Every immigrant comes to the United States with one goal: To achieve the American Dream. The American Dream is the idea of a perfect life, to have financial stability, happiness, and success. When I was 10 years old, my parents decided I deserved a better future, life, and education than the one I had. We packed our whole life into a suitcase and left our country, our family, everything that we knew and was familiar to us. I did not understand this decision at the time, why make me leave my friends and family? Going to the United States was the last thing I wanted to do. I came to a new country, and I was around strange things, and strange people talking in a strange language that I did not understand. Being an outsider is hard. However, I now see I was not the only one that had to make sacrifices. My parents decided to dive into the unknown just because they wanted me to have a good life, they made an enormous sacrifice because they believed that I could have a good future. They’ve given me an amazing opportunity that I cannot dispose of. Ever since I was a little kid, I wanted nothing more than to make my parents proud. I always was first in my class, always had straight A’s and I always tried my best to be a good student. I want to show my parents that they did not leave their whole lives for nothing. I will become someone for them. The first step to achieving my dreams is to go to college. As a first-generation college student, applying and paying for college is very complicated. I have no one to tell me if I’m doing stuff the right way, I have no one to give me advice. I am aware that college will be a challenge but I know I can overcome everything with the support of my parents. I’ve always been passionate about medicine, so I will be majoring in Public Health, specializing in Healthcare Administration. I’ve always enjoyed helping others and I know this career will give me satisfaction while helping me support myself and my family. My college degree will be dedicated to them because I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for them being so brave and believing in me. I want to be able to give them back everything that they sacrificed for me. Success does not come easy, I will work for it so I can give my parents everything they deserve.

I hate cheese. When I was 10 years old, my parents decided I deserved a better future, life, and education than the one I had. We packed our whole life into a suitcase and left our country, our family, everything that we knew and was familiar to us. I did not understand this decision at the time, why make me leave my friends and family? Going to the United States was the last thing I wanted to do. I tried to take a stand against this decision, and for some reason, my way of doing that was by stopping eating cheese. I came to a new country, and I was around strange things, and strange people talking in a strange language that I did not understand. Being an outsider is hard. The language barrier made everything worse, I could not ask for help because I did not know how, and most people pitied me because of this. However, I did not want their pity. I was just as smart and good as everyone else. Some of my 5th grade teachers spoke Spanish, they are part of the reason I am here today, a graduating senior. They supported me and helped me learn the language. I was doing great in school thanks to them. However, the biggest help I received came from my 6th and 7th grade teacher, Ms. Rivera. She pushed me to learn English again and again, it’s because of her that I became familiar with the country I once found strange. I wasn’t scared anymore. I made amazing friends and learned many new things. My grades in school have been amazing since then, I currently have a 3.8 GPA average. I can communicate with others in English, something I thought I was never going to be able to do. In a couple of months, I will be going to college. I hope to attend the University of North Texas, to which I have applied and been accepted. Since I’ve always been passionate about medicine and math, I’ve decided to major in Public Health, focusing on Healthcare Administration. My dream has always been to work in a hospital, I have always loved the environment and it’s amazing how helpful the medical staff is. I would love to work in this environment more than anything, and I’m ready to do anything necessary to accomplish this goal. I will show my family that they did not abandon everything for nothing, I will become someone. Being a first-generation student to go to college is hard, I don’t have someone to give me advice or help me through the process. However, I am certain this is something I can achieve and I believe this scholarship will help me do just that. Up until this day, I still don’t eat cheese. But, I can understand their decision and I’m thankful for it.

I’ve always been interested in medicine since a very young age, I think that the earliest thing that caught my attention was the TV cartoon, Doc McStuffins. In this show, the main character, a 6-year-old girl, has a playhouse clinic and she takes care of her stuffed animals and toys since they can come to life and talk to her. I used to watch it all the time and loved it. I liked the way she was able to make lives better, even if they weren’t actual people, but toys. I was also around a lot of hospitals the whole time because I would always get sick. I was around a lot of friendly staff. I had always had very nice experiences when I went to a hospital and looking back at it, I hope I can provide that experience for someone someday. However, what made me think I wanted to do something like that in life was my grandmother. My grandmother was who showed up to my school events, took me to school every day, and showed up in the school meetings. In 2014, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. It is a very awful experience to see someone you love look so sick, she wasn’t her usual self for some months. At the time, we were living in Mexico so we had the whole family there to support us through the whole process. For a year, I was spending a lot of time in hospitals, around doctors and nurses. I became interested in the medical field. Thankfully, after a year she got way better and was considered cancer-free. In 2016, we moved to the US. My parents were still working long hours, so my grandma was taking care of me and, now, my 2 sisters. I was in 5th grade and it wasn’t going so well. At school, I was confused because I did not understand the language, and because of that, it was very hard for me to make friends, I was always alone. Then, at home, my grandmother was getting sick again. At the moment, I was not very worried about it. She had been in the hospital a million times, so I was sure she would overcome this too. Then, Summer break came and her health was deteriorating so much that I had to take over and start taking care of my sisters. As her health got worse, my parents took her to the hospital. There, we found out that she had cancer again and the doctor told us she did not have too long to live, only a couple of weeks. I was sure they were wrong and she was gonna make it. This is a mindset that I deeply regret. Turns out that the doctors were right. I am very thankful for the medical staff that made this process painless and peaceful for her. I aspire to make this type of difference in someone’s life in the future. I grew to love being in hospitals, I always enjoyed the environment and the people. However, I do wish I had discovered this under different circumstances. I missed it. This is why, when I had the opportunity to join the Academy of Health Sciences in Sunset High School, I gladly took it. The academy has been an amazing help. It reassured my decision to go into the medical field. I’ve discovered many professions and visited hospitals in more pleasant circumstances. I am sure I want to be a part of the medical field and impact people’s lives just like they did to me.

I don’t remember what her last words to me were. My grandmother has been the most important person in my life ever since I can remember. Growing up, my parents always tried to be there for me, but because of the long amount of hours they spent working, it wasn’t easy. I understand why they were working so much. Thanks to them I always had food on the table and a roof over my head, I will always be grateful for that. However, thanks to my grandmother, I know what it’s like to grow up being loved and cared for. She inspired my career choice and it’s because of her that I will work hard until I fulfill the promises I told her. For a couple of years, I would get woken up at 4 am and taken to my grandmother’s house. I loved being there, it felt like home. There, I would go back to sleep until it was time for kindergarten and then my grandparents would drive me to school while singing songs in the car. This routine was too complicated for my parents and me, so my grandparents decided to move in with us. Everything was going great, but good things don’t last. In 2014, my grandmother was diagnosed with cancer. I was 8 years old. Cancer is a horrible thing, it completely drained my grandmother, I always tried to be there for her. I would always go with her to her doctor’s appointments and pick up prescriptions. At the time we were still living in Mexico so I never felt alone. My family made the process so much easier, everyone would support me and explain everything that was happening. For a year, I spent all the time I wasn’t in school in hospitals, clinics, and pharmacies, and I was fascinated by it. This experience is what got me so interested in the medical field. In 2015, my grandmother beat cancer. A year later, in 2016, we moved to the United States. It was hard having to leave everything behind, my family was my support system and now it was gone. Unfortunately, a couple of months later, my grandmother’s cancer came back. She has been in the hospital so many times before, that I didn’t think this was going to be any different. I truly believed that she was going to be okay because she had been all those other times. When the doctor came and told us she only had a couple of weeks to live, I did not believe that. So, I continued my life like nothing was wrong. After school, I would visit my grandmother but she was too tired to even talk. I kept acting like everything was ok. Until one day a doctor said that she only had a couple more days to live, again I thought they were wrong and I didn’t believe them. But, that day before I left, I told her “Te amo” (I love you), I didn’t know that was the last time I would see her alive. I immensely regret not taking advantage of the time I had with her. I regret not believing the doctors and not enjoying my time with her. That has taught me so many lessons. I don’t take things for granted anymore. I show my appreciation for people constantly because I never know when they can be taken away from me. I made many promises to my grandmother that I plan to keep, my first step is going to college. I still cannot remember what her last words to me were.

Every immigrant comes to the United States with one goal: To achieve the American Dream. The American Dream is the idea of a perfect life, to have financial stability, happiness, and success. However, as an immigrant myself, as someone who has “achieved” the American Dream, I can say that it has a different meaning for me. The American Dream means to abandon everything, it means leaving family and friends behind, having to pack your whole life in a single suitcase, losing touch with your identity, and having friends forget you. When I was 10 years old, my parents decided I deserved a better future, life, and education than the one I had. We packed our whole life into a suitcase and left our country, our family, everything that we knew and was familiar to us. I did not understand this decision at the time, why make me leave my friends and family? Going to the United States was the last thing I wanted to do. I came to a new country, and I was around strange things, and strange people talking in a strange language that I did not understand. Being an outsider is hard. The language barrier made everything worse, I could not ask for help because I did not know how, and most people pitied me because of this. However, I did not want their pity. I was just as smart and good as everyone else. I focused on becoming better. I learned English with help from my teachers, I could now communicate with others. I met new people and made friends. I got rid of my accent, and changed the way I dressed and acted. Everything just to fit in. At some point, I could no longer recognize myself, I changed everything that made me, me, just to fit it because I knew what being an outsider felt like and I never wanted to feel like that again. Up until this day, I still don’t know how to get my identity back, or if that even is my identity anymore. On the other hand, not everything was bad. The American Dream also means good education, new friendships, expanding your horizons, gaining knowledge, having financial security, and getting new experiences. I now understand why my parents decided to move here. I receive a good quality education that’s engaging and has motivated me to go to college and complete a career. I’ve met a lot of amazing people, although I still miss my friends from Mexico. The people I’ve met have shown me to be great, supportive friends, I don’t know where I would be without them. Thanks to moving to the United States, I can speak and understand English fluently. This has enormously broadened my perspective, I can communicate with so many different people. Sometimes I wonder where I would be if my parents hadn’t made this sacrifice. I will always be thankful for them for giving me so many opportunities, my only wish is to make them proud and show them it wasn’t for nothing. I will go to college and become someone because I know what it’s like to be no one.

When I was 10 years old, my parents decided I deserved a better future. We packed our whole life into a suitcase and left our country, everything that we knew and was familiar to us. Going to the United States was the last thing I wanted to do. I came to a new country, and I was around strange things, people talking in a language that I did not understand. Most people pitied me because of this. I did not want this, I was just as good as everyone else. The biggest help I received came from my 6th grade teacher, Ms. Rivera. She pushed me to learn English, it’s because of her that I became familiar with the country I once found strange. My grades in school have been amazing since then, I currently have a 3.8 GPA . I can communicate with others in English, something I thought I was never going to be able to do. In a couple of months, I will be going to college. I hope to attend the University of North Texas, to which I have applied and been accepted. Since I’ve always been passionate about medicine and math, I’ve decided to major in Public Health, focusing on Healthcare Administration. My dream has always been to work in a hospital, I have always loved the environment and it’s amazing how helpful the medical staff is. I would love to work in this more than anything, and I will do anything necessary to accomplish this goal. I will show my family that they did not abandon everything for nothing. Being a first-generation student to go to college is hard, I don’t have someone to give me advice or help me through the process. However, I am certain this is something I can achieve.