Taking the exam meme: It is okay to double check #calculator #justtobesafe Tom and Jerry meme: When is the last time you slept? #longnights #keepingmyeyesopen #stressful #expectationvsreality Spongebob meme: It’s still hard to get off from bed. Do you just throw a clean top to join online? #online2020 #spongebobduringCovid #besafe

As we all know, this pandemic was unexpected. I thought this was going to be under control. Unfortunately, as days pass, the numbers get high. I’ve known people such as my coworkers, family, and friends who’ve been exposed to this virus. Luckily, we’ve been trying our best to take care of ourselves because it is still out there. COVID-19 has affected my everyday life such as mental health, education, and work. This outbreak gave me so much stress at the beginning. I was still learning to control my anxiety but when I found out that the virus was serious, I started to get worried about my family. I did not want them to expose themselves. Sadly, my aunt was diagnosed around the summer. I was devastated and started to have these negative thoughts. I never thought that it would reach my family. My mom and I started to find the best medicine out there in the pharmacies. My aunt did not have health care and she did not want to pay any hospital bills. So we helped her out. If she needed food, water, or more medicine. I had this feeling where I thought I was going to lose her. My emotions were all over the place. I was just frightened, nervous, and worried. It was the worst feeling ever. A few months pass and my aunt was still weak. She would get tired easily and thankfully she was tested negative. After she was tested negative, another news hit us hard. One of our family members passed away in our sleep. We were told that it could have been COVID. It was so sad and watching the parents saying their goodbyes was heartbreaking. Not too long ago, I went to go visit his funeral. Now, I am paranoid to keep everything sanitized. I am not the same person before the quarantine. During this time, I learned to appreciate my time with my family. Before, I was so busy with work and school. I was all day out trying to be successful but there was no time with my family. I felt so overwhelmed by the amount of classwork, homework, and my job. Now, I was able to see my mom and siblings more often. I was able to spend time with them. Also, I’ve noticed how lonely I was. I didn’t have any friends to communicate with, hang out with, or even call. I was so focused on trying my best to get a degree. Later on, I noticed that I needed my family and others to help me achieve my goals. This outbreak gave me a positive and negative impact on my life.

Inspiring song: Almost There by Anika Noni Rose (The Princess and the Frog) The playlist includes a few Disney songs. Those songs have a meaning and I can personally relate to them. The other few songs are Pop and they inspire me to be the person I am today. All of these songs I can relate at some point in my life. We all go through some obstacles. The most important message I got from this playlist is perseverance. I am not giving up that easily. No matter the obstacles, I will keep fighting to reach my dream and goals.

Mental health was a part of me and I am still healing. I am afraid to fall again into depression. Let me tell you that it took me a while to get back on my feet. It was affecting my beliefs, relationships, and career aspirations. Back in 2018, my mom was taking me to school and I was barely an incoming freshman. At the same time, I was glad that I was the first in my family to attend college but, I felt empty on the inside. I straight up told her that I did not want to go to school because depression was killing me from the inside. I didn’t know how to express this feeling to my mom. I did not want her to know that I was struggling and that I needed help. My mom was upset hearing that from me. She always saw a happy girl that loves to go to school. It was sad seeing her reactions but somehow I still kept going. I didn’t have many friends so I was pretty lonely through those years. I only had my best friend from elementary school. In 2019, my best friend walked out of my life like nothing. I kept explaining to myself what was wrong with me. I could not take it someone special just walked out of my life and became a stranger. I was trying so hard to keep going but I did not have anyone by my side anymore. My relationship with my loved ones was on bad terms. Am I doing something wrong? From there enter a dark zone where it was only me and all the things that had happened to me. It was around the time where I came back from basic training. The reason that I went to basic training was that I wanted to prove to myself and others that I am strong. That did not happen. I was going to attempt suicide a couple of times. You want to know what stopped me. I was thinking about my mom and siblings. I did not want them to go through the same thing I was going through. Loved ones have always been my motivation to move on. The past can hurt but I chose to learn from it rather than running away from it. Before I went to basic training, I was talking to someone. He seemed like a great guy and we got closer as time passed. When I came back, I was looking forward to seeing him. Then a couple of months passed and I was in a situation where I never thought I was going to be. He gave me a disease but it has a cure thankfully. This disease is in me for the rest of my life. Why did he do this to me? I had a really bad anxiety attack when my mom was trying to figure out what was going on with me. I wasn’t the same after I found what I had. Again, I was devastated and did not want to know anything. I was talking to my Captain and I did mention that I wanted to take my life away. That day, the police officers surround my house so I wouldn’t run away. Peacefully, I talked to them about what was going on and I had other options. Suicide was never the answer but people go through so many things that it hurts so much. I understand anyone going through it because you just want to end the pain and not suffer anymore. You are just empty from the inside and all you have is wounds that won’t heal. Going back, that same day, I was taken to a rehabilitation center. They were asking me so many questions and I was just in pain. So they gave me a pill to relax and from there, I do not remember anything. All of the sudden, I was back home in my bed. My mom got closer to me because she couldn’t imagine how much I been through. Unfortunately, I am not in the Army Reserves anymore. It took some time but I got closer to God. He knows what I could handle and why there are so many obstacles in my life. He is making me stronger and He knows what He is doing. If it weren’t for my loved ones, I would probably not be here at all. I am almost done with school and once I become an Elementary School Teacher, I would love to be there for my kids and show them that there is hope. I want to be able to help those kids in need. I want to make a positive impact in their life and tell them that everything is going to be okay if they are going through something. I want them to talk to me and I want them to know that I will be there for them.

There named are Guero and Fiesty. The small one is Fiesty and she loves to follow you around! Guero is a lazy one. He loves to lay around. They have made a huge impact in my life. They are my best friends and I would never trade them for anything. @karimexo

A time where you made an impact on someone else is my family from Mexico. My family had no food and I decided to travel with my other family members to give them food cans, food in bags, clothes, and my grandma a brand new walker so she can walk. It makes me happy that I was able to help them out.

I am a emotional person and I cry for every great moment happening to anyone. I went through an experience where my mom could not buy us Christmas gifts so one day we were surprised that there were gifts under the tree. I thought that Santa Claus existed but truly it was my mom. My mom volunteered and they gave her gifts for us. She was so grateful but it wasn’t really about gifts, it was about helping others. I know there will be people crying for giving them a hand and for their time. Volunteering is a great opportunity for me. Helping people has always been part of me. I would either volunteer in food banks or personally. Recently, I volunteered to help my family in Mexico. My family was going through some rough times. It makes me sad that they did not have any food or hot water available to them. Some relatives and I decided to collect food cans and bags so we can send some to them. I did donate an adult walker to my grandma. She was so happy and cried happy tears because this will help her get to places. It gives me a great sensation when giving and helping others. Also, we gave them clothes so they can sell and make some profit out of it. It is not that much we are giving but giving a little hand will help give a boost. The greatest challenge facing when giving back is being within our budget. Coming from a low-income family, it is hard to only do so much. I just wish I can do so much more and help them financially but unfortunately I can only help with what I can afford. With this grant, I will use it to further my work by paying for my school. This will help me save up more money for helping others. I would be able to have a great career and use that to help raise funds to help families across. My career is to become an elementary school teacher and I know there will be students who will go through some rough times. I would reach out to families and give resources if they ever do need help. Nobody should go through a night where they had no dinner. It will be a great honor to help those who need help. There were times where I and my family could only afford beans, rice, or eggs. It was so sad seeing my mom being stressed because she could not afford food for us. We start volunteering in food banks so we can pick up the pallets, cardboard, and any recycling so we can sell it and get a few dollars. Those years are tough but we were happy that we were able to help out. As long as we are helping the community, it will make us happy. Some people need more help than us. I know there are kids out there who do not have food or shelter. For me, it is important to reach out to those families and give them resources that are available for them. I just want to see a smile on their faces and that everything is going to be okay.

Black Friday is right around the corner! Everyone will go crazy for those amazing deals. Last year, I started going shopping on Black Friday and I made sure to take notes for this year. My favorite influencer is BudgetGirl! She is a YouTuber with over 65.9k subscribers. She is known as the budget master. Watching her videos has taught me about personal finance. She is great at giving advice. A favorite tool that I used for learning personal finance is setting goals. For me, it is important to know what I need so I can start saving up! Also, I started to use an app that I didn’t know that existed and it is one of my favorites. Thanks to bold.org, I was able to download Ibotta. It is an app that gives coupons to save money if you are purchasing something. Not only that but it gives cash back! I will recommend this app to anyone. Saving money for school has been a struggle and this Black Friday will help me get things that I need for myself and my family.

I will always check behind the bush for my package when I come home. I even named my bush Cyan because he is a little suspicious. Every time I order something, I make sure to write in the instructions to hide packages behind my bush. I just love to shop! My top three favorite places to order online are Amazon, Shein, and Target. Amazon and Target have great offers! I can find anything I want in there. Shein is a clothing online store. It has amazing clothing which is most of my closet. Shopping online is more like a hobby. I always keep an eye out for any special deals. Christmas is right around the corner! I know these deals will help save money especially coming from a large family.

I bumped into the pole from glancing at those beautiful light brown eyes. Right there, I instantly fell in love. With a red forehead, I smiled crazily at him. When I got to know him better, let me tell you that his personality and goofiness made me fall harder for him. Well, I never thought that he would save my life. I am super thankful for him and for being part of my life. He makes me feel special with his amazing poems that are dedicated to me. He tells me that I inspire him. God saw me at my lowest and sent this beautiful angel my way. I was going through some tough moments which I thought no one would ever love me. The next day, that changed. Every time I see him, my eyes sparkle from happiness. I still feel those butterflies in my stomach. Thank you for making me feel beautiful. Thank you for having patience. Thank you for showing me how to love again. I want to give him a huge thank you for everything he has done for me. Most importantly, he is the love of my life.

My greatest challenge that I have ever faced is taking ELL classes in elementary school to better my English. English is a hard language to learn and coming from a family who speaks only Spanish. There were times where I didn’t want to learn English at all. Also, there was homework that I didn’t understand so I had to use a dictionary to translate or my mom will try explaining the material in Spanish. In high school, I was still embarrassed. I was always that shy girl because I was scared that someone will judge me for speaking English. I always hang out with friends who spoke Spanish and English. I would listen to them on how they would say things so I won't say incorrectly. I’ve overcome my challenge by getting support from others. I just knew that I wasn’t by myself and there were a lot of resources available for me. I will get embarrassed to talk because I was scared that other kids will make fun of me when I speak. Later on, I know I should not be ashamed. Others struggle as well. A lesson I learned is that to never give up even if it’s hard. It will get better along the way. The more practice I have, I will be able to teach my mom English or help her translate. Even though I still have a small accent, I am willing to help other people who are struggling in learning English. We all make mistakes but I am not ashamed of someone correcting me. Your greatest challenge would make you the person that you are today. It can make you a strong person because of the obstacles that you went through.

@karimexo I just think it was pretty funny with the kid snitching. The old lady is going to be me hehe

In Spring 2018, I got invited to a special ceremony. Let me tell you that my heart was racing super fast and I was wiping tears from my face. I could not believe it. I am about to go to my dream school. Going to a University has been my greatest achievement. I didn’t think that I was going to afford to go to a private university or community college but I had an amazing opportunity. This opportunity opened so many doors to me that I cried in the ceremony when they announced that I got a full-ride scholarship. I am the first generation from my family to go to University. I will never forget my mom’s reaction when I told her that I’m in. My mom has always been there for me and she took both roles as a dad for me. Now that I have the opportunity to go to college, I want to have the whole experience by living on campus. Living on campus would be so helpful because I take the bus to school and sometimes to work. I noticed that there people who struggle to go to college and that’s what it taught me. I need to work hard so they know that they chose the right person to receive that scholarship. It was not easy, especially coming from a low-income family. I always thought that I would never have the opportunity to have a career because we did not have enough money to pay off college. My original plan was to look for a job right after high school and the next year, I will apply to a community college. I had an option to take out a loan but I did not want to risk it. I would rather help my family out to pay the bills. Sometimes I would go with my mom to sell fruits, vegetables, and so many other things. It got to the point where my siblings and I would help by picking up cans and bottles to help out. Also, picking up cardboard and pallets. We will sell that stuff to get some money. I look back and I want to give another huge thank you to those people who guided me. If it weren’t for them then I would have been struggling to save up for school. In the future, I hope to become a teacher for elementary students. I want to help those kids so they can succeed. Since I was little, I have been having so much patience when it comes to kids. I have five younger siblings and I would always play imaginary games with them. I would teach them all subjects and give them homework. I would be their teacher. Now that I am in college, I hope I graduate and become a teacher. It would be a blessing because knowing all those obstacles that I had to go through, it is not going to let me down. Those kids will be our future generation. For me, it is important to guide them in the right direction. I want to make sure that they would get enough resources so they would not struggle as much as I did.