Dogs and cats are known to not get along. Because of this, most people assume that you can’t peaceably own a cat and dog in the same household. In reality, households that have both of these animals often yield more peace than ones exclusively with one animal or the other. Similarly, people often believe that a person who devotes themself to working hard is less capable of being a kind and genuine person, while someone who prioritizes being nice will not have room to work as hard. The little known truth behind this duality is that, like domestic households, human minds and lives thrive from diversity. What I have learned in my AP classes is exactly that: those who strive to be both nice and hard-working are the strongest individuals. In my very first AP class, the room was split between those that wanted to survive by camaraderie and those that wanted to succeed by diligence. I, on the other hand, continued business as usual by trying to keep balance between the two. In the following four years, those that have succeeded to the top of the class were those that thought like I did; we created a community of AP students who knew how to work hard and did not forget to enjoy our time along the way by being kind to each other. While I was not incredibly confident throughout the entirety of my AP journey, my resolve was bolstered by the excelling performance of myself and my friends. Pouring from our cup into others gave us the drive to do great things, while the hard work gave us the facility to exercise the motivation that we built. By going through this experience of AP classes where strong minded individuals find their place, I’ve been able to live in a way that makes being nice and working hard both natural and intuitive. On the topic of financial struggles, I have often had to make difficult decisions and efforts in order to dedicate myself to education. From the very start of my education, my parents have reminded me that every second that is put into that education is an investment that will pay itself off. A large reason for telling me this is the fact that higher education is extremely expensive; in order to pay for college, I have heavily invested into every corner of my school, so that scholarships may notice my effort and invest in me as well. Without absolute security about being able to afford higher education through the support of scholarships, there is no other way that I or my family would be able to sustain a college degree to completion. I dug my heels in the course of education through the practice of kindness and hard work in many AP classes with the hope and trust that others will see my path of success and invest in it.