My whole life I have always seen my dad getting up long before the sun rose, leaving for work early, coming home late, and crashing out on the couch, tired from working all day. This has been his day-to-day for the last thirty years. Seeing his persistence, and how he has continued with this for so long, has been the basis for what he has taught me. Growing up, probably the thing my parents stressed the most was hard work. Being productive means waking up early, getting a start to the day, filling your time doing homework, chores, or helping out with the millions of projects my dad would be doing. If I even thought about staying inside all day and staring at a screen, my parents would make sure that wasn’t an option. Work is always to be done, and you can’t just decide you don’t want to do it. I guess that’s partly the reason why both my sisters and I have all had part-time jobs since we were fourteen years old. That idea my dad has engraved in our minds, to work day in and day out, putting in everything you have, has shown through in me in my job, my school work, and extracurriculars. In high school alone I graduated with two associates degrees, despite working as a supervisor at my job 25 hours a week, and still coaching lacrosse and volunteering through Girl Scouts. It’s what my dad taught me. It’s what his profession taught him. Put in the work, do it right, and take responsibility for the work you do. At my university I’ve continued with this mindset my parents instilled in me by involving myself throughout campus. I am a member of the Liberty Club, Teaching Club, and the National History Honor Society, Phi Alpha Theta. I served as an author and on the editorial board for PAT’s undergraduate journal, the Scribe of the Ages, and have continued an internship at a local museum. This semester I began as the president of the History Club, as well as the History Department Assistant. It can be difficult trying to keep up with my schedule, but I don’t let that limit the quality of my work. I wasn’t raised to accept subpar performance from myself. I hold myself accountable, and push myself to do the best that I can, because I know my dad would do the same. Looking toward the near future, my hard work will pay off. By the time I am twenty-one, I will have two associate's degrees, a bachelor’s, a master’s, and a teaching credential. All of the values and opportunities that my dad has passed onto me, everything that he has learned and worked for, are what have shaped me into who I am today. He has given me the opportunity to go to college, get a teaching credential, and hopefully soon become a history teacher. I am motivated to instill this same drive in my future students one day. While I may not have astounding accomplishments of my own thirty years from now, I hope to have countless students with their own accomplishments, and that to me is a far greater measure of success. So as I continue my education and my life beyond, the work ethic instilled in me, and the security I have been given, are what will help lead me to success. The lessons I have learned, and everything I have done to get where I am, are a reflection of my dad and my family. All have helped shape me into who I am today.