Cleaning three houses per day, my mama came home with bleach stains on her shirt. Her hands that once felt soft as a baby’s; now felt like sandpaper. My papa worked in the blistering heat. Leaving everyday at five in the morning to escape to sun. Watching my papa come home all sweaty, filled with wood debris, and fatigued made me feel like I needed to seek a better outcome for myself. But sometimes, it felt like I was my own confirmation of my stereotype. Observing my parents complete these hardships made me value the importance of going to college and fulfilling the need for a better future. I want to break generational curses and prove to society I'm living proof of what the American dream can reach. There have been many challenges in my life that have led me to want to gain a college degree. The many challenges and experiences have always led me to want a better future. I don't want my challenges to label me as weak and tear me down. I won't let the hiccups on the road of my goal affect how I view the world. My papa always reminds me of the word optimism; echale ganas hija! He would say. I experience our world being challenged by racism. A time at Home Depot, when a customer service worker told my dad he couldn't return an item without having a valid ID. I stood up for him, and showed the lady how to read his broken matricula. He scolded me for being furious at the woman for not doing her job properly and denying customer service to a man who is everything to me. I told him, “papa enough is enough”. I was done with being labeled. I knew then my purpose was to advocate for change. To advocate for those too scared by other circumstances to speak up for their human rights. Advocating is my specialty. Anytime I get the chance to speak on behalf of my underrepresented community, I do. Sometimes, it is difficult to speak up in times when my parents disagree with me doing so and have a closed mindset about my passion for equity. I feel as if I go three steps back instead of one step forward to reach equity for my community and my race. I aspire to advocate on a larger scale for my community and thinking of ways to do so I found my best platform is studying law. In times of uncertainty, I have found my voice and resilience has been for the better. As a Latina that feels like America hasn’t opened opportunities for immigrant families, this compels me to reach my goal of higher education. My interpretation of going to school is not to earn more money for myself, but to elevate my community. To elevate a community that has been broken and racially profiled, a community that doesn’t feel the need to speak for human rights. And a community in which I'm from. Moments that might change our lives in America, force me to hold on to the optimism my papa told me to have. As a driven, charismatic, determined person I strive to break the immigrant stereotype and pursue a major in political science. To change the dynamic in my community, to allow my parents not to fear America, and most importantly to heal my inner child. I will use what I learned to motivate other advocates and minority groups to find their voices and serve their communities to accomplish the American dream. The one many families aspire to obtain.