I grew up in a pretty racist area. When my mom went to school here, there was one Black person at her high school; now that I am in high school, there are less than five. Latinx's population isn't much better. I was the only Hispanic in my grade at elementary school. It went up to 15 in middle school, and now that I am in high school, there are approximately 30 students in my class of 265. I bring this up because this is where my adversity begins. In elementary school, we were working on a peer project and had to draw the other person. My peer drew me with brown and black crayons. I was utterly distraught and went home, not understanding that was how the world saw me. It wasn't until then that my mother spoke to me about discrimination and biased people. Up until that point, I was raised to see people for who they are. We never talked about different skin tones or heritages because we were all the same, living in the same area. After that conversation I noticed little microaggressions and comments that were targeted to a marginalized group or more specifically towards me. I started to become depressed because of the skin color I was born with, I wished I could wash it off and be white like the majority of my town. I started dreading going to school. By middle school I began to internalize the messages that I was hearing and became a target of discrimination. I was at my end's wit with everything, so my mom started me in counseling, and it was suggested that I get more involved in school activities to keep my mind off the negativity. This would help me avoid dwelling on the racist comments people were saying and gets me involved in a community of like-minded people. I joined leadership and basketball. I had never done either one of these until this point in my life. I was surprised I made the basketball team. I also joined the leadership program and participated in running school activities. Both of these changed the trajectory that I was headed towards. By high school, I was no longer an easy target. I was the Freshman School President and a varsity basketball team member. By my senior year, I had become the overall student body president, and it was also my second year of being a team captain on the basketball team. I learned to be supportive of all but, most importantly, to stand up when others don't feel like they have a voice. I learned not to be a bystander but to be mindful of my actions so that I do not respond with hate or judgment. Most importantly, I plan on being the best version of myself, teaching others to do the same through my servant leadership style and modeling positive behavior. I have become a stronger person mentally and am equipped to handle these types of situations. I have gotten away from feeling down about who I am and take pride in the accomplishments I have completed. I have 9 varsity letters while holding a 4.34 GPA. I have been accepted into a four-year university, where I will be playing two sports (track and field and basketball) and study education. I plan on becoming an elementary teacher so that I can influence children on how to become better leaders in society as they are our future. I also want to promote anti-bullying and help students know what to do if they are in a discriminatory situation.