My family has struggled within the United States. My older family members left Mexico when they were as young as 12 years old to come to the U.S. for a better life. They had to learn the customs and the language to navigate a new country at such a young age. My dad crossed the Rio Grande decades ago with nothing but the clothes on his back and hopes and dreams. He wasn't able to continue his education past 6th grade because he suffered in poverty. To this day, he says that if he had been able to continue school, he would have wanted to be a doctor. Every time I hear him talk about that, my heart breaks a little, knowing my dad had a dream but had to give it up for the sake of survival. He has been working in construction for over 30 years, and I see how tired he is when he comes home, just to give my family a better life than he had. I am the oldest daughter and a first-generation student. From a young age, I played many roles, a translator, a financial advisor, etc., and grew up having to pick between necessities and wants. I graduated from high school and got my high school diploma, doing what one of my parents never got to do. I vividly remember during my high school graduation party that I was told not to drop out of college, no matter what. Both of my parents grew up in poverty, constantly looking for their next meal. And while they may no longer be suffering as severely as in their childhood. That trauma still lingers deep within our family relationship; it seeps through the cracks during economic difficulties, especially right now. I want to break the cycle of hardship in my family, be the first in my family to earn a higher education degree, become a fashion designer and an immigration attorney. And serve as a role model to my family members, to show them that resilience and hard work can pay off. I carry a heavy weight on my shoulders. And while that sometimes feels like a burden, it also gives me the fuel to push on and become the first in my family to graduate from college. I keep persevering not only for myself but also for my parents. My childhood experiences have significantly affected my views and values. I value everything that I have because I remember how we used to struggle growing up. My parents always tell me that we must keep pushing, no matter how hard things get, because if we let the negative situations weigh us down, we won't get anywhere. Especially now, because the immigrant community, the backbone of the United States, is under attack by the very same government that millions pay taxes to while not having papers. Our community is being unjustly attacked and hated on simply for trying to improve our lives. This is my motivation to go to law school, to assist as many families under attack as possible. Every day we see the most horrific stories of immigrant families being harassed by ICE agents, and yet every day we still go to work; we still push through the day because people have families to feed and take care of. “El mundo no para de moverse” “the world doesn't stop spinning” is something my parents say often to remind me that we have to keep moving; the world will continue with or without us, and we cannot give up in the face of adversity.

Something I have put on hold has been a new laptop. My current one is 6 yrs old, crashes often...

If I could have everyone in the world read one book, it would definitely be Beyond The Story: 10-Year Record of BTS, by BTS and Myeongseok Kang. My reason behind this is not just because I'm a big BTS fan but because the book goes into depth about their struggles as adolescents and young adults on their path to success. Each chapter is from the perspective of each member, giving readers a different point of view, and different emotions from certain experiences both good and bad. Beyond The Story also teaches valuable lessons to readers on how words and actions can affect others even if the individual or group of people do not show it. It talks about corruption in the entertainment industry as well as how BTS was treated in the Western industry due to being Korean and not conforming to society's standards of celebrities/idols. I think it is a very powerful book that can teach the whole world a lesson about society and humanity as a whole, and the changes that need to be made. No adolescent or young adult should be scrutinized by their seniors, instead, they should be supported and uplifted while navigating their way through life. BTS is now an international sensation due to the artistry that they put into their songs, advocating for self-love and healing but also promoting to stand up for yourself and not letting fear take hold during tough situations. To advocate for those who do not have a voice or do not feel like they have a choice in life. These reasons are why BTS is loved around the world. I believe that if society would lose its ignorance and arrogance for a while, that after reading Beyond The Story, we as a society would improve in ways that could lead to world peace and prosperity.

My favorite K-pop group is 방탄소년단 (BTS). They were the group that first got me into K-pop back in 2018 and I've been an ARMY since then! I like a lot of other groups too like Ateez, Seventeen, Enhypen, (g)-idle, Mamamoo ect, but BTS has had the most impact on me and has helped me through so much that I don't think I'll ever stop stanning. Bangtan made an impact on my life back in 2018 when my friend introduced me to them through fake love, this song was the rabbit hole that led to me listening to their whole discography at the time. I remember looking up translations and relating to some of the songs so much that for the first time in my life, I felt seen and comforted, yes I don't know them personally but listening to those lyrics and realizing that even they feel in specific ways helped me through a lot. In 2020 when the world shut down and everyone was isolated, I was going through a difficult time, unlike a lot of people, my isolation lasted 1 year, 6 months, and 2 days. Due to this extreme isolation period because of covid, I lost a lot of social skills and gained a lot of trauma. It was during this time that BTS and their songs kept me sane. Listening to Black Swan was so comforting to me, a piece about an artist fearing no longer being able to do what they love was something that as an aspiring fashion designer, I related to so much. BE was an album that I couldn't listen to without crying but I'm thankful for the songs now. Yoongi's latest solo album, D-day, definitely had an impact and brought back those emotions but at the same time also helped me heal bits from my past, Namjoon and Jimins solo albums, Indigo and FACE, were also albums that impacted me greatly due to how emotionally moving the songs and topics were. Regardless of Bangtan being on "hiatus" they still have an impact on ARMY, and I'll continue to support them in return for creating music and art that helps others. However, Bangtan Sonyeondan also impacted global culture. The global rise started back in 2015 with their hit song "I need u" from "The Most Beautiful Moment In Life Part 1" album. They had a steady increase of popularity globally but skyrocketed into fame in 2017/2018 when they paved the way for other K-artists/groups, yes there might've been other groups who had come to the USA first but the Global stage belongs to BTS. It would've taken much longer for Korean artists and groups to be recognized in the Western entertainment industry if it weren't for them. Thanks to the trials and tribulations and the later success of BTS, they created more opportunities for other Korean artists to succeed. We see this in Western award shows where now more K-acts are being nominated whereas back then it was only BTS. On a global standard BTS has one of the biggest fandoms in the world with over 90 million fans. We've broken streaming records and launched BTS to the top of the global charts and continue to do so. Bangtan Sonyeondan has broken records worldwide and also advocated for self-love alongside UNICEF Love Myself Campaign. In 2015 they raised donations for LISA, a Korean charity that promotes organ and blood donation. All of these reasons are why BTS is my favorite K-pop group of all time. To this day they continue to shine brightly and bring light to people's lives.

My vision of an apparel line is to have clothes as a form of art and self-expression that accommodates people from different backgrounds. This has always been important to me because I want people to feel good about themselves and feel confident to step out of their comfort zone to wear what they want regardless of people's opinions. I have always had a hard time with this and still do, so I want to help other people and help myself as well. Fashion design has been my passion since I was 5 years old. I used to make dresses for my dolls and later when I was 11 I made a rose gold satin dress for my 6th grade graduation. Once the pandemic hit when I was 13, one of my ways of coping was designing. Just a month ago I was in a fashion show through my school where I made a dress that lights up in different colors. This year I was in a fashion show through my school and made all 3 of my outfits as well as recently making a purple gown for my 17th birthday. So fashion is very important to me and developing my apparel line would allow me to show the world my creations as well as help others. I like all forms of fashion and subcultures so I'm open to everyone's different tastes and styles. Even if there's a style I do not like myself, I won't discriminate against the individuals that like that style, my job is to make people feel comfortable in their skin and tastes, not to judge another person and their tastes. My apparel line would be a combination of many different styles that represent different parts of me. And it wouldn't just be feminine or masculine clothing but feminine, masculine androgynous clothing. Sometimes I feel like dressing more feminine in gowns and cute dresses and other times I feel like dressing up in suits or more masculine-centered clothing, and other times I just want to put on clothes that represent neither. In doing that I hope to be an example for others who want to express themselves but do not know how to or feel that in doing so they're betraying another part of themselves. In simple terms I want my apparel line to represent people from all walks of life and allow others to use my apparel as an example of how they want to express themselves without blocking another part of themselves and embrace themselves fully as they are through the art of fashion and self-expression.