Growing up, I heard two different predictions for my future from my family: either I would get pregnant in high school and raise the baby on my own, like my mom did, or I would get a degree and be successful. My mom, being our biggest cheerleader, always told my older sister and I to strive for more. She wanted us to have a better life than the one she could provide for us. Because of this, I was always invested in school. I wanted to get the best grades and turn in the best work. What I felt I lacked in social skills, I wanted to make up for in my studies. I was a shy child. I wanted to be as invisible as possible because no attention meant there was no possibility for bad, embarrassing attention. Now that I am older, I am still shy. I like to be in the background. However, I am constantly working on myself. I want to leave the self-conscious, nervous person behind and become a confident, out-spoken individual. I am still learning about myself. Although it is a process, I know that I am improving. I love learning languages because it increases the amount of people I can interact with. I am currently learning American Sign Language and French. Learning about different cultures helps me broaden my knowledge and understanding of other people. I genuinely enjoy it! My dream future is satisfying. I am an American Sign Language interpreter at an unknown job, since I am not sure where exactly I want to work at as an interpreter. However, I am an interpreter, enjoying helping others communicate. I am able to help people interact and feel heard. I am a resource for people who want to communicate with others. I am content with my job, as there are many different people I can help. I have bought my own home after working to save up for it. I live near my family, and take frequent trips with them. My dream future makes me happy. The biggest block that stands in the way of me building my dream future is myself. As a self-conscious person, I second-guess myself 99% of the time. As a result, I try to stay within my comfort zone. My brain tells me to do the usual things I am familiar with because the usual cannot hurt me. If I try something new, I may look like a fool or I may fail. As I grow, learning to not judge myself so harshly, I am trying to move out of my comfort zone. I want to try new things and meet new people. I want to go to Deaf events and practice my ASL. I want to be better at group settings. I want to be a better person. Although I am still in the process of improving, I am getting better everyday at looking at the world in a positive way and I hope to bring some happiness into it.

My early childhood had good times and bad times. My mom was a single-mother raising my older sister and I. Our family constantly judged my mom, but never offered her any help. My father was verbally and emotionally abusive to my mom, my sister and I. He would get physical at times, too. My mom decided to separate from him for these reasons. After that, he was never around, which was for the best. My mom went to cosmetology school at night and she worked as a school bus driver during the day. With the little money she made, she paid for live-in sitters, so that my sister and I could stay in the comfort of our grandparents home, where we lived. Although my mom wanted to be there for all of our achievements, she was unable to make the "Student of the Month" award assemblies or bring cupcakes for the class to celebrate our birthdays. I never hold this against her because I know that she was stuck between the choice of being at those assemblies or making enough money to pay for food and bills. Now that I am of college age and work part-time jobs, I try to help out as much at home as I can, whether it is buying groceries or paying for a streaming service that my mom can enjoy. I want to start my career not only for me, but for my mom. My whole life, she has been my biggest cheerleader, opposing my Latino grandfather's constant speeches to my sister and I that we would get pregnant in high school, like my mom did. My mom always told me to go to school and get a degree, so that I can have a better life. I want to lift my mom up with me. I want to give her stability and I want to help her retire early, as she has worked her fair share in her youth. My childhood has made me into the person I am today. I recognize that I am continuously working on letting go of the negative situations of my youth. My father's rejection and my family's constant judgement had made me into a very self-conscious person. They made me into someone who constantly second-guessed herself. Now that I am out of that environment, I am working on telling myself that I am enough, that I am capable, and that I will succeed because ultimately, it is true. I want others to believe that about themselves, too. I do not want anyone to feel rejected or ignored, like I felt as a kid. My dream is to become an American Sign Language Interpreter. I fell in love with the language after taking my first class on it. I have learned so much about the Deaf community, and I have grown a tremendous appreciation for it. I want to help people feel heard and I want to facilitate the communication process between people. I want to be a resource for people who want to speak to each other. I want to bring awareness to the Deaf community. I want to help people's voices be heard because I know how devastating it can be to be silenced.