I grew up in a small town in southern California. A common trend in my hometown of Tehachapi is that the people who grow up in my hometown tend to stay there, or inevitably always end up coming back. This has been true for my family and my friends' families. For example, my grandparents on my dad's side of the family grew up there and stayed there to raise my father. My father was raised there and met my mother, they got married and had my brother and I. My circumstance is similar to that of many of my friends. Furthermore, many of my friends have stayed in Tehachapi and are already building lives there. I have always known that I want more. My dream was to leave my hometown and go as far away as possible for college to pursue my passion for environmental science and conservation biology. I earned good grades throughout high school and was dedicated to playing softball, I hoped softball would open doors for me to leave home and go to school. My goal of leaving Tehachapi was reached. I now attend Franklin Pierce University in Rindge New Hampshire. This University is surrounded by 1,200 acres of forest owned by the university, and also has an excellent environmental science program. Softball did aid in getting me to my dream school. I have been playing collegiate softball for Franklin Pierce University for three years now. This school has provided me with an excellent education, amazing support, and fantastic experiences throughout the years that I have attended. This University has helped give me a clearer vision of what I want in the future. My passion lies in nature and being outdoors. I have always known that I want to pursue a career that involves conserving and protecting our natural world. My goal is to stay on the east coast and work in the environmental science field. I hope to work on research projects that may provide useful information on the conditions of the environment as well as working on finding solutions for environmental issues. I would also like to work for Forestry services or the National Park Service to educate people on the importance of protecting the natural world. My aim is to not have to go back to my hometown, I want to build a future from myself away from the monotonous small town I grew up in. I have reached a point where playing softball no longer benefits my goals. While I appreciate my sport for all that it has given me, it has become a hindrance on my ability to accept extracurricular opportunities in my field of study. I will be withdrawing from softball in order to focus on building the foundation for my future. As a result of withdrawing from softball I will be able to focus on working towards internships. One issue I may run into when considering internships is transportation because I currently don't have a car. I now have a job on campus and plan to save that money so I can buy a car in the future. My plan is to be able to focus on my academics as well as earning an income in order to support myself through the process, because my family does not have the capability nor the desire to help me reach my goals.