Financial peace to me means complete financial stability, and the ability to easily afford all your necessities. Financial peace is important to me because it’ll allow me to live comfortably, and take care of others. Today, I spend most of my time working in order to pay rent, tuition, and groceries. If these stressors were gone, I’d spend my time volunteering and bettering myself. In the future if financial stressors were no issue, I’d still spend my time giving back to those in need and my local community. Living comfortably is extremely important to me, and having no financial stressors would make this come to fruition. With no financial stressors I’d be able to live life comfortably, bettering myself each day and focus on my passions. Rather than spending time working or stressing about all the things I’d need to pay, instead I’d exercise, acquire new knowledge, and do whatever I could to improve my health. Today, as a university student I don’t have much time to focus on myself and how I feel. Struggling to make ends meet, staying up late to study for exams, and eating cheap meals are all problems that would be solved if I had no financial stressors. This would also be beneficial for my future, as taking care of yourself in old age is more important than when you're in your youth. Having no financial stressors would also allow me to focus on my passions. Instead of spending my time making sure I can afford my necessities, I would get back into jogging, and start creating videos for my enjoyment. In the future with no financial stressors I’d spend lots of time learning new things like playing the bass guitar, or getting back into animation. These passions are all things that I wouldn’t be able to give adequate time to with financial problems constantly berating me. Not only this, but with more free time I’d be able to give a lot more back to my community. Taking care of my community is an important part of my character, and helping people financially or by being available is much more feasible with no financial stressors. With no financial stressors, I’d have enough disposable income to help people out when necessary. I’d be able to use the money that normally goes into paying rent, for helping unfortunate groups who are down on their luck. Even in the future, there will always be tragedies that occur and need money to fix. Even more importantly, is that with no financial burdens I’d be able to physically help those in need. Today, I often participate in beach sweeps, fundraisers, and other forms of volunteering and community service. However, due to the necessity for money I’m not able to help as often as I’d like. If I had no financial stressors a large portion of my free time would go to acts of service and volunteering. In the future these same rules still apply, spending time helping others will always be important to me. Financial peace is important to me because it allows me to better myself, and help others. There are many things I’d love to do, and lots of people I wish I had the time to help, but the constant pressure to stay financially stable takes that opportunity away from me. Financial peace is important to me because it allows me to pursue my passions, and help those in need.

When I was much younger, around twelve years old my grand aunt came to live with us and deeply impacted my life. As a kid I thought she was annoying, and got in the way of how things were supposed to go. However, once she passed I realized that she was teaching me to be a better man, and to embrace change whenever it strikes. My grandaunt, better known as aunt Bee, was one of the sweetest and most loving people I was ever lucky enough to meet. Everyday when I got home, I’d immediately put my schoolwork down to go play outside, go on my laptop, or watch television. This all changed once aunt Bee started living with us, she was determined to make sure I grew into an excellent man, enforcing discipline and by teaching me manners. Instead of allowing me to slack off after school, aunt Bee would pinch my ear and nag at me to do my chores, do my homework, or do anything productive. I’d cry, yell, run away, and do whatever I could to get out of doing the work I should’ve already completed. However, she was more persistent than I was stubborn, which led me to learn to complete work first and enjoy myself afterwards. Aunt Bee would always watch old shows with me, and we’d enjoy the time we had together despite all our bickering. More importantly, aunt Bee taught me how to use my manners and treat everyone with respect. In her old age she loved to treat me to the local restaurants around, however she always had me do the talking and scolded me right there whenever I was less than dignified talking to people. Of course at the time, I got extremely annoyed and embarrassed whenever she’d correct me in front of people. What I didn’t know was that this is the reason why even today I treat elders and peers with respect, and keep myself composed in stressful situations. Despite all the different ways aunt Bee would tell me off, I still loved her deeply, which made the oncoming years much harder to process alone. Change is always a hard concept to grasp, especially as a kid. After nearly two years living with aunt Bee, I’d gotten used to her presence. Whether it was laughing at old reruns with me, scolding me for being lazy, or coming out to see me in school events, she was always there. Then in 2020, it was her time, and I had to face the biggest change of my life without her. Coming home after a long day of school just to not see her waiting for me on the couch, and not having someone to push me to do better in school each day was hard to adapt to. The death of someone close to you is the biggest change in the world, and regardless of how you feel the world keeps moving. Aunt Bee left my life just as fast as she entered it, but the impact she had on me will stay with me forever. Like her, change comes whether you want it to or not, and it’s your decision whether to make the most of it, or to let it hold you back. Aunt Bee was an excellent woman who loved me and my whole family dearly, and I wish she could've lived longer to see the man she shaped me into.

As a young kid, there were hardly any role models or symbols I could relate to. This was even more true in intellectual fields like STEM. I’ve chosen to pursue a degree in the STEM field so I can be a role model for other smart young people of color, while helping out communities that need assistance. A computer science degree would allow me to do this and much more. I want to be an inspiration for other kids who don’t have role models that look like them, and be the reason they want to explore the stem field as well. The importance of having someone to look up to as a kid is undervalued, as it can shape who you are as a person. When I was young I was fortunate enough to have my dad, an electrical engineer who never stopped moving up in his career. Despite market crashes, layoffs, and racial prejudice he never stopped advancing and improving. He is one of the main reasons I want to be just as successful in my own life. However, many minority families aren’t as fortunate, and don’t have a parent that’s as successful. Children in these houses don’t have anybody to lead the way for them, and often there isn’t good representation of intelligent people of color in the media as well. For these kids I want to be the role model they look up to, and leave a lasting impact on their life as they pursue their own academic journey. On the other hand, a young kid who only sees people who look like him stealing and committing crimes, may purposefully or inadvertently do the same. Preventing things like this from occurring is one of the main reasons I want to pursue a computer science degree and be a role model for younger kids. Similarly, I want to help my community and family members with the knowledge learned from pursuing a computer science degree. Many people from older generations aren’t tech savvy and are very susceptible to online scams and other problems that stem from the internet. Not only would I be able to protect people from these issues, but I’d also be able to teach members of my community how to be efficient online. As technology continues to advance, online literacy becomes increasingly more valuable. Many communities, especially lower income ones and ones with lots of minorities, are often ignored and left to fend for themselves. With my computer science degree and the knowledge gained from earning it, I want to help bring these communities up to speed and prevent them from falling further into poverty. Many of my grandparents, aunts, and uncles also don’t have the adequate knowledge to be efficient online, often wasting time and money on things that could’ve been avoided. Through my actions, I hope to impact other minorities to do the same, and go back to help the communities that raised them. Pursuing a degree in STEM will allow me to do much more for both the older and newer generations. I want to pursue a computer science degree to be a role model that young minorities can look up to, and to help the people who helped me as a kid. By achieving these goals I can be content with the impact I left in the STEM field, and hopefully inspire others to do the same as me.