My parents both come from low-income backgrounds, so when I was born I immediately was stuck in this socioeconomic disadvantage, and in spite of how hard my parents tried to shield me from facing this fact it was something that I always carried with me. They split before I gained any real sense of consciousness, so having my parents being split on top of both of them working minimum wage jobs made it really difficult for them to hide from me where we stood in the world. Of course I didn't realize I was "poor", but hearing the other kids talk about their plans for their birthday, or even something as small as talking about how they would have sleep over at each others houses clued me in that I was different, I didn't have a house, I hardly had enough room for me and my brother with my mom, and my dad hopped between living with my grandma and a dingy trailer, I couldn't fathom what it must have been like for those kids who had a place they wouldn't be ashamed to bring their friends over to. I plan on taking all these learned experiences and using them as fuel to achieve my goals, I know how much it sucks to be poor, and how limiting it is to the choices you can make in life, which is why I work so hard to get my education, to expand my options and guarantee that my future won't be depressing as my past. Knowing my parents' background and just how hard they had to work, merely to survive, is nothing short of shattering to me, so I want to take the opportunities that have come my way and made the most of to show them that what they have done for me was worthwhile, not because of an obligation to merely make them proud, but so I can show them just how much I love them for, and that not only do I see all the hard-work they have put in to give me some semblance of a normal childhood. I also plan to work towards an high enough level of education that I can work a job that will provide for my family, so when my children grow up they never have to feel the same sense of shame that I did, and their options will not be limited by something they can't control, but rather what they dream of doing in the future

My college degree will change the path of not only my life, but the lives of the future generations of my family by being an explicit mark of change. My parents were people who came from struggling backgrounds, and they themselves faced a litany of issues that all culminated in them not being able to pursue a higher education, and having to find minimal jobs that could make ends meet. In spite of this setback, however, I have been granted the opportunity from their sacrifice to be able to pursue a higher degree of education, and by actually going and getting it, I will give my future children and onward the opportunity of freedom. I refuse to let my kids have to have to worry about choosing between their dreams and having food on their plate at the end of the week, I want them to be able to wake up every morning knowing they don't have sacrificing their dreams because the world said so, and that whatever they choose to do will come from it being what they want, and not something needed to be done out of necessity. This degree is also something very personal to me, knowing my parents' background and just how hard they had to work, merely to survive, is nothing short of shattering to me, so I want to take the opportunities that have come my way and made the most of to show them that what they have done for me was worthwhile, not because I feel obligated to bring some sense of honor to them, but so they know just how much I love them for their hard work, and that I too will work hard so nobody else in my family will have to put in so much effort to barely manage to scrape by. I am extremely passionate about psychology and how to best help individuals who are held back by mental afflictions that they themselves do not understand, and to pursue I have put myself to work, taking college psychology and sociology courses, taking a Principles of Education extracurricular, along with joining the Texas Association of Future Educators to better understand the sort of guiding hand that is most beneficial for children and what needs they have in an exucational environment, and I am of course actually going into college to get a degree in the subject and work in the field.