Ever since I was little I would write fictional stories. How my cat traveled across the country on a train from New York to Los Angeles where I was able to find him. That I was a superhero with powers that could heal people. As I got older writing fictional stories turned into writing poetry. I fell in love with the wordplay and looked for new words that would better describe what I wanted to express. When I suffered from depression I felt so alone and misunderstood. Writing poetry was able to transport me to a world that I created in my imagination that was driven just by my thoughts and felt like a song that would end only when I wanted to. The tone of the emotion sounded like a melody and every time I would go back to reread my poem I would read it differently every time because I felt the words differently. I was able to see things from multiple perspectives which would help me realize that there wasn't only one way of going about things, but that there were many. Using Writing poetry as a hobby has led me to self-realization. I have grown as a person by being able to reflect on my emotions and what I am experiencing at the moment. Being able to think before I spoke helped me express my emotions in a healthy manner that would help my situation. As someone who always felt misunderstood, writing helped expand the way I expressed myself and allowed me to be more understanding of others and be able to better my relationships with the people I loved the most. As I continue to write I continue to expand my mind and the way I view the world. Through writing, I can help bring the positive thoughts on paper to real life.

From the day a girl is born, she is told to keep her head down, do what she's told, and don't talk back because she looks prettier when she's quiet. That we have to focus on having and nurturing kids and that we have to stay at home to cook and clean while our husbands work. And if we don't have a husband we have to put ourselves out there because then we are gonna get old and die lonely. As a woman, we are not taken seriously for our intelligence and are told that education is not for us. Many women around the world fight for their right to education and to be able to learn because they are just as capable as men. I on the other hand have the privilege of being able to attend school and go to college. However, that does not change the fact that there is a big gender gam in STEM. Men tend to dominate the field because they think that women are not capable enough. My dad always raised me in a more logical sense and less of an emotional sense. He would keep little 8 year old me up until 2 in the morning learning English and working on math homework. He always taught me that a woman is just as capable as a man and is even smarter. He has paved the way for me to not have as many challenges academically. Although he was never an affectionate man he would always show me he loved me by buying me books and teaching me interesting facts about the most random things. "You should always try to learn new things no matter your age because it is important to expand your knowledge and become more open-minded". These are words that he would always repeat to me. My education is important because it empowers me as a woman. I can feel confident in my abilities even in spaces where my intelligence is doubted. I can continuously prove to myself and others that I am smart and knowledgeable. Education brings knowledge, but it helps me create more opportunities for myself. As a student who was raised in a community that lacks equity and resources to provide to their younger community member, I am driven to be able to become a voice for those who aren't heard and be able to bring equity and new opportunities that would create social capital and health.

I have suffered from mental health issues since the age of 12. Being raised by Latino grandparents creates a difficult environment to be able to feel supported through your hard times. Being called lazy, dumb, weak were hurtful words told to me at such a young age. I was told " turn to God he will help you", and " just get over it, it is not that big of a deal". Feeling unsupported and neglected is something nobody should feel, especially a child. You begin to question if something is wrong with you and you begin to blame yourself for the way people treat you. Mental health is not something you can just get over and it's not something that needs to be fixed because a person is not broken they're just different. I am now 17 and the lack of help I received created a permanent impact on the relationships I have with family members. I still to this day make me feel like I need to overcome my issues on my own. During my difficult times, I questioned my religion and if I should even care about my future. I wanted to accomplish so much and now I feel like I can't think big because of fear if something will trigger me significantly causing me to not accomplish my dreams. I felt like I was not going to live that long and my education did not matter. This has also affected my romantic relationships by learning how communicate my needs. My partner might not know what he can do to help me and I am learning to express myself in a better way. Im learning how to be more patient and understanding and realize that this is new for a lot of people. I have overcome many of the obstacles I was in and am now in a better place and because of my mental health issues, I was able to learn more not just about myself but about how different people are. It does not make any else less than others. I have been in situations where I wish I was able to ask for help without feeling ashamed and learn how to live day by day instead of "getting over it". My experiences inspire me to be a kind person to everyone because you never know what someone might be going through and for people to know that there are people out there willing to help. Not only do I want people with mental health to not have self-stigma but for other people who are not aware of how it is to have mental health. Mental health looks different for everyone and it is important to educate people and children about it. Going through mental health has created significant impacts in my life and sharing and I find it important to share my experience with people that are going through something Similar. I want to be able to be a person someone can look up to and feel at ease knowing that things get better and that it is also ok to not be okay.

1. I'm just filling this out in hopes to steal someone's opportunity from winning and they can go into debt. I am a spiteful person and hate seeing people succeed. I believe in capitalism and want people who are poor to become even poorer. 2. I want to be a stay-at-home wife. I never wanted to go to school, I'm just doing it for my parents. I have this master plan which I have talked to my counselors about and I am going to marry Jeff Bezos so I can spend all his money and not have to do anything because I hate cooking and cleaning. My boyfriend is okay with it. 3. I was training for America's ninja warrior and I had to jump over an obstacle. The thing is I am the least athletic person so I tried to jump over the obstacle and face planted on the mud. I mean I did get over the hurdle so I technically did overcome it.

One important financial lesson is that delayed satisfaction pays off in the long run. It is important to build wealth for long-term financial security. A lot of people believe that spending money on materialistic things like clothes and shoes makes them wealthy, however, these purchases don't expand your financial assets. To build real wealth, discipline is needed. Budgeting, saving, and investing are important and can benefit one in the long run. Improving your skill overall and having financial literacy helps build wealth. Keeping yourself in check through budgeting is important because you don't want to spend money on things that aren't needed that will hold you back. Although people want to have expensive dinners and live a lavish lifestyle. Living below your means ensures that the money you are not spending can go to investments and emergency funds. Becoming sensible about what you spend, will allow you to see your wealth in your invested assets. Although I am 17, this lesson will benefit me in the future by ensuring that I spend my money accordingly and making smart financial choices that will help me stay debt-free and build wealth in the long run.

The stigma around mental health comes from the lack of knowledge a person has regarding that subject. I have suffered from mental health issues since the age of 12. Being raised by Latino grandparents creates a difficult environment to be able to feel supported through your hard times. Being called lazy, dumb, weak were hurtful words told to me at such a young age. I was told " turn to God he will help you", and " just get over it, it is not that big of a deal". Feeling unsupported and neglected is something nobody should feel, especially a child. You begin to question if something is wrong with you and you begin to blame yourself for the way people treat you. Mental health is not something you can just get over and it's not something that needs to be fixed because a person is not broken they're just different. I am now 17 and the lack of help I received created a permanent impact on the relationships I have with family members. I still to this day make me feel like I need to overcome my issues on my own. During my difficult times, I questioned my religion and if I should even care about my future. I wanted to accomplish so much and now I feel like I can't think big because of fear if something will trigger me significantly causing me to not accomplish my dreams. I felt like I was not going to live that long and my education did not matter. I have overcome many of the obstacles I was in and am now in a better place and because of my mental health issues, I was able to learn more not just about myself but about how different people are. It does not make any else less than others. I have been in situations where I wish I was able to ask for help without feeling ashamed and learn how to live day by day instead of "getting over it". My experiences inspire me to be a kind person to everyone because you never know what someone might be going through and for people to know that there are people out there willing to help. Not only do I want people with mental health to not have self-stigma but for other people who are not aware of how it is to have mental health. Mental health looks different for everyone and it is important to educate people and children about it. I want to be able to be a person someone can look up to and feel at ease knowing that things get better and that it is also ok to not be okay.

When I was a year old I was abandoned by my father and my mother went to prison. Since then, I have been raised by my grandparents. Seeing them grow of age is a very sad feeling. They have done the impossible to be able to give me everything I need to be able to continue my education and they dream of me going to college. My grandpa has arthritis and works up to 18 hours 6 days a week so we can have a roof over our head. My grandma has diabetes and is overweight so she struggles with walking far distances and getting errands done.She gets very dizzy and sometimes can’t even get out of bed. I help her out as much as I can. I clean and cook around the house and go with my grandma when she needs to go to certain places and drive her. I can't get a job because she fears that I won't continue my education and I wasn’t in good health myself a while ago. Not worrying about paying for college will help me get a job and focus on helping my grandma financially. I join multiple sports in school because I enjoy being active. I played softball my sophomore year and my senior year I played baseball because my school was not able to have a softball coach. I have played volleyball and soccer. I enjoy learning new things and acquiring knowledge of interesting topics. I enjoy painting and drawing. I like writing poems and creating fictional stories. Ever since I was younger my dream has been to be able to go to college and graduate with a degree in a career that I know I will enjoy working in. As I got older I realized that college isn't affordable for people in situations like mine but I was not going to let that crush my dreams. So I started saving at the age of 12. I don't have much money saved because I'm not allowed to get a job but whatever money I get my hands on gets saved. I also plan on applying to as many scholarships as I possibly can to accumulate enough money. My plans have never been to get a loan because I might not be able to pay the money back and don't want to stress about something else while I focus on my education. I have also considered getting a part time job on campus because of the benefits. Despite the obstacles that might occur, I will apply to all the aid I can and look for opportunities to be able to graduate from college debt free.