I am one of many who have made that first step into college hood for their family and those following. Although making this step is an amazing move forward, it is extremely stressful and overbearing. My family to my knowledge has never been to or graduated from college and was always struggling to get by. From a young age, my family had moved in and out of houses, I even had to move into my grandmother's house on multiple occasions while my parents tried to figure out how to gain money and had to live homeless for a time. Now my parents busted their butt to get a house and live somewhat comfortably, but at the same time have always pushed me and my younger siblings toward academics to move forward. Being the eldest in its own right already gives pressure to set the example for the younger siblings in my family, but being put on a pedestal by my parents to succeed and make it to college and make my siblings follow in my path is worlds loads of weight put onto my shoulder. I try to stay strong in front of all of them trying to keep myself in one piece; the explanation of where I want to go and what I want to do later in my life helps me keep a track, but making it is going to be the hardest thing in my life to do. I am just terrified that I might not make it, except that I have realized recently how hard I have worked, what I have been involved in, and that I have no choice but to succeed because, in the end, I am the only person who can get me to the finish line. Since the day I started kindergarten I was always fascinated and thrilled with extracurricular activities such as sports, volunteering, school projects, and even service learning projects. I have always been the active type and on top wanting to help others. I was always involved with something throughout my childhood, but it was not until my high school career that I began to flourish and find out what it meant to be involved. In my first year, I overworked myself by throwing myself into everything possible, getting involved in volunteer work with J.R.O.T.C, and becoming an athlete with multiple teams; cross-country, track and field, raiders, baseball, and wrestling. After that year I knew I had to slow it down, and think about what I really wanted and where I wanted to go. Once I did that, going into my second year, it became easier and overall more developing for me. I started a new year joining swim and becoming a new National Honor Society member, and was able to focus on my other two sports, track and field as well as raiders. It also allowed me to stay involved in voluntary work without becoming overwhelmed. This transition helped me to focus on taking more academically challenging courses while continuing to be involved in helping others around me. After learning the proper way to plan, my success began to skyrocket through my third and fourth years. Now involving myself deeply in those extracurriculars I have found my passion for, running, swimming, volunteering, and having the ability to share my knowledge with others to help themselves improve. I will help others while in college and go further with my extracurriculars, even after my graduation. Having the possibility to be a first-generation college student pushes me in all aspects to work on myself and exceed my limits.

I am one of many who have made that first step into college hood for their family and those following. Although making this step is an amazing move forward, it is extremely stressful and overbearing. My family to my knowledge has never been to or graduated from college and was always struggling to get by. From a young age, my family had moved in and out of houses, I even had to move into my grandmother's house on multiple occasions while my parents tried to figure out how to gain money and had to live homeless for a time. Now my parents busted their butt to get a house and live somewhat comfortably, but at the same time have always pushed me and my younger siblings toward academics to move forward. Being the eldest in its own right already gives pressure to set the example for the younger siblings in my family, but being put on a pedestal by my parents to succeed and make it to college and make my siblings follow in my path is worlds loads of weight put onto my shoulder. I try to stay strong in front of all of them trying to keep myself in one piece; the explanation of where I want to go and what I want to do later in my life helps me keep a track, but making it is going to be the hardest thing in my life to do. I am just terrified that I might not make it, except that I have realized recently how hard I have worked, what I have been involved in, and that I have no choice but to succeed because, in the end, I am the only person who can get me to the finish line. Since the day I started kindergarten I was always fascinated and thrilled with extracurricular activities such as sports, volunteering, school projects, and even service learning projects. I have always been the active type and on top wanting to help others. I was always involved with something throughout my childhood, but it was not until my high school career that I began to flourish and find out what it meant to be involved. In my first year, I overworked myself by throwing myself into everything possible, getting involved in volunteer work with J.R.O.T.C, and becoming an athlete with multiple teams; cross-country, track and field, raiders, baseball, and wrestling. After that year I knew I had to slow it down and think about what I really wanted and where I wanted to go. Once I did that, going into my second year, it became easier and overall more developing for me. I started a new year joining swim and becoming a new National Honor Society member, and was able to focus on my other two sports, track and field as well as raiders. It also allowed me to stay involved in voluntary work without becoming overwhelmed. This transition helped me to focus on taking more academically challenging courses while continuing to be involved in helping others around me. After learning the proper way to plan, my success began to skyrocket through my third and fourth years. Now involving myself deeply in those extracurriculars I have found my passion for, running, swimming, volunteering, and having the ability to share my knowledge with others to help themselves improve. I will help others while in college and go further with my extracurriculars, even after my graduation. Having the possibility to be a first-generation college student pushes me in all aspects to work on myself and exceed my limits.

I am one of many who have made that first step into college hood for their family and those following. Although making this step is an amazing move forward, it is extremely stressful and overbearing. My family to my knowledge has never been to or graduated from college and was always struggling to get by. From a young age, my family had moved in and out of houses, I even had to move into my grandmother's house on multiple occasions while my parents tried to figure out how to gain money and had to live homeless for a time. Now my parents busted their butt to get a house and live somewhat comfortably, but at the same time have always pushed me and my younger siblings toward academics to move forward. Being the eldest in its own right already gives pressure to set the example for the younger siblings in my family, but being put on a pedestal by my parents to succeed and make it to college and make my siblings follow in my path is worlds loads of weight put onto my shoulder. I try to stay strong in front of all of them trying to keep myself in one piece; the explanation of where I want to go and what I want to do later in my life helps me keep a track, but making it is going to be the hardest thing in my life to do. I am just terrified that I might not make it, except that I have realized recently how hard I have worked, what I have been involved in, and that I have no choice but to succeed because, in the end, I am the only person who can get me to the finish line. Since the day I started kindergarten I was always fascinated and thrilled with extracurricular activities such as sports, volunteering, school projects, and even service learning projects. I have always been the active type and on top wanting to help others. I was always involved with something throughout my childhood, but it was not until my high school career that I began to flourish and find out what it meant to be involved. In my first year, I overworked myself by throwing myself into everything possible, getting involved in volunteer work with J.R.O.T.C, and becoming an athlete with multiple teams; cross-country, track and field, raiders, baseball, and wrestling. After that year I knew I had to slow it down, and think about what I really wanted and where I wanted to go. Once I did that, going into my second year, it became easier and overall more developing for me. I started a new year joining swim and becoming a new National Honor Society member, and was able to focus on my other two sports, track and field as well as raiders. It also allowed me to stay involved in voluntary work without becoming overwhelmed. This transition helped me to focus on taking more academically challenging courses while continuing to be involved in helping others around me. After learning the proper way to plan, my success began to skyrocket through my third and fourth years. Now involving myself deeply in those extracurriculars I have found my passion for, running, swimming, volunteering, and having the ability to share my knowledge with others to help themselves improve. I will help others while in college and go further with my extracurriculars, even after my graduation. Having the possibility to be a first-generation college student pushes me in all aspects to work on myself and exceed my limits.

I am one of many who have made that first step into college hood for their family and those following. Although making this step is an amazing move forward, it is extremely stressful and overbearing. My family to my knowledge has never been to or graduated from college and were always struggling to get by. From a young age my family had moved in and out of houses, I even had to move into my grandmothers house on multiple occasions while my parents tried to figure out how to gain money and having to live homeless for a time. Now my parents busted their butt to get a house and live somewhat comfortably, but at the same time have always pushed me and my younger siblings towards academics to move forward. Being the eldest in its own right already gives pressures to set the example for the younger siblings in my family, but being put on a pedestal by my parents to succeed and make it to college and make my siblings follow in my path is worlds loads of weight put onto my shoulder. I myself try to stay strong in front of all of them trying to keep myself in one piece; the explanation of where I want to go and what I want to do later in my life helps me keep a track, but actually making it is going to be the hardest thing in my life to do. I am just terrified that I might not make it, except that I have realized recently how hard I have worked, what I have been involved in, and that I have no choice but to succeed, because in the end I am the only person who can get me to the finish line. Since the day I started kindergarten I was always fascinated and thrilled with extracurricular activities such as sports, volunteering, school projects, or even service learning projects. I have always been the active type and on top wanting to help others. Throughout my childhood I was always involved with something, but it was not until my high school career that I began to flourish and find out what it really meant to be involved. In my first year I overworked myself by throwing myself in everything possible, getting involved in volunteer work with J.R.O.T.C, becoming an athlete with multiple teams; cross-country, track and field, raiders, baseball, and wrestling. After that year I knew I had to slow it down, think about what I really wanted and where I wanted to go. Once I did that, going into my second year, it became easier and overall more developing for me. I started a new year joining swim and becoming a new National Honor Society member, and was able to focus on my other two sports, track and field as well as raiders. It also allowed me to stay involved in voluntary work without becoming overwhelmed. This transition helped me to focus on taking more academically challenging courses while continuing to be involved helping others around me. After learning the proper way to plan, my success began to skyrocket through my third and fourth year. Now involving myself deeply into those extracurriculars I have found my passion for, running, swimming, volunteering, and having the ability to share my knowledge with others to help themselves improve. I will continue to help others while in college and go farther myself with my extracurriculars, even after my graduation. Having possibilities to be a first generation college student pushes me in all aspects to work on myself and exceed my limits.