Twenty-six years. That is 9,490 days of patience, empathy and perseverance I, as an individual, have undergone in order to be where I am today. Through the 9,490 days, I have gone through multiple milestones that have encouraged a deep desire of mine. What desire you might ask? Well, I’d say affectively displaying oral health care and knowledge to patients of all backgrounds. My desire of becoming a dental hygienist in my community has been a childhood dream of mine since I can remember. Many ask why I chose this career path and honestly, it all roots from experience and willingness to help others. As a child with no familiarity to such procedures and treatments, every recall appointment was different. Being in an Op chair with not a single clue in the world was an experience only I can believe to be horrific yet exciting. As a young girl with anxious tendencies and parents with a language barrier, I learned to be patient through the process. Nonetheless, I learned that although my experience in the Op chair wasn't as fun, I knew one day I could change the perspective of someone else’s child...by becoming a dental hygienist and advocating the knowledge to improve their experience. Within the first 15 years of living in the United States—my parents’ definition of the American Dream’ was: find a job, get money and send financial support to families in Mexico. As for myself, I spent time being the care-taker of a sibling while also being actively bullied at school for being overweight and “slow”. Within years to come, I found myself doubting my educational journey, due to my learning difficulties. Why was I slow to understand things but yet fast to forget details? Would I finish high school? Would I get into college with the pace of my learning? It wasn’t until the age of twenty-five where I was later diagnosed with ADHD. All the years of frustration, crying and lack of understanding finally made sense. Yet, during the time I was unaware of this information, my views and goals were doubtful and unclear. Was this truly the 'American Dream' everyone talked about? There were days where I wouldn’t attend class, get letters from the court system and even calls from advisors. With little to no educational guidance, I persevered. I enrolled into credit retrieval, obtained my high school diploma and went on to continue my education at Seattle Central Community college. I never visualized myself with an educational background, but yet here I am—typing a scholarship essay for a COLLEGE. Through life situations such as; being placed in a different country, nearly dropping out of high school, and getting a late diagnosis of ADHD made it heavy on my existence. However, life events such as these have been placed into my life for the better of my being. I have learned how to be patient, strong and ambitious. Nonetheless, I am eager to grant myself the opportunity of becoming a First-Generation college graduate, as well as the first aspiring Latina to receive a Bachelor’s of Applied Science within my family tree. Slow and steady wins the race.

Twenty-six years. That is 9,490 days of patience, empathy and perseverance I, as an individual, have undergone in order to be where I am today. Through the 9,490 days, I have gone through multiple milestones that have encouraged a deep desire of mine. What desire you might ask? Well, I’d say affectively displaying oral health care and knowledge to patients of all backgrounds. Whether that is showing awareness within diseases that root from the oral cavity, to the wits end of teaching someone how to correctly floss-"C-shaped", my desire of becoming a dental hygienist in my community has been a childhood dream of mine since I can remember. Many ask why I chose this career path and honestly, it all roots from experience and willingness to help others. As a child with no familiarity to such procedures and treatments, every recall appointment was different. Having parents with a language barrier was extremely difficult alongside the additional disparities, but we stayed positive. My family and I migrated to the United States in 1998, from Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. Within the first 15 years of living on the land of opportunity—my parents’ definition of the American Dream’ was: find a job, get money and send financial support to families in Mexico. Nonetheless, I spent time being the care-taker of a sibling while also being actively bullied at school for being overweight and “slow”. Within years to come, I found myself doubting my educational journey; due to my learning difficulties and needing additional IEP/ELL courses. Being bilingual is a beautiful thing, but during my adolescents...it didn't feel like such. I had to teach myself the English language. Why was I slow to understand things but yet fast to forget details? Would I finish high school? Would I get into college with the pace of my learning and english comprehension? It wasn’t until the age of twenty-five where I was later diagnosed with ADHD. All the years of frustration, crying and lack of understanding finally made sense. As a young girl with anxious tendencies and parents with a language barrier, I learned to be patient through the process. Nonetheless, I learned that although my experience had its tribulations- I knew one day I could change the perspective of someone else’s child...by becoming a dental hygienist and advocating knowledge in Spanish AND English. As for my educational program, I am eager to be granted an opportunity of becoming a First-Generation college graduate, as well as the first aspiring Latina to receive a Bachelor’s of Applied Science within my family tree. Being bilingual isn't as bad as I thought.

Your body temperature is fighting the frigid Rio Grande, but what is on your mind besides assuring the child you possess in your arms receives a better life? the torrent is only a stepping stone. The infant that was held in the arms of the hopeful mother crossing Rio Grande could only imagine the pain and power needed to do such task. The infant in question, is me. Raised within multiple babysitters, and strangers resulted in absent and avoidant parents. Their focus lacked parental and educational needs. As for the ‘American Dream’ itself, it contains numerous definitions. Within the first 15 years of living on the land of opportunity—my parents’ definition of the American Dream’ was: find a job, get money and send financial support to families in Mexico. As for myself, I spent time being the care-taker of a sibling while also being actively bullied at school for being overweight and “slow”. Within years to come, I fell in love with my imperfections but found myself doubting my educational journey, due to my learning difficulties. Why was I slow to understand things but yet fast to forget details? Would I finish high school? Would I get into college with the pace of my learning? It wasn’t until the age of twenty-five where I was later diagnosed with ADHD. All the years of frustration, crying and lack of understanding finally made sense. Yet, during the time I was unaware of this information, my views and goals were doubtful and unclear. Was this truly the 'American Dream' everyone talked about? There were days where I wouldn’t attend class, get letters from the court system and even calls from advisors. With little to no educational guidance, I persevered. I enrolled into credit retrieval, obtained my high school diploma and went on to continue my education at Seattle Central Community college. I never visualized myself with an educational background, but yet here I am—typing a scholarship essay for a COLLEGE. Through life situations such as; being placed in a different country, nearly dropping out of high school, and getting a late diagnosis of ADHD made it heavy on my existence. However, life events such as these have been placed into my life to be pieced within each other for the better. I have gone through multiple milestones that have encouraged a deep desire of mine. What desire you might ask? Well, I’d say affectively displaying oral health care and knowledge to patients of all backgrounds. My desire of becoming a dental hygienist in my community has been a childhood dream of mine since I can remember. Many ask why I chose this career path and honestly, it all roots from experience and willingness to help others. As a child with no familiarity to such procedures and treatments, every recall appointment was different. As a young girl with anxious tendencies and parents with a language barrier, I learned to be patient through the process. Nonetheless, I learned that although my experience in the Op chair wasn't as fun, I knew one day I could change the perspective of someone else’s child...by becoming a dental hygienist and advocating the knowledge to improve their experience. I'm eager to grant myself the opportunity of becoming a First-Generation college graduate as well as the first aspiring Latina to receive a Bachelor’s of Applied Science within my family tree. One day my wish will be fulfilled.

There’s no going back. It’s freezing and you’re holding an infant in a treacherous current. Your body temperature is fighting the frigid Rio Grande, but what is on your mind besides assuring the child you possess in your arms receives a better life? the torrent is only a stepping stone. The infant that was held in the arms of the hopeful mother crossing Rio Grande could only imagine the pain and power needed to do such task. The infant in question, is me. Raised within multiple babysitters, and strangers resulted in absent and avoidant parents. Their focus lacked parental and educational needs. As for the ‘American Dream’ itself, it contains numerous definitions. The first 15 years of living on the land of opportunity—my parents’ definition of the American Dream’ was: find a job, get money and send financial support to families in Mexico. As for myself, I spent time being the care-taker of a sibling while also being actively bullied at school for being overweight and “slow”. Within years to come, I fell in love with my imperfections but found myself doubting my educational journey, due to my learning difficulties. Why was I slow to understand things but yet fast to forget details? Would I finish high school? Would I get into college with the pace of my learning? It wasn’t until the age of twenty-five where I was later diagnosed with ADHD. All the years of frustration, crying and lack of understanding finally made sense. Yet, during the time I was unaware of this information, my views and goals were doubtful and unclear. Was this truly the 'American Dream' everyone talked about? There were days where I wouldn’t attend class, get letters from the court system and even calls from advisors. With little to no educational guidance, I persevered. You can’t succeed without trial and error. I enrolled into credit retrieval, obtained my high school diploma and went on to continue my education at Seattle Central Community college In Washington State. I never visualized myself with an educational background, but yet here I am—typing a scholarship essay for a COLLEGE. Through life situations such as; being placed in a different country, nearly dropping out of high school, and getting a late diagnosis of ADHD made it heavy on my existence. Life events such as these have been placed into my life to be pieced within each other for the better. Not only have I learned to be resilient, but I learned that the American Dream is to persevere, believe and work for what you want. This is the American Dream. If it wasn't for my parents, I wouldn't be here today granting myself the opportunity of becoming a First-Generation college graduate as well as the first aspiring Latina to receive a Bachelor’s of Applied Science within my family tree.

There’s no going back. It’s freezing and you’re holding an infant in a treacherous current. Your body temperature is fighting the frigid Rio Grande, but what is on your mind besides assuring the child you possess in your arms receives a better life? the torrent is only a stepping stone. The infant that was held in the arms of the hopeful mother crossing Rio Grande could only imagine the pain and power needed to do such task. The infant in question, is me. Raised within multiple babysitters, and strangers resulted in absent and avoidant parents. Their focus lacked parental and educational needs. As for the ‘American Dream’ itself, it contains numerous definitions. Within the first 15 years of living on the land of opportunity—my parents’ definition of the American Dream’ was: find a job, get money and send financial support to families in Mexico. As for myself, I spent time being the care-taker of a sibling while also being actively bullied at school for being overweight and “slow”. Within years to come, I fell in love with my imperfections but found myself doubting my educational journey, due to my learning difficulties. Why was I slow to understand things but yet fast to forget details? Would I finish high school? Would I get into college with the pace of my learning? It wasn’t until the age of twenty-five where I was later diagnosed with ADHD. All the years of frustration, crying and lack of understanding finally made sense. Yet, during the time I was unaware of this information, my views and goals were doubtful and unclear. Was this truly the 'American Dream' everyone talked about? There were days where I wouldn’t attend class, get letters from the court system and even calls from advisors. With little to no educational guidance, I persevered. Because you can’t succeed without trial and error. I enrolled into credit retrieval, obtained my high school diploma and went on to continue my education at Seattle Central Community college. I never visualized myself with an educational background, but yet here I am—typing a scholarship essay for a COLLEGE. Through life situations such as; being placed in a different country, nearly dropping out of high school, and getting a late diagnosis of ADHD made it heavy on my existence. However, life events such as these have been placed into my life to be pieced within each other for the better. I strive to one day be able to advocate for children and at-risk communities, such as myself, in order to make a difference.

There’s no going back. It’s freezing and you’re holding an infant in a treacherous current. Your body temperature is fighting the frigid Rio Grande, but what is on your mind besides assuring the child you possess in your arms receives a better life? the torrent is only a stepping stone. The infant that was held in the arms of the hopeful mother crossing Rio Grande could only imagine the pain and power needed to do such task. The infant in question, is me. Raised within multiple babysitters, and strangers resulted in absent and avoidant parents. Their focus lacked parental and educational needs. As for the ‘American Dream’ itself, it contains numerous definitions. Within the first 15 years of living on the land of opportunity—my parents’ definition of the American Dream’ was: find a job, get money and send financial support to families in Mexico. As for myself, I spent time being the care-taker of a sibling while also being actively bullied at school for being overweight and “slow”. Within years to come, I fell in love with my imperfections but found myself doubting my educational journey, due to my learning difficulties. Why was I slow to understand things but yet fast to forget details? Would I finish high school? Would I get into college with the pace of my learning? It wasn’t until the age of twenty-five where I was later diagnosed with ADHD. All the years of frustration, crying and lack of understanding finally made sense. Yet, during the time I was unaware of this information, my views and goals were doubtful and unclear. Was this truly the 'American Dream' everyone talked about? There were days where I wouldn’t attend class, get letters from the court system and even calls from advisors. With little to no educational guidance, I persevered. Because you can’t succeed without trial and error. I enrolled into credit retrieval, obtained my high school diploma and went on to continue my education at Seattle Central Community college. I never visualized myself with an educational background, but yet here I am—typing a scholarship essay for a COLLEGE. Through life situations such as; being placed in a different country, nearly dropping out of high school, and getting a late diagnosis of ADHD made it heavy on my existence. However, life events such as these have been placed into my life to be pieced within each other for the better. I strive to one day be able to advocate for children and at-risk communities, such as myself, in order to make a difference.

There’s no going back. It’s freezing and you’re holding an infant in a treacherous current. Your body temperature is fighting the frigid Rio Grande, but what is on your mind besides assuring the child you possess in your arms receives a better life? the torrent is only a stepping stone. The infant that was held in the arms of the hopeful mother crossing Rio Grande could only imagine the pain and power needed to do such task. The infant in question, is me. Raised within multiple babysitters, and strangers resulted in absent and avoidant parents. Their focus lacked parental and educational needs. As for the ‘American Dream’ itself, it contains numerous definitions. Within the first 15 years of living on the land of opportunity—my parents’ definition of the American Dream’ was: find a job, get money and send financial support to families in Mexico. As for myself, I spent time being the care-taker of a sibling while also being actively bullied at school for being overweight and “slow”. Within years to come, I fell in love with my imperfections but found myself doubting my educational journey, due to my learning difficulties. Why was I slow to understand things but yet fast to forget details? Would I finish high school? Would I get into college with the pace of my learning? It wasn’t until the age of twenty-five where I was later diagnosed with ADHD. All the years of frustration, crying and lack of understanding finally made sense. Yet, during the time I was unaware of this information, my views and goals were doubtful and unclear. Was this truly the 'American Dream' everyone talked about? There were days where I wouldn’t attend class, get letters from the court system and even calls from advisors. With little to no educational guidance, I persevered. Because you can’t succeed without trial and error. I enrolled into credit retrieval, obtained my high school diploma and went on to continue my education at Seattle Central Community college. I never visualized myself with an educational background, but yet here I am—typing a scholarship essay for a COLLEGE. Through life situations such as; being placed in a different country, nearly dropping out of high school, and getting a late diagnosis of ADHD made it heavy on my existence. However, life events such as these have been placed into my life to be pieced within each other for the better. I strive to one day be able to advocate for children and at-risk communities, such as myself, in order to make a difference.

There’s no going back. It’s freezing and you’re holding an infant in a treacherous current. Your body temperature is fighting the frigid Rio Grande, but what is on your mind besides assuring the child you possess in your arms receives a better life? the torrent is only a stepping stone. The infant that was held in the arms of the hopeful mother crossing Rio Grande could only imagine the pain and power needed to do such task. The infant in question, is me. Raised within multiple babysitters, and strangers resulted in absent and avoidant parents. Their focus lacked parental and educational needs. As for the ‘American Dream’ itself, it contains numerous definitions. Within the first 15 years of living on the land of opportunity—my parents’ definition of the American Dream’ was: find a job, get money and send financial support to families in Mexico. As for myself, I spent time being the care-taker of a sibling while also being actively bullied at school for being overweight and “slow”. Within years to come, I fell in love with my imperfections but found myself doubting my educational journey, due to my learning difficulties. Why was I slow to understand things but yet fast to forget details? Would I finish high school? Would I get into college with the pace of my learning? It wasn’t until the age of twenty-five where I was later diagnosed with ADHD. All the years of frustration, crying and lack of understanding finally made sense. Yet, during the time I was unaware of this information, my views and goals were doubtful and unclear. Was this truly the 'American Dream' everyone talked about? There were days where I wouldn’t attend class, get letters from the court system and even calls from advisors. With little to no educational guidance, I persevered. Because you can’t succeed without trial and error. I enrolled into credit retrieval, obtained my high school diploma and went on to continue my education at Seattle Central Community college. I never visualized myself with an educational background, but yet here I am—typing a scholarship essay for a COLLEGE. Through life situations such as; being placed in a different country, nearly dropping out of high school, and getting a late diagnosis of ADHD made it heavy on my existence. However, life events such as these have been placed into my life to be pieced within each other for the better. I strive to one day be able to advocate for children and at-risk communities, such as myself, in order to make a difference.

There’s no going back. It’s freezing and you’re holding an infant in a treacherous current. Your body temperature is fighting the frigid Rio Grande, but what is on your mind besides assuring the child you possess in your arms receives a better life? the torrent is only a stepping stone. The infant that was held in the arms of the hopeful mother crossing Rio Grande could only imagine the pain and power needed to do such task. The infant in question, is me. Raised within multiple babysitters, and strangers resulted in absent and avoidant parents. Their focus lacked parental and educational needs. As for the ‘American Dream’ itself, it contains numerous definitions. Within the first 15 years of living on the land of opportunity—my parents’ definition of the American Dream’ was: find a job, get money and send financial support to families in Mexico. As for myself, I spent time being the care-taker of a sibling while also being actively bullied at school for being overweight and “slow”. Within years to come, I fell in love with my imperfections but found myself doubting my educational journey, due to my learning difficulties. Why was I slow to understand things but yet fast to forget details? Would I finish high school? Would I get into college with the pace of my learning? It wasn’t until the age of twenty-five where I was later diagnosed with ADHD. All the years of frustration, crying and lack of understanding finally made sense. Yet, during the time I was unaware of this information, my views and goals were doubtful and unclear. Was this truly the 'American Dream' everyone talked about? There were days where I wouldn’t attend class, get letters from the court system and even calls from advisors. With little to no educational guidance, I persevered. Because you can’t succeed without trial and error. I enrolled into credit retrieval, obtained my high school diploma and went on to continue my education at Seattle Central Community college. I never visualized myself with an educational background, but yet here I am—typing a scholarship essay for a COLLEGE. Through life situations such as; being placed in a different country, nearly dropping out of high school, and getting a late diagnosis of ADHD made it heavy on my existence. However, life events such as these have been placed into my life to be pieced within each other for the better.

There’s no going back. It’s freezing and you’re holding an infant in a treacherous current. Your body temperature is fighting the frigid Rio Grande, but what is on your mind besides assuring the child you possess in your arms receives a better life? the torrent is only a stepping stone. The infant that was held in the arms of the hopeful mother crossing Rio Grande could only imagine the pain and power needed to do such task. The infant in question, is me. Raised within multiple babysitters, and strangers resulted in absent and avoidant parents. Their focus lacked parental and educational needs. As for the ‘American Dream’ itself, it contains numerous definitions. Within the first 15 years of living on the land of opportunity—my parents’ definition of the American Dream’ was: find a job, get money and send financial support to families in Mexico. As for myself, I spent time being the care-taker of a sibling while also being actively bullied at school for being overweight and “slow”. Within years to come, I fell in love with my imperfections but found myself doubting my educational journey, due to my learning difficulties. Why was I slow to understand things but yet fast to forget details? Would I finish high school? Would I get into college with the pace of my learning? It wasn’t until the age of twenty-five where I was later diagnosed with ADHD. All the years of frustration, crying and lack of understanding finally made sense. Yet, during the time I was unaware of this information, my views and goals were doubtful and unclear. Was this truly the 'American Dream' everyone talked about? There were days where I wouldn’t attend class, get letters from the court system and even calls from advisors. With little to no educational guidance, I persevered. Because you can’t succeed without trial and error. I enrolled into credit retrieval, obtained my high school diploma and went on to continue my education at Seattle Central Community college. I never visualized myself with an educational background, but yet here I am—typing a scholarship essay for a COLLEGE. Through life situations such as; being placed in a different country, nearly dropping out of high school, and getting a late diagnosis of ADHD made it heavy on my existence. However, life events such as these have been placed into my life to be pieced within each other for the better.

There’s no going back. It’s freezing and you’re holding an infant in a treacherous current. Your body temperature is fighting the frigid Rio Grande, but what is on your mind besides assuring the child you possess in your arms receives a better life? the torrent is only a stepping stone. The infant that was held in the arms of the hopeful mother crossing Rio Grande could only imagine the pain and power needed to do such task. The infant in question, is me. Raised within multiple babysitters, and strangers resulted in absent and avoidant parents. Their focus lacked parental and educational needs. As for the ‘American Dream’ itself, it contains numerous definitions. Within the first 15 years of living on the land of opportunity—my parents’ definition of the American Dream’ was: find a job, get money and send financial support to families in Mexico. As for myself, I spent time being the care-taker of a sibling while also being actively bullied at school for being overweight and “slow”. Within years to come, I fell in love with my imperfections but found myself doubting my educational journey, due to my learning difficulties. Why was I slow to understand things but yet fast to forget details? Would I finish high school? Would I get into college with the pace of my learning? It wasn’t until the age of twenty-five where I was later diagnosed with ADHD. All the years of frustration, crying and lack of understanding finally made sense. Yet, during the time I was unaware of this information, my views and goals were doubtful and unclear. Was this truly the 'American Dream' everyone talked about? There were days where I wouldn’t attend class, get letters from the court system and even calls from advisors. With little to no educational guidance, I persevered. Because you can’t succeed without trial and error. I enrolled into credit retrieval, obtained my high school diploma and went on to continue my education at Seattle Central Community college. I never visualized myself with an educational background, but yet here I am—typing a scholarship essay for a COLLEGE. Through life situations such as; being placed in a different country, nearly dropping out of high school, and getting a late diagnosis of ADHD made it heavy on my existence. However, life events such as these have been placed into my life to be pieced within each other for the better. Nonetheless, If I could walk in someone's shoes for one day...it would have to be my parents. Although I have gone through my own life events, I now am slowly understanding the meaning behind why they decided to come to America. The strength and power it takes to leave your family behind in a different country for the sake of your children's future is admirable yet astounding. Only a person with such perseverance can handle such duty. A difficult, yet beautiful sacrifice.