My goal for my life is to become a first-generation highschool and college graduate. After highschool, I will have an associates degree and I plan to continue on to get a juris doctorate degree and practice civil rights law. After establishing myself in this career, I plan to open up my own law firm to help underrepresented people and aid those who can not afford expensive law advice or representation.

My future plans for education include attending a 4-year university to gain a master’s degree in addition to my associate's degree I will have completed by the time of my high school graduation. I aim to be a first-generation high school and college graduate and pursue a degree in Political science to hopefully become an attorney. My career goals are to study Political science and then apply to a law school of my choosing and practice to become either a Civil rights lawyer or a personal injury attorney. I plan to achieve these goals by hopefully attending Texas Tech because I have read up on their law programs in addition to their law school and because they are a Hispanic-serving institution, I feel as though this school will be a good match for me and help me pursue my career. During college and law school, I plan to apply for internships to gain insight into my awaited career, that way I am better prepared for the future. After college graduation, with the connections, I plan to make while in school I hope to land a job at the major law firms in Downtown Dallas that will jumpstart my career and allow me to climb my way up to one day owning my own law firm.

Growing up, my mom was a low-income single mother who had to work nonstop to pay off her loans, and during the times she was working I would stay with my grandma who lived in the apartment right across from us. While some kids do not particularly enjoy spending time with their grandparents, the times I got to spend with my grandma were some of the happiest days of my life. We did not do the typical things but instead, we spent our days watching horror movies and making fun of the “dumb” actions made by the characters and on other days we went to the actual theaters and did the same. My love for horror movies grew because of her and I continually watch them even though a part of me hurts thinking about all the new releases she’s missed or how she would have reacted to any recent reboots. My grandma was an amazing woman who believed in empowering all her grandkids and it's thanks to her that I am continuing my higher education because the last thing I’d ever want to do is not achieve the success she envisioned for me. For context, my mom was a 19-year-old high school graduate with a newborn baby and she was also my grandma’s youngest daughter. Being so, my mom wanted to stay close to her because my grandma had always been her support system and with my mom's struggles she knew she needed her. My grandma, for as long as I can remember has always had severe health issues that started deteriorating when I entered my freshman year of high school. It got to the point where she was frequently in the hospital, having to use oxygen tanks at home, and on the times she would leave the house, had to be in a wheelchair. Through her struggles, my grandma always tried to stay positive for her grandkids and she was over-the-moon excited for me when she found out I was accepted into an early college program at my high school. She would continually cheer me on during my band performances or when I told her how I was doing in tennis and made me hopeful for my future. Unfortunately, in December 2020, near the high of the COVID-19 pandemic, she suffered an aneurysm and passed away nearly a month before my Quinceañera, a major Hispanic celebration for girls turning 15, to which she had previously been excited to attend and joked about how much fun she was going to have even in her wheelchair. With her loss, went the motivation to complete anything which even led to a downfall in my school grades. Many of our family lost touch as we were all saddened by her loss due to her being the “glue” of our family. This helped open my eyes to see that if you want something you are going to have to work for it. Later the following year, I got my first job at 15 and started saving money ever since then. I started looking more into colleges and their programs since I was in an early college program and had to get serious about what I was going to do after high school. My grandma’s death made me realize that our time here is quick and limited and I did not want to waste any time. She believed in my dream to be a lawyer even when others said no one would take me seriously and for her, I worked harder in school and got myself into the top 13%, and was accepted into the National Honor society. I had a loving mom but my grandma was someone I found tremendous comfort in and who pushed me to realize I could achieve my goals despite any circumstances, the only thing she ever did wrong left this world too early. I plan to fight to achieve my dreams of being a first-generation graduate and lawyer and to stay on track so that everyone can see my success and that time will not get the better of us. Watching scary movies will never be the same, but neither will my future and from here on out, I can only hope that it will be full of change and advancement. I will always miss my grandma and will always yearn for her to be there at my high school graduation and to see me go off to college, but these are no longer achievable realities. The only thing I can do now is succeed and further my success and dedicate it all to her.