A quality about myself that I admire most is my determination. As a kid, technology was introduced to me at the same time it was introduced to the world. My earliest interactions with the internet were of me learning how to use a search engine to search up "fun facts." Then I would sit back and let the wheels of the worldwide web spin until it poured out endless facts and myths. Most nights I would secretly fall asleep reading them. As a teenager, I used to watch my little sister come home from school and have her fill my ears with what her day-to-day experiences were composed of. I truly enjoyed feeling like I interacted with the world through her. She would spill about her classes and I would stop and ask her questions wherever my interest took flight. One day she spoke of her Forensic Psychology class and she may not have known at that moment but she lit a spark in me. I wanted her to tell me so much more about that class but felt that the itch would never be scratched until I saw it for myself. Little did I know, my education would be withheld from me and deemed "something my husband would have to agree to." I was not married and did not plan on it, but my parents had other plans. Eventually, I fled from home to avoid an arranged marriage at the age of 18 and within two weeks of running away, I enrolled myself in a GED program. Within a month I was being tested for my diploma. Within two months, I graduated from the fast track with my High School Equivalency Diploma. Within a year I landed in a longer-term transitional housing shelter and began a full-time job at the airport. Within another year, I began working as a preschool assistant teacher and enrolled in college in the Fall of 2018. Every month after that, I somehow ended up on this thing called the "Dean's List." It was not until a peer of mine told me that it meant I was doing something right. Two and a half years later I graduated in the Spring of 2021 in front of a computer screen as my name rolled down the screen. It was not until my name rolled down the screen with a star beside it, did I realize I was graduating with Honors. At the time, I worked as a special needs assistant teacher for 2.5 years. I began to recognize my passion for young minds during that same time. I continue to pursue my B.S degree in Psychology at The City College of New York, with a cumulative GPA of 4.000. I am still trying to scratch that itch for knowledge and am proud to admit that my daily school life is filled with the "fun facts" I searched for as a child. I am proud of my younger self for persevering through pain, abuse, fear, and homelessness. And my younger self would be proud of me too. Although I do not have anyone to come home and show my achievements to, I have future me to walk up to as she will one day put a white coat over my shoulders and tell me that I too can be an agent of change for young struggling minds. Throughout my life, my determination has shown how my determination and "stubbornness" can indeed be an asset to my resilience. In this case, I am determined to chase my dreams and fulfill that itch for knowledge.