My mother has always been the strongest person I have encountered in my life. I look up to her determination, kindness, honesty, intellect, and perseverance like no other. That is why it was so jarring for me when she broke down to me. After years of financial difficulties/one day in my junior year, she broke down to me in tears. She lamented her inability to give me everything I wanted, and came to me for guidance regarding what she should do to make our lives better financially. At the time, I felt utterly powerless. I could give nothing but inexperienced advice, and I had no assets or privilege to automatically fix things. So instead, I responded with full encouragement that came straight from my heart. I reminded her that she and I had gone through many rough periods before, and yet we always made it out. I even jumped on the opportunity to get a part time job, as this would take some burden off her shoulders. Even if I could only alleviate her pain with words, I was committed to a major philosophy I hold in life: to push forward is the only way to triumph. No matter how bad things seem, I choose to look for the light at the end of the tunnel, and look upon hardships as temporary moments of darkness. This philosophy drags into my academic life. As I keep myself on a steady STEM-focused path, I constantly remind myself that to persevere is key to success. Through every hard test or lab activity in science courses, I keep moving and refuse to let misery consume me. On that note, there are little challenges I have faced in my pursuit of a STEM pathway. Academics are a safe place for me, and I tend to thrive in them.Nevertheless, my pathway has faced many threats due to financial issues. As a child of a single mother, it can often be disheartening to miss out on academic opportunities due to a lack of financial means. For example, I have seen many club opportunities and tests (such as AP Biology, a National Science Honors Society Club, AP Chemistry, the SAT, and the ACT) pass me by because I could not afford the fees for them. It left me quite disheartened for a time. I would silently lament how my success in STEM was limited because of my circumstances. There are times I would even lie to my peers and persuade them that I simply did not want the costly opportunities; however, deep down, I felt an intense sort of disappointment and embarrassment. I worried that my financial disadvantage would harm my future, and like with my mother, I similarly feared I had no power to prevent this. Even so, I do not let these struggles define me. I take every opportunity to break the ceiling that these financial restraints set on me. One such example is how I work around transportation. Rather than spend money on gas to go to and from school, I walk each distance. It only takes thirty minutes each way due to my fairly close proximity to the school; therefore, it is a pristine method to avoid otherwise impossible transportation costs. This way, my learning does not suffer due to unavoidable tardiness or absences because I could not arrive on time otherwise. Another example of my drive for academic success regardless of financial constraints is my dedication to my work— even when it’s often not easily accessible to me. Like most high schools, my school generally has a curriculum that is only accessible online. That becomes difficult for students who do not have internet access at home, such as myself. Nevertheless, I found a solution to this dilemma in the form of my school library. Every day, I wake up an hour early to venture to the library for internet access. Here, I type my assignments on my phone, and it is quite convenient to get all of my work done. For example, I can complete my anatomy assignments on Google Classroom— which helps me continue my development in STEM whilst staying above water. As a result, my grades survive, and I do not fall behind the curve due to my situation at home. As I progress to college, I have no intention of letting my academic prowess or dedication to STEM deteriorate. I will, no doubt, be just as dedicated as I have been in high school. This unwavering commitment is not just to improve my future, but that of others, as I hope my knowledge and experience will bring something valuable to the world. For this reason, I intend for my academic journey to lead me to the medical field. Whilst I am only on track for a Biological Sciences degree as of now, I chose the degree specifically because it has a reputation as a major that is necessary to pursue medical school. I can only hope that, with my intended outcome of my academic journey, I can one day help individuals of all tracks of life with more than just words. I know that my mom would have appreciated someone like that in her time of need, and I want to make sure that others can have that comfort awarded to them. Connection is just as vital to humans as air, and it is only through it that we remind ourselves that we can survive and push through our darkest hours.

Education has always been my sense of purpose. I cannot, in truth, name when I became dependent on my academic ability to function. In elementary and middle school, I was an average student at best; but somewhere in high school, a switch was flipped. Suddenly, education began to sing a siren song to me that nothing else in life had. It gave me drive, and presented a world of unparalleled success and knowledge that interested me like nothing else. All other aspects of life felt dull in comparison if I was not learning new concepts or keeping my grades up. Classes like history, science, and english became my solaces, and I always seemed to come home with lnew factoids to torture my mother with. In a family where no one is a particularly apt student, this made me stand out, and that made me even more attached to education. For once, I felt like I had a safe place that really understood and defined me. Furthermore, education has never been a place of hurt. I am confident enough in my ability as a student that academics never brings me overwhelming sorrow. Instead, I view it almost as a game. I simply have to find the correct techniques and remember certain information to drag myself along the path. There is nothing biased or emotional about it, and it provides me a world that I can thrive in. In terms of other educational challenges, the only real threat I have faced is that of financial issues. As a child of a single mother, it can often be disheartening to miss out on academic opportunities due to a lack of financial means. For example, I have seen many club opportunities and tests (such as the SAT and ACT) pass me by because I could not afford the fees for them. It left me quite disheartened for a time. I would silently lament how my success was limited because of my circumstances. There are times I would even lie to my peers and persuade them that I simply did not want the costly opportunities; however, deep down, I felt an intense sort of disappointment and embarrassment. Even so, I do not let these struggles define me. I take every opportunity to break the ceiling that these financial restraints set on me. One such example is how I work around transportation. Rather than spend money on gas to go to and from school, I walk each distance. It only takes thirty minutes each way due to my fairly close proximity to the school; therefore, it is a pristine method to avoid otherwise impossible transportation costs. This way, my learning does not suffer due to unavoidable tardiness or absences because I could not arrive on time otherwise. Another example of my drive for academic success regardless of financial constraints is my dedication to my work— even when it’s often not easily accessible to me. Like most high schools, my school generally has a curriculum that is only accessible online. That becomes difficult for students who do not have internet access at home, such as myself. Nevertheless, I found a solution to this dilemma in the form of my school library. Every day, I wake up an hour early to venture to the library for internet access. Here, I type my assignments on my phone, and it is quite convenient to get all of my work done. As a result, my grades survive, and I do not fall behind the curve due to my situation at home. As I progress to college, I have no intention of letting my academic prowess deteriorate. I will, no doubt, be just as dedicated as I have been in high school. This unwavering commitment is not just to improve my future, but that of others, as I hope my knowledge and experience will bring something valuable to the world. For this reason, I intend for my academic journey to lead me to the medical field. Whilst I am only on track for a Biological Sciences degree as of now, I chose the degree specifically because it has a reputation as a major that is necessary to pursue medical school. I have not chosen a specific medical career to pursue just yet; however, I aim to look at jobs like medical examiners and general surgeons. Both careers help billions of families and people in need, and I can only hope to be one of these professionals one day. This dream justifies and makes use of my great favoritism for education, and it feels like the only direction my life would ever hope to take.

My mom always wanted to have a little girl. After my biological father all but disappeared off the face of the earth, she yearned to have a child who would understand the female experience and share her endless kindness and grit. She did not need another man to disappoint and misunderstand her. Thankfully for her, I was born female; however, she could not have predicted that I would come to question this identity. Ever since I could remember, I could not identify with femininity— not completely. I identify more so with the male sex, and that fact always made me fear my mother’s reaction. I mean, she had experienced decades worth of men letting her down, particularly my father, and I worried she would feel betrayed upon my transition. There was zero evidence for this fear, but every time she would mention my importance to her, I felt the guilt tug at my soul. I did not want to leave her feeling alone in the world again, especially when either of us were the only one the other had. So, I hid. I acted as feminine as possible. I wore the clothes she would, I let the restraints of average feminine pronouns define me, and I continued to let her believe she had a daughter. There was never a good time to let her know, especially when she had to commit almost all of my adolescence to caring for my grandparents as they fell fatally ill in quick succession. How, then, could I burden her with my underlying betrayal of her only sense of comfort in the world? Eventually, I could not keep the lie in. Amidst the middle of my high school career, I began to dress in ways evident of one who did not commit to a solely female identity. I wore darker clothing, more “masculine” clothing— as she chose to refer to it as. When she inquired about this choice, I told her. It felt like a confessional, but she did not regard it with the weight I thought she would. Rather, she told me what I already knew: I was her child. Regardless of my gender identity, she loves me for my mere status as her offspring, her “mini-me”, her built-in best friend. She cared more about my happiness than a wish she had over a decade ago, and affirmed that we were an unbreakable duo no matter what. I carry those words into my future, and they drive me to succeed academically despite various circumstances that could hinder me. Whether isolation from the rest of my family or intense financial hardships at home: my mother’s affirmations encourage me to do my best and strive for a better future for us both, regardless of my identity. I also learned from the experience that no one should have to hide themselves, and I now firmly believe that self-expression and open communication is the only way to find genuine happiness in life, and to grow one’s bonds with one’s sources of support. My next four years are dedicated to a degree in Biological Sciences; however, I plan to take that degree and transform it into a medical career. Every sacrifice my mother made for my grandparents has greatly inspired me to continue her good work, and help others through sickness and health. I also hope to be a medical professional who can promote the same acceptance that my mother provides for me, as every individual deserves the same level of respect for their identity and encouragement to seek labels that make one comfortable.