I remember the first time my family struggled with staying financially stable. At the time, I was nine years old sleeping on the floor of my grandmother's bedroom. We had just moved from our home in Texas to Nevada. My father had lost his job, and we had been evicted. My family and I had no choice but to pack up our lives and come stay with my grandparents. I didn't understand what was happening at the time, and I did not understand why I had to leave my house. For the past nine years, I have dealt with being on state insurance, food stamps, filing for bankruptcy, having our cars repossessed, etc. I am used to not having enough money to have a Christmas, to pay our rent, to pay our bills, and even to put food on the table. While growing up in a wealthier part of town and attending a nicer high school, I was still always on the "poor" side of the tracks. Money has always been something I have stressed about, and never have had peace of mind with. However with that being said, I can honestly say not having enough money to live a stable life has made me into the person I am today. I understand the value of hard work. I have had three jobs for as long as I can remember. I pay for everything myself such as my car, my phone, my clothing, and my schooling. Struggling with money is never something that comes easy, but had I not experienced it I would not have understood how important working hard is. If you want something in this life, you have to be willing to make sacrifices for it. Giving up things most teenagers would not do has taught me the skill of resilience and effort. Even though I had to do most things myself, no one can survive without a village. My village around me has always encouraged I work hard, but the people around me have helped me in the biggest way possible; by being kind. I have the most amazing friends. On a particularly rough day, I called them in a frantic. My mom did not have a place for me to sleep that night. I was homeless. I called my friends and I broke down to them. My friends told me to come over, and I can stay as long as needed. They gave me a bed to sleep in, food to eat, and clothes to wear. They considered this as something friends do for each other; but, for me it was something I will remember for the rest of my life. The most important thing living in poverty has taught me is kindness. In these difficult times I could not have made it without others treating me with respect. Being nice to someone goes so much more than "have a good day!". On some days where I did not know where I was going to sleep that night, something as simple as a compliment gave me so much hope. It is because of all of my hardship I have realized being a good person is so crucial in life. I make it a goal to make someone smile at least once a day. By making other people happy, I make myself happy. I want to be able to help people with kindness and love the way other people have in my life. There is one thing we can all be, and that is a good person. Thank you for reading and considering me for this scholarship.