I am making decisions to help my community by first enrolling in a 4 year university, as a first generation student I am setting an example to my younger family members and those in my community that education is an escape and amazing opportunity to uplift our community, especially the one I come from in the Central Valley. I hope with my example my brother and those who feel they cannot achieve higher education realize that nothing is impossible and the obstacles we face can be conquered by way of higher education. I am also applying for many outside scholarships to fund my academic journey and thus support my goals despite the financial difficulties my single parent household faces, this along with my job search are all actions that will help me achieve my goals and benefit my local and national community. The next major decision is my major of political science, by learning the history of politics and immersing myself into the political world I can learn how I can uplift my community and make our voices projected and heard by all to make a true difference. I am just beginning to implement these decisions as I start my collegiate journey but I am already seeing the goals and sacrifices I made in high school, such as with volunteer work, extracurriculars, and spending less time on vices in exchange for preparation and game planning for the next step in life, college. These will all help my community as upon achieving my legal and political goals I can go back and be a beacon of hope and champion for change in my city and be a true role model for the kids of Stockton and hopefully kids across the country that with the help of education all doors become unlocked and nothing in life is impossible. I wish to live a life of no regrets and with the decisions I make today, I know I will live void of regret tomorrow, and hope that any who see this are able to take this message to heart and realize their life’s mission. I hope to be someone that those in my community think upon with fond consideration and an inspiration to my family and those in my community to achieve their goals under any circumstances and show that with the help of Pepperdine University my life’s goals became a reality and that theirs can too as long as they search for resources and put their mind to it.

“ There is no better than adversity. Every defeat, every heartbreak, every loss, contains its own seed, its own lesson on how to improve your performance next time”(Malcolm X). This quote by Malcolm X is something that has made me reflect and fight through my biggest life challenges such as my thyroid illness. It gave me perspective on life and allowed me to reconsider my dedication to my goals and when I felt like giving up on life due to the pain, it made me reconsider and think about my potential to do what is right and change the world as did Malcolm X.