggles as we keep walking through this life.

"Impecunious learning" is how I would describe my financial education. I wouldn't be the person I am today without my poverty-stricken background, and for that, I am grateful. Throughout high school, I couldn't reliably depend on my parents to fund the extracurricular activities I wanted to pursue, so I began working for a landscaping business during my freshman year and continued until graduation. This job provided the freedom to spend at will while also giving me firsthand experience with the outcomes of my financial choices. I sent a portion of almost every paycheck to help my parents or placed it into savings for school. Because the work was seasonal, I quickly learned that I couldn't afford personal subscriptions if I wanted to pay for my extracurriculars. My financial education came from my parents, an annual summer accounting program, and my own independent research. My parents taught me that if I go to college, I must research my degree to maximize the value of my tuition and avoid taking out credit cards immediately after high school. The accounting program taught me that the field is about much more than just verifying a balance sheet; it requires multiple perspectives and a structured cycle. Utilizing a team to complete this cycle allows work to be done efficiently. Finally, I have researched how to structure my bank accounts for a stable income and how to use the right credit cards effectively. Researching these topics helps me establish a foundation for my financial health early on. As I move forward, I intend to utilize all the advice, experiences, and information I have received to pursue a successful career. I want to achieve a level of success that allows me to support my parents and set a milestone for my sisters to achieve or even surpass. Most importantly, I want to show them—and myself—that success is achievable regardless of where we come from. When I envision this, I see myself at the base of a mountain, preparing for a long hike to the peak. I realize there will be moments of great footing along the way, but there will also be times when the ground is unstable. As long as I remain consistent and patient, I will reach that peak. As I climb, I will share my knowledge with those I meet along the way, offering the advice I didn't receive when I was at the bottom.