If you take enough time to scroll far down my mom’s Facebook page, you’ll find a picture of me and my dad, sitting on top of rocks by a shallow creek. He’s handing me a small object, round and colored, but not easily recognizable, the 2009 camera quality makes it kinda fuzzy and undetectable. It’s captioned “Y así es como nacen los peces” or “that’s how fish are born.” Though I don’t remember this moment (I was only two), I realize through this picture that my dad was teaching me the life cycle of fish, with a small pebble rock as a metaphor for the fish. This is how my life has always been. Whether it’s through a colored rock or a brand new life in the United States, my dad has always handed me new opportunities for learning and education, a privilege he never had growing up in a family with nine children in rural Mexico. Taking random, hard labor jobs such as ranching or landscaping to make enough money to move his whole family to the U.S., he practically made it his mission to give us a better education. Every day before school my dad says, “Échale ganas,” give it your best, “so you don’t end up working like me.” He’s a welder at OmahaSteel, most of the time his shifts are up to 10 hours long and he comes home with calloused, burnt hands and a sore, pained back. So echarle ganas I did. Apart from taking seven AP classes and multiple dual-enrolled college courses, I also work and joined extracurricular activities, the first one being the debate team. Though I found out that I didn’t really like the arguing part about debate very much, I also realized how much I enjoyed writing, researching, and forming my own opinions on political topics. This is what sparked my passion in political science. Later, I joined the Diversity Council at my school, an opportunity for minority students to discuss racial issues within our school and community. Conversing with other students about ways to amend discrimination in our school started my interest in public law. A couple of years ago, I also started working and volunteering at a local elementary school. Every day after my last class ended, I helped young students with their homework, reading and writing, we prepared healthy snacks and meals, taught them the importance of playing outside, and took initiative to solve conflicts between the kids. This is what started my dedication for education and what made me realize how incredibly important accessible education is. In college, I am planning to pursue a major in Political Science, and later go to law school to hopefully become a political public figure. I want to advocate for the betterment and funding of public schools, for education that is easily accessible to all children, and for an education system that includes children like the kid my dad used to be. My dad has not only motivated me to keep learning, but he has also inspired me and my passion to promote education for all children. Afterall, that’s how the biggest, greatest, and most successful fish are born. Así es como nacen los peces.

“Echale ganas, siempre.” México, the dearest and purest form of myself, not only birthed my physical features, but it also cultivated my character and raised my way of thinking. Ever since I learned how to babble, my parents preached the same two-word, five-syllable phrase with their hearts; “Echale ganas.” Though Google Translate will tell you it means to “give it a try,” it truly transcends this simple translation. Rather, I would argue it means to give it your all, with strong desire. This mindset has practically been programmed into me, and it still remains after I moved to the United States. Even in the predominantly-white state of Nebraska, it’s nearly impossible to find a road without sight of a hardworking, Mexican immigrant; whether it’s an elotero out on the streets or a law firm established by Mexicans, for Mexicans. The evidence that this desire to succeed continues past borders and frontiers is not only meritorious and honorable but also inspiring and electrifying. Truly, nothing sings to the heart best than seeing your people thrive and succeed. Despite these innocent and praiseworthy goals, though, the American justice system continues to fail not only Mexican immigrants, but also American citizens of Mexican descent, whether that’s by disproportionately sentencing us to the death penalty or by proving a discrepancy between the amount of unsolved murders involving Mexican victims than their white counterparts. In hopes of getting to be a part of the solution for this issue (of simple and utter discrimination and racism), I am going to college to pursue a major in political science, with a minor in criminology. Although my parents have proven to me that they put ganas into everything they do in order to keep me and my two younger brothers comfortable— my mom worked night shifts at a hospital and my dad continuously works overtime as a welder— college is a great expense that we cannot afford. To win this scholarship would provide me with an immense amount of financial support that my parents simply cannot hand to me, as much as they would like to. These funds would be used to help pay for essential services and materials, such as textbooks, stationary, tuition, and other fees. I would say that I'm not living the American Dream, but the Mexican Dream, driven and controlled by the will to triumph. Afterall, that’s what echarle ganas is about.