As a bisexual Latin-American woman, I have faced discrimination against my gender, race, and sexual orientation. Despite the hardships I have endured against what I can not control, I acknowledge my role in society, and it’s not as a wife, an observer, or a bystander. Instead, I am a part of an even more significant cause. Throughout my eighteen years on this earth, I have concluded that the discomfort suffered from challenging events is nothing more than another obstacle to overcome. Since I was a young girl, I was doubted by teachers and role models who I admired greatly. In my mind, I began to believe what others said about me, and the constant fear of failure created unavoidable doubts about my capabilities. At the young age of twelve, I was told I would be a high school dropout, and to others, I was trying to be someone I am not, a white girl, and all because I wanted to be an intelligent, successful young woman someday. It wasn’t until I learned to love myself and understand with my time in this world that there are two types of people living among us, those born with gifts at birth and those who worked for their share of the success. While I may not have grown from the most ripened and tallest trees, I can still produce apples worth trying. Before you can learn to overcome hardships and face adversity with the knowledge that you are worthy of being given a chance, you must relinquish those who continue to doubt you, your abilities, and your willingness to work harder and more efficiently than those at the forefront of society. Upon concluding that failure is inevitable, and success is a mentality, you are one step ahead of learning to believe in yourself. Rather than letting others define you, remember that the pain and suffering will be a thing of the past once you become what others said you could never do. Someday, the hardships you must endure, or even the pain that follows, will be a vague memory. At this milestone, the fear you once felt when scared of failure would be overcome by the warm embrace of peace and love. Remember that in this world, you will be degraded, belittled, and beaten down until you forget how to stand on your own. Once you realize empowerment is a mentality and not a gift, the sun will seem brighter, and what others say about you will no longer be a factor that decides your ability to thrive. In the future, I intend to share my experiences as an underrepresented young, brown woman. In the end, the determined will thrive because their ambition leads them on the pathway to success. For all of us, we struggle in life, but it’s not about continuing to struggle but learning to succeed. Moving forward, I intend to continue tutoring underprivileged children and, someday, being a leading figure to a generation of brilliant young minds.