My parents shielded me well from the ugliness of inequity. At home, I remember celebrating Christmas and unwrapping presents with the biggest smile on my face. At school, I remember attending the field trips my parents allowed me to go on. What I did not see was the struggle behind my happiness. I was a jubilant kid who was unaware that my family’s income and ethnicity dictated what opportunities I had, what resources were given to me, and what my future should look like. I only came to this realization when I began applying to colleges and scholarships. I did not know how to fill out the FAFSA, and I quickly realized that I was an outlier in the system of education: I was a low-income student, a child of immigrants navigating between my identities as American and non-American. Unbeknownst to me, that realization was my first exposure to educational inequity. I tried not to blame myself for discovering the concept of inequity late. I attended a largely poor Black and Latino school district after all - how was I supposed to figure out that students outside of my school had different experiences? This is where my life mission began to formulate - one where I now seek constant justice and change in the education system. This is not an easy issue to fix; the United States was built from the bodies, pain, and spirits of minority communities. The past is one of horror, but the future can be one of prosperity, payment, and justice. Black and Latino students consistently attend schools with the least amount of funding, resources, and hope; as a victim of this system, I simply cannot stand and watch it continue to bring down generations of my community. Individuals who share the same grievances as me may become teachers themselves to have an impact on students. For me, I want to go one step further and insert myself into the policy world of education. Teachers are amazing, but they still have to overcome a multitude of school-wide issues and blockades that they often cannot change or dictate themselves. I hope to alleviate some issues and create more equitable schooling by conducting research and informing policy for local, state, and federal entities. Education is the crux to success, but the current system is broken and leaves children behind. From the school-to-prison pipeline to modern-day segregation and low funding, we cannot, as a nation, stand still and merely bear witness to the destruction of the poor, the minority, and the American child that is left struggling by their school. To be complicit is to accept the underlying mechanisms of classism, racism, sexism, and ableism that built the nation and attempt to dismantle the minority stronghold. I refuse to be complicit and vow to not only receive further education but afterward, directly seek out a career where I can make a direct change to communities that have been plagued by the sins of the nation. As a child of immigrants, a Mexican-American, a first-generation college student, a low-income student, and an LGBTQ+ identifying student, I will commit my life to social justice.