I am a high school senior whose main goal is to be awarded with my bachelor's degree and have a chance to make something of myself. Throughout my life, I have experienced many small changes, but the biggest adversity that I have overcome is transferring schools after moving five hours away from my hometown. I never pictured myself to leave my hometown of Laredo, Texas. I always pictured myself having a future in Laredo, having my children have playdates with my best friend’s children, and being able to visit my family in Mexico whenever I wanted to since we lived by the border. But life threw a curveball and at that time when I was told we would move to Houston, Texas, I thought this curveball would ruin my life. Even though other people have experienced much more drastic challenges, this adversity was hard on me as it felt I would lose connection with everything I once loved. With the drastic move, I had to put myself out in the world to be able to make new friends and relationships. Soon enough, once I got the grasp of a new city and new diversity of people, I became more outgoing and committed to my future goals, as in the beginning of this hardship, I was depressed and not giving a care in the world. With my new mindset of being committed to working towards my goals and dreams, I started to work hard and push through school. With all the hard classes and tests, I continued to remember that all of this will be worth it in the future. Even though many times I wanted to give up, I didn't, and I kept on pushing and pushing. Now, almost 2 years after my family and I moved to a new city, I am happier than ever. I made new lifelong friendships, became closer to my family, and even have a future waiting for me. The adversity that I overcame not only gave me such wonderful memories with my friends and family, but it also gave me the mindset that allowed me to be in the top 7% of my graduating class and having automatic admission into one of my top colleges of Texas A&M University. Although this adversity gave me such hard times, I am thankful for it as it allowed for my personality to become more open and it opened the doors for amazing upcoming opportunities.

My older brother, Ethan, was a kind and loving soul who never stopped smiling. He lived his short life by helping out our local community whenever he had the chance. Every Saturday, he would wake up bright and early to head to the food bank or an animal shelter to help out. While also helping our city, he made sure to lend a hand to the elementary school my cousin attended. Although he had work, he fulfilled a promise to my cousin to volunteer at every school event and/or choir concert. Even though this made him behind at work, he never complained and was actually thankful as he was able to give my cousin and other children happiness. My brother loved to make the people around him smile because he believed that life was a blessing that we should cherish even in the bad times. He always believed that everything happens for a reason as it would lead to bigger and better things in the future. I lost my brother last year in a car crash, as he was hit head on by a drunk driver who swerved into his lane. The worst part of it all was that we just came from dinner and he was driving behind the car my parents and I were in. In the span of an hour, I was eating next to my brother at a restaurant and then I was in the highway with police officers informing my parents that their only son died on scene. Even though it has been a since since my brother's passing, I still remember his voice and the smile he always had on his face. He meant to me everything; he was the reason I continued to smile everyday even if it was rough. Despite that he is gone, while pursuing my education, I plan to carry his legacy by continuing to help out our local community. I will be determined to keep a smile on my face and remember that everything happens for a reason and hopefully come to terms with the fact that his death had a purpose. Although it has been a rough year since his passing, I learned to cope with no longer having him by my side by spreading the awareness of the true dangers of drinking and driving. Hopefully with the spread of this awareness, I can stop this tragic event to happen to others and not have other siblings experience the same pain I have experienced.