My mom raised both me and my brother by her self while going through college. My dad was drug dealer who got arrested when I was nine. My mom had full custody of me since they split when I was 4. By leaving my mom my dad left her in a hard place to get back on her feet. Two kids who she could not afford and college debts she had to take loans for. My mom worked through college to support us she showed me what hard work is. How to not let a situation hold you down or let you limit your life. My mom has been through more stress than most people will there whole life and still finds a way to be so kind and generous. She has shown me how to be independent and face challenges by myself. This isn’t to say she hasn’t been supportive she has argued tooth and nail for me. Whether it be her arguing with teachers over my dyslexia and iep she always supported me. She has always told me how much I can accomplish with hard work and has lead by example. Taking charge by contrast to my father who provides a perfect example on what not to do. She has shaped me into someone who knows what being strong truly means. My life would not be the same without out my mom I’ve never had another person who I can rely on like her. She has always been the only person I can put all of my faith into. I know that my mom is not perfect and that she and I can butt heads but I also know she will always and only want the absolute best for me. I think writing all this down really helps me to appreciate all she has done for me. My mom is the only person to care about me during my most vulnerable times. With her support I’ve grown into the man I am today. I’m strong because of her I know how to rely on myself in hard times. I can always know that all it takes is hard work and dedication to surmount any obstacle that come up in life. I can be proud of not only myself but where I come from and who raised me knowing that she is truly a great role model and friend.

I was born with Dyslexia. I remember when my speech impediment was so bad that I could barely speak, let alone read. Nevertheless, due to my mother's determination not to let a label define me, I started having tutors for both my reading and my speech impediment. I honestly didn't mind the speech classes; they were easy, just saying words in a room over and over again. The reading classes are where I found myself watching the clock, feeling the weight of every prolonged minute. Even with this hate, I knew I needed to learn how to read. I could feel the gap between my peers and me widening. They continued to grow as I still struggled to spell my own name. I continued going until the end of fifth grade. By that time, I had begun to build my own foundation from which my path into the language arts would blossom. I began to rely on my reading comprehension rather than my raw abilities to get me through most of middle school. My mother had already argued for my accommodations when she found out I had Dyslexia. A tool that previously allowed me to be on even footing with my peers now gave me the tools to write without the limitations of my Dylesxia. I began to excel in all my English classes, becoming one of my best subjects. When I finally got to high school, I decided to push my self agian to surpass limitaions a put on myself again by joining my high school's writing studio. A club where students from the school submit their work to be tutored in person or digitally revised. I began to learn not only how to write my own formal essays but also how to recognise and fix problems in other people's work. This class showed me that even with Dyslexia, I am not only able to be a tutor but also write on my own, no longer relying on accommodations or others to support my writing. I have grown into someone who is a good enough writer to take and pass both AP Lang and lit. I continue to grow because I continue to push myself past goals I previously could have never reached. By staying determined and not letting the weight of it all stop me, I have grown past my dyslexia and did so through hard work. A goal is never something I see as something I can't do. I know all it takes is consistency and a work ethic.