For the first decade of my life, I grew up in two different worlds, and that was my mom's world, and my dad's world. My mom was a single, hard working nurse, who worked during the days, and went to school into the nights, who fought her best to keep us afloat. My dad, on the other hand, always wanted to do something, he would take us on weekend trips to Houston, and even to the Grand Canyon, he also didn't cook, it was always going to restaurants or ordering Mcdonald's, yet, even though on the surface my dad seemed like the less responsible parent, he's the one who encouraged me in the field of finances. One of the first things I recall my dad doing for my brother and I was opening each of us a bank account. I remember walking into the bank at maybe 7 or 8, playing with the wooden boxes that held the stringed beads on them, and I remember signing my own name on a paper and telling the bank teller how many letters were in my whole name. My dad plays a big role in this story because my mom could never save her money, she was always paying for something, whether it was the bills or the registration fee to sign my brother up for basketball, she was always spending, but it was my dad that was always in my ear, telling me to save my money, he even still does it now, texting me every now and then, usually when my bank statement shows up at his house every month. Finances have always been touch and go for me, maybe because as I entered middle school, my dad disappeared for a bit, and my mom didn't have much, just enough to give us what we needed, so when I got my own money, from a birthday, from Christmas, or from my Grandpa just because, and I would go wild, but most of the money I earned went towards pointless trips to the gas station, loading up on snacks. Now as I approach adulthood, I actually understand what it means to save money, especially when it comes to our changing society, it might come in handy one day. I plan to better my handling of finances, as they will become more impactful as I move out and get my own place where I can't rely on my parents for a helping hand anymore, and I want to encrypt that same concept into the brains of my children, so they won't ever have themselves in a financial bind if they play their cards correctly. To me, finances are the foundation of everything, even though they can't make you happy forever, they still make up just about everything we do today, whether it's buying dinner or just simply driving to work, we still continue to worry about just how much money do you have left to spend, or how many more miles until empty. I want to worry less about everything, everyone could use that, but especially when it comes to school, I don't want the weight of student debt on my shoulders for decades to come, and I know that my mom can't take on the financial burden of my college funds, so for now, I'm reliant on my dad, but I'm hoping scholarship organizers, ones like you, can change that.

Honestly, I´m not sure if my experiences have shaped my hopes, maybe in a way, it drives me to aim for higher goals, higher achievements, maybe to drive me away from this place that I call home. I wouldn´t describe the relationship with my parents as bad, but maybe strained, it feel professional in a way, we don't really go into those deep conversations about feelings and all of that jazz, they just kind of take care of me and I just don't get into any trouble. In a way, the lack of relationship with my parents doesn't really give me anything to stay here for, of course I care about them though, so in a way, our relationship, or lack thereof ables me to pick careers that require that big city, urban environment. My hopes mainly consist of just speaking up for myself more, and others too. I´m a big pushover, and it's actually made a pretty big impact on who I am and the actions that I have taken in the past. My freshman year, I was sexually assaulted on school campus, and the school security footage didn't show much, and none of my friends saw it happen either. When I went to the principal´s office, crying my eyes out, they almost sounded like they didn't believe me, because of my lack of reaction to his touch. I filled out a statement, but I never heard back, and I never want that to happen again, or to anyone else, so in a way, that experience has motivated me to speak up more, and not let others walk all over me.

I find that the things that fuel my life aren't just one simple, miniscule thing, but many things, collectively, all together. I find my inspiration to accomplish things in reading, delving into the worlds of other, and being put into the perspective of someone who isn't me, and in a way, it's refreshing. I also find my inspiration in painting, drawing, expressing my creativity on the canvas or even just paper, to contain all of things that my mind comes up with. My drive to do better, to be better, comes from those around me, my parents aren't the most supportive, but even support that they do lack, it somehow motivates me to try harder. My friends are the complete opposite, they make me feel like I'm enough and help me slowly build my self-esteem back up and are always there to lend an ear if I ever need it, and last of all, my goals help me remember what I'm doing this all for, what all this blood, sweat, and tears is contributing to, and instead of making me give up, it makes me even more determined.

With all of the obstacles i have faced in my lifetime, it's no big feat for me to be empathetic to others. I enjoy being a person that people can rely on, one that people turn to when they need to air out their concerns, or just get something off of their chest, I never want to be seen as someone who doesn't take others´ feelings seriously, I want to be someone reliable and trustworthy. I find it easiest to try to relate to the situations of others, to find some similarities in their hardship that I had also been through. I try to make sure people are treated by empathy by setting my own feelings aside, because after all, I shouldn't be the focus of the conversation, and just by listening, and genuinely paying attention to things they are saying, and the manner they are saying these things in. In order to make sure you´re treating others with empathy, you need to channel your inner selflessness, drive the subject of the conversation away from you and to them, about how they're feeling, what they're going through, and even if at the beginning it just begins with ¨how was your day¨ or even just ¨how are you¨ it one little step of many in the right direction.