My story is unique to me but resonates to many others in similar situations. My parents moved to California when my mom was 23 and pregnant with my older brother, while my dad was only 17 years old. Neither of my parents had the chance to finish their education- my mom didn’t complete high school, and my dad didn’t even get the opportunity to finish elementary. My dad had a difficult upbringing with no father figure in the house and a mom whose love language was the belt snapping on her kids back. Diana Baumrind, a clinical psychologist,developed a theory that states that children's behavior can be attributed to the specific parenting style they experience in their homes. Of course, this theory proved to be true once me and my siblings felt a belt snapping on our backs as well. Due to lack of education my parents could never secure high paying jobs that could provide the “American Dream” lifestyle. My dad spent his life working in construction hanging drywall, while my mom worked in various factories for all her life as well. As a result, we've been kicked out of three apartments and had to live with two different uncles for the span of more than a year all due to financial struggle. I don’t want Baumrind's theory to become a reality in my life. Instead, I'd rather follow Murray Bowens’s theory of family systems. Bowen emphasized that children usually respond to their parents behavior in one of two ways: they might repeat the patterns of their parents or work to differentiate themselves from their parents. In many aspects of my life, I would like to repeat my parents' examples-hard working, caring, loving, selfless, disciplined, and family oriented. But there are also some patterns I would like to change such as hitting, alcoholism, drugs, and most importantly, the value of a higher education. I want to seize the opportunity to become someone I know my parents would’ve aspired to be but sadly couldn’t, simply because higher education wasn’t something they could’ve grasped. I understand they wish they could support my education financially, but that’s just not a reality for them. This scholarship would make a huge difference in helping me become someone my parents weren’t able to. This scholarship is a crucial way to not only help me financially, but to help fulfill my parents dreams for their kid.