Being homeless was one of my biggest obstacles in life. As a first-generation student who comes from a low-income family, things aren’t always easy. Coming from a single-parent home, money has always been a struggle but due to inflation, things have gotten harder for my family and me. When my dad was deported in 2011 for domestic violence, my mom had to care for 4 kids, including keeping up with all the bills she and my dad used to take care of together. My family was never able to recover from this obstacle, and because of this, we struggled to make ends meet. In 2019 we were forced to move out of Colorado, we could no longer afford it. Leaving behind two of her oldest kids, my mom moved to Gillette, Wyoming in 2019 with my little sister and I. Wyoming was much cheaper but eventually money became an issue. With no other help, we once again decided to move. Moving to Cheyenne, Wyoming in 2020 felt like a fresh start. Moving during a pandemic wasn’t the easiest thing but we were able to manage. During my junior year of high school, I chose to go to online school so I could work full time to try and help ends meet around the house. Things were finally turning around for us. We lived comfortably with the help of low-income housing for a while but eventually, money was becoming a bigger problem. I returned to in-person high school for my senior year of high school so I could graduate a semester early, because of this my income wasn’t much help. Things were becoming extremely expensive for my mom, and she was once again struggling to keep us in place. Around January 2022, housing decided to no longer fund my family. Being behind on rent, our landlord decided it was best we moved out. It was the end of my senior year and things were all over the place for me. As I was trying to stay on track and graduate early, I was also having to move out and find a spot we could move into. My mom and I started fighting a lot because of this. She was very irresponsible so I felt in charge of finding a spot, doing all the paperwork, and still trying to graduate. It all became too much. We moved out in February but by then my mom and I were no longer on speaking terms. She and my little sister went their way and I was forced to go my own way. My last few weeks of high school were very rough, I was sleeping in my car and showering in gym bathrooms. I graduated early and turned 18 a month later. After turning 18, I quickly moved back to Colorado where my sister let me stay with her. Being homeless at such a young age was never what I pictured for myself, it was the most gut-wrenching experience I’ve faced. Although it was an extremely unfortunate time for my family and I, it made me who I am today. Knowing I can surpass that at the age of 18 makes me feel like I can overcome obstacles I’m facing day to day. Being low-income is never easy, but being a low-income student in college makes everything much harder. Receiving this scholarship would be extremely helpful to my college education because it would ease some of my financial burden.