Approaching Ms. Ward, all you see is a smile on her face, asking how your day has been, being extremely nice, and even offering assistance if you need it. What a lot of people don’t realize is that behind the smile was a single mother who, deep down, was very depressed and didn’t know if she would even be able to afford certain things for the household. Growing up without a father, I always asked for toys, very expensive video games, and occasionally some McDonald's, but I did not truly know the suffering she went through for me until I became an adult myself. For as long as I have known my mom, she has always worked very hard to take care of what needs to get done. Around 2010-2011, she had gotten on disability from constantly getting migraines and has relied on a fixed income ever since. Due to this change, among other factors, we constantly moved to different cities, and I was always confused as to why I had to keep switching schools. We eventually ended up within the Central Valley, and have lived in a 300 sq. ft studio home for 10 years, compromising personal space just to have something where she could afford the cost of living in California. Throughout this time, we occasionally went on trips to certain places to make memories that she knew would last a lifetime. However, all of this came at a huge cost: she went into debt and even sacrificed her credit score just to ensure I had a good time growing up and got things that I wanted. As a teenager, my mom wanted to reveal what she had gone through financially. I remembered seeing all of her credit cards that she had to use up, and constantly calculating the total. From what seemed like thousands of bills, I added up over $30,000 in credit card debt, not including the countless loans she took out. I stood there, remaining shocked at how she was able to even be here despite living on a very low fixed income and still being able to get certain things. I teared up at the fact that my mom went through so much and had no assistance to help her. This sparked a motive in me to do something where I can help my mom while I could, and try to help those who may be in situations like she was. At age 16, I applied to over 50 jobs, hoping to relieve some of her stress. After getting my first job at a movie theatre, I worked many hours to help give the majority of the money to my mom. This also encouraged me to pursue higher education at my local community college, where I am going for a career within the legal field, not just to make enough where I could help her out in the future, but also in the hopes of helping those who are in these types of situations. From becoming an adult, I had no realization of the things that my mom sacrificed for us. This changed me as a person and helped me understand that not everything comes easily in life. In addition, my mom helped me discover that no matter the hardships that occur, you will always survive through strength and determination, as shown through her tough times. Through this, I plan to stay determined towards my mission to help others and always offer help, even if the person seems to be smiling as if everything is okay.