When I first got to the US, I was seven years old, and like every little girl, I dreamed of New York as a magical place. I would be like little girls playing outside in the snow and visiting each other's houses. June 28, 2013, was the day I left home with my mom to open the doors of the American dream with a dad I had barely seen and seven siblings I had just discovered. He brought us to a country where better opportunities were promised. Taking us out of the unfair system of violent crimes and weak education in the Dominican Republic, Eight kids with no knowledge of the English language now shared a one-bedroom apartment. A couple of days into our living in the US, I found it strange that my dad would leave Friday morning and come back Saturday at midnight, repeating the cycle over the weekends. Soon after, I discovered my dad had an alcohol problem, which explains most of his actions. Once school had started, I oversaw getting my siblings ready for school. I was held back by a grade. 'You don't speak our language, were the words of the school secretary. It stung a place within me. During class, kids would pick on me and laugh when I struggled to speak English. Everyone assumed I was just a " border hopper" or that I was just another black kid who was going to end up in the drug world. My little girl's heart was hurt piece by piece. Even though school became a place that hurt me, it fueled my passion for education—being an attorney. I started taking care of other people's children while I was a kid myself. I felt drained and destroyed, with no motive in life. This wasn't the life I envisioned for myself; I wanted to become someone who made an impact in this world instead of feeling like a teen mom of kids I didn't give birth to. On September 26, 2013, Child Services knocked on our door. After being locked out of our house with no belongings, my need for an education persisted. While in the shelter, education slowly illuminated my path into the future. Despite the situation, it was up to me to fend for myself and fulfill my needs. I went to school and brought books to read, and after just two months and a little, I could read and write English. This is where I knew what I wanted to do in life, I wanted to help other families who came to America looking for a better life but faced the sad backlash for their ethnicity. Being an attorney became more than just a dream. It became a passion. The path there wasn't going to be easy, I knew I was coming from a low-income family. Even after struggles, I persevered. Growing to be someone of my own brightens the light of realizing how unappreciated I am of the opportunities gifted to me in life. God put these obstacles in my path to broaden my scope of life and to use this experience as a lesson to be prepared for what the future can hold. One can never imagine what's happening around the corner, but I'll never lose the motivation to provide the world with my knowledge. I will continue knocking on doors to fulfill that passion and little girl's dreams. I started helping local families who didn't have a big support, I helped out at a senior house, helping the seniors in my community by playing games, walking outside, and many more activities.