I've always felt beautiful when my skin looked best, so it seemed natural to pursue a career as a Dermatologist. For one, I enjoyed math and science because they gave you straightforward answers. Second, I always felt the need to help my community. Whether that be within my family, friends, or acquaintances who asked for advice with their skin. Considering, our skin is the first thing people look at when they see us, it makes sense why we are so conscious of keeping it clear and supple. When I was growing up, my mother never tended to do her makeup, rather, she would make sure to remember to apply sunscreen and moisturizer every day, sometimes reprimanding me to apply some as well. Now, I can see how her work paid off when she gets compliments for her skin in her mid-forties. On the other hand, my sister had intense breakouts that would make her shy away from pictures and family videos. So, I would help her with what products to use to ease her breakouts and how to prevent them in the future. She still sends me messages to ask for my opinions on such matters. Taking care of our skin, makes us feel comfortable with ourselves and our confidence to unabashedly present ourselves to others. To become a Dermatologist, however, requires going to medical school. Before medical school, there is undergrad, which asks for more money than I am unable to provide. Therefore, taking out a loan was necessary to avoid the stress of having to make ends meet each quarter to focus on what I am interested in, school and helping my community. I am an officer of a pre-med organization called "Los Curanderos," translating directly to "The Healers" in Spanish. The goal of this organization is to make people of color feel comfortable learning from other people currently in the medical field that look like them to encourage their pursuit of medicine each week they come to speak with us. However, we are also involved in giving back to our communities, helping in local food shelters, helping food banks in marginalized communities, and we are currently preparing to hold a conference named "Healing our Communities" in May, where high schoolers from low-income areas are welcome to visit our university and discover their options in the medical or scientific field. I'm planning to continue taking out loans for the remainder of my years in university, but having it reduced in any shape or form would help me pursue the opportunity of doing extensive clinical hours at a hospital near my university, which is not paid but volunteer time. Instead of working to pay off my loans, I can use this time to already dip my toes in healthcare and handling patients to garner experience. As much as I would like to apply, this would mean consistent expenses on gas and to apply requires a hefty fee of a few hundred dollars that takes a toll on the loans I currently have. So, I have no option but to abandon this opportunity because as much as I would like to apply I wouldn't want to burden my parents with more financial difficulties than they already have. Despite all the obstacles I face, I wouldn't change my choice of career. I can't fathom the idea of giving up what I have grown to love and would like to share with my very own patients one day.

In my household, the day starts before the sun is up to remind them it's morning. My mom wakes up every morning at five a.m. to make my father lunch for work and my father wakes up at five a.m. to get the car ready for the 30-minute drive to work. That was every morning Monday through Friday. On rainy days, a day where many would cozy up with a warm drink at the panging of rain against the glass, my parents would think in the back of their heads about another day lost to make ends meet. Money was always an issue for my parents with five children's mouths to feed. Although they never talked to us about money it was apparent each time we went out. At grocery stores, we always used food stamps and coupons whenever we could to avoid eating out. We would shop for clothes and shoes at yard sales or discount stores. However, the only time they splurged was when it came time to shop for back-to-school essentials. If we needed pens, pencils, papers, notebooks, backpacks, or colored pencils they were there to provide them for us without fretting. My parents valued school, so my mother was always present for every award show we had and when my father came from work he would tell us how proud he was. They would say "Échale ganas en la escuela," which meant "Do your best in school". Those were words I lived by because they didn't have that opportunity to do the same. My father's family never had enough money for basic school supplies for school let alone for food. So he had no choice but to leave his home for the U.S. to become an agricultural worker in the fields. My mom was in a similar boat, working tirelessly for a meager wage that would barely pay for dinner. My parents unanimously felt that they could not possibly give a future to a child of theirs if they could barely get by in Mexico. So, when they got here to the U.S. they saw how just having a high school diploma automatically gave students better working opportunities in life. Since then, they have encouraged us to do our best in school and reach what we want to be because we have the resources to do it. They often tell us that they want us to be better than them instead of working tirelessly under the sun as they have. Although I know what they are saying comes from a good place, I never saw anything wrong with what they chose to do. From what I observed, they were two parents who taught their children the value of hard work, dedication and being humble. They made us appreciate what we had, how putting effort into school would garner fruit from our labor, and if we continue that path we would reach our dreams. I am my parent's child and their dream, so I always proudly declare I am the Mexican-American daughter of Mexican-immigrant parents who gave me what they could only fathom: school. My Hispanic background encourages me to be an example for my siblings and my community to say that you can look like me and pursue education to become what you want to be.

My parents struggled financially raising five kids, being undocumented didn't help either. My mother was only able to finish elementary school while my father only reached middle school. Despite not being able to complete school, they had values they made sure we knew: be respectful, humble, and have an education. They didn't want us to live the same life as them for which they had left their country with only the hope to provide us with an opportunity they had not been able to receive themselves. My mother's dream was to be a teacher, having five kids as a full-time job probably already felt like she was, making sure we were always going in the right direction. Each time there was an assembly of awards, she was there, despite how busy she may be she always managed to be there, camera ready to capture my award with my siblings in tow with my father's words of encouragement before leaving for work. Although my mother and father did not understand English, they would still persevere alongside me with the homework I would be home from school and finish somehow. Their patience with me to finish my homework would always be the reason for which I stood proudly with my awards in front of the camera. They were the reason for which I made their efforts to support me as my motivation for wanting to go to college. So it was done, I only brought home the best grades for my parents. They were proud, I was investing in myself to follow my dreams to become a doctor, specifically, a dermatologist. Walking down my high school stage as valedictorian for my graduation ceremony was what made them swell with tears in their eyes. I had become the first high school graduate in my family, I pursued what my parents could only dream of doing back in their country. Their efforts of waking up as early as five in the morning to get up and go to work every single day for sometimes as long as twelve hours had allowed me to reach my goal of succeeding in school. Now, in college, I am continuing to provide my best efforts. Although there are times which I feel discouraged about my abilities I think back on my parents and how they felt about themselves when they sat through with me during my homework. They probably doubted themselves and loathed that they didn't understand the material since their education didn't extend that far. However, them being there for me is enough, education or not, I love them and appreciate all they have done for me that I hope to make their dreams come true one day as well. For which I keep my spirits up to receive my masters one day and return the favor for my kids and my community to show the beautiful opportunities education can lead to and improve the quality of life of those we care about.