The principle of giving back has been instilled in me from a young age by my parents. Specifically, I was taught to gve from a place of love and care. I have friends and family that have given me a lot throughout the years. They have given me a home, food, their time, and their care. Now that I am older, it is my turn to give back to the many people that have given to me and that are now a part of my life. However, I don’t want to give back to just people close to me, I want to give back to my entire community. In order to do that, I am currently in school to become a nurse. Becoming a nurse has been a dream of mine for years now. By becoming a nurse, I will be able to offer my community and its people my energy, knowledge, and skills to help them medically and theurapetically. Additionally, I want to be a nurse in order to make an impact in my community. I want to have a positive influence in the lives of every patient that I come in contact with. I also hope to help make healthcare easier to access for people who can’t afford it. In conclusion, giving has always been a part of me. And my way of giving back will be through nursing by caring for others and making a lasting impact in my community.

I think it is safe to say that being the first member of my family to venture into the field of healthcare has been one of the most confusing experiences I have experienced. I am pretty sure my family was also confused about my decision of choosing to be a nurse. A nurse? From a family of mostly engineers and business degrees? Bet you nobody was expecting that one. Having no close relatives working in healthcare definitely left me feeling lost. Actually, for some time I almost felt like I had no right in choosing to go into the healthcare field. However, I realized that having a family member in the healthcare field has never been an admission requirement for nursing school. Later as I researched more about the nursing field, the stronger my determination became. Then I had an epiphany. Who said I could not be my own inspiration? The only thing on my mind that was stopping me from choosing nursing was the fact that it is unprecedented in my family. But, there is always a first right? Coming from a small, underfunded city, I’ve witnessed first-hand how being medically under-served negatively impacts the people of my city. Although some may be able to afford health insurance, that’s not the case for all. Oftentimes, people are only able to afford basic health insurance, which still leaves many families with costly medical bills. Meanwhile, other people opt to not get health insurance, which leads them to pay full price for medical services or to avoid the doctor altogether. Many of the affected people are Hispanic, and I am one of them. The unfortunate reality is that Hispanic families are more susceptible to devastating chronic illnesses that require constant medication and treatment. Moreover, because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, numerous people were left with permanent damage to their health as a consequence of contracting COVID. Are they able to pay for the stay at the hospital that kept them alive? What about the treatments they will need for the rest of their lives? Sadly, I have come to the conclusion that most of the people who suffer financially also suffer from the most damaging illnesses and need our help the most. I am interested in helping my under-served population of Texas because I want to give back to the community that has given me so much. Texas has given me a home, schooling, friends, family, and the resources I need to reach my dreams of becoming a nurse. Since I am part of the underserved population, I have insight on the main problems impacting the community. I know how and what they think. I know their fears and worries. I believe my determination and understanding of what the people need will be a valuable asset to the nursing community in the battle towards advocating for the under-served communities of not just Texas, but the whole country.

This ongoing pandemic has altered the way of life of everyone in the world. Personally, this pandemic mainly affected my education and my mental health. I had to adjust to online learning along with students and teachers everywhere. I was also a senior in high school when all this started, and senior activities were cancelled. Quarantine also led my mental health to go from bad to the worst it’s ever been. Nevertheless, I am finally starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Even though the pandemic created multiple challenges, overcoming these challenges has been the best thing I’ve done. First, I was accepted into one of the most competitive nursing programs in my area at the age of 18. After many late nights and many doubts, I am now about to attend the school of my dreams and become the first nurse in my family. Finally, as quarantine has made my mental health suffer for months now, I finally had the courage to take the first step in becoming my best self: therapy. As horrible as this pandemic has been for everyone, I will never forget the life lessons I have learned these past few months.

My desire to venture into the nursing field has been quite a mystery to my family members, but not to me. I will ultimately be the first member of my family to be part of the medical field. However, even without that previous exposure, being selfless and helping others has always been part of my daily life. From a young age, my dad always emphasized helping people and putting others before myself. My dad has done anything from helping people whose car broke down to helping out his community as a volunteer firefighter. Unfortunately, I also witnessed my grandmother battle against breast cancer. I was a young child when this occurred and didn’t fully comprehend how serious her illness was, but I knew I wanted to help her in any way that I could. Every chance I had to go visit my grandma, I would do everything and anything to make her life easier. As time went on and I matured, reliving the stories of my grandmother and the hardships she experienced made me feel a sense of helplessness. That feeling gradually increased as more of my family members developed chronic diseases like diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis and high cholesterol. While this was occurring, I was also learning about the science of the human body; and I found it mind-blowing. The more I learned, the more I understood what was happening inside the human body. The more I was able to understand the body, the more I would be able to help my family members. Then I realized, why stop with my family when I could also help other people in my community? These various factors helped me decide that I want to be a nurse. I had been so set on becoming a nurse for so long that I mustered up the courage to tell my parents about my decision. However, they were a bit hesitant. They knew that I wanted to help the people around me, but they wondered why I wanted to be a nurse in particular when there are so many other careers where I could be of service. This truly made me stop and reflect on what initially drew me to nursing. Not only do I have a passion for helping others, I believe in the power and wisdom of science. I want to take that passion and knowledge to help make a change in patients’ lives as well as their families. I want to be there during my patient’s worst and best moments of their lives. While I don’t have any family members in the healthcare field to inspire me to become a nurse, I want to inspire others to enter the medical field; even if they would be the first in their family. Finally, I want to use nursing as a way to become a leader in my community. I intend to use my skills as a leader to lead changes in our healthcare system to improve quality and access of healthcare for patients, and working environments for healthcare workers.

My desire to venture into the nursing field has been quite a mystery to my family members, but not to me. I will ultimately be the first member of my family to be part of the medical field. However, even without that previous exposure, being selfless and helping others has always been part of my daily life. From a young age, my dad always emphasized helping people and putting others before myself. My dad has done anything from helping people whose car broke down to helping out his community as a volunteer firefighter. Unfortunately, I also witnessed my grandmother battle against breast cancer. I was a young child when this occurred and didn’t fully comprehend how serious her illness was, but I knew I wanted to help her in any way that I could. Every chance I had to go visit my grandma, I would do everything and anything to make her life easier. As time went on and I matured, reliving the stories of my grandmother and the hardships she experienced made me feel a sense of helplessness. That feeling gradually increased as more of my family members developed chronic diseases like diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis and high cholesterol. While this was occurring, I was also learning about the science of the human body; and I found it mind-blowing. The more I learned, the more I understood what was happening inside the human body. The more I was able to understand the body, the more I would be able to help my family members. Then I realized, why stop with my family when I could also help other people in my community? These various factors helped me decide that I want to be a nurse. I had been so set on becoming a nurse for so long that I mustered up the courage to tell my parents about my decision. However, they were a bit hesitant. They knew that I wanted to help the people around me, but they wondered why I wanted to be a nurse in particular when there are so many other careers where I could be of service. This truly made me stop and reflect on what initially drew me to nursing. Not only do I have a passion for helping others, I believe in the power and wisdom of science. I want to take that passion and knowledge to help make a change in patients’ lives as well as their families. I want to be there during my patient’s worst and best moments of their lives. While I don’t have any family members in the healthcare field to inspire me to become a nurse, I want to inspire others to enter the medical field; even if they would be the first in their family. Finally, I want to use nursing as a way to become a leader in my community. I intend to use my skills as a leader to lead changes in our healthcare system to improve quality and access of healthcare for patients, and working environments for healthcare workers.

My desire to venture into the nursing field has been quite a mystery to my family members. I will ultimately be the first member of my family to be part of the healthcare field. However, even without that previous exposure, being selfless and helping others has always been part of my daily life. From a young age, my dad always emphasized helping people and putting others before myself. My dad has done anything from helping people whose car broke down to helping out his community as a volunteer firefighter. Unfortunately, I also witnessed my grandmother battle against breast cancer. I was a young child when this occurred and didn’t fully comprehend how serious her illness was, but I knew I wanted to help her in any way that I could. As time went on and I matured, reliving the stories of my grandmother and the hardships she experienced made me feel completely helpless. That feeling gradually increased as more of my family members developed chronic diseases like diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis and high cholesterol. Simultaneously, I was also learning about the science of the human body; and I found it fascinating. The more I learned, the more I understood what was happening inside the human body. The more I was able to understand the body, the more I would be able to help my family members. Then I realized, why stop with my family when I could also help other people in my community? Not only do I have a passion for helping others, I believe in the power and wisdom of science. I want to take that passion and knowledge to help make a change in patients’ lives. I want to be there during a patient’s worst and best moments of their lives. While I don’t have any family members in the healthcare field to inspire me to become a nurse, I want to inspire others to enter the medical field. As a nurse, I hope to become a leader that will bring about change for both patients and healthcare workers. I want everyone to have access to quality care. Whether that is an appointment with a family physician or with a specialist. I also want to inform patients on how they can advocate for themselves when their voices are not being heard. Additionally, I want to lead changes to improve working conditions for healthcare workers. I want everyone to have manageable staff-to-patient ratios, enough equipment/resources, etc. Improvements like these will help out healthcare employees to give better care to their communities without burning out in such a small period of time. In conclusion, becoming a nurse is one crucial goal on my quest to lead very much needed changes in the healthcare industry to enhance the life quality of everyone.

Around 153,000 people live in Pasadena, TX, and 17.7% of these people live below the poverty line (Data USA). I’ve witnessed first-hand how being medically under-served negatively impacts the people of my city. Although some may be able to afford health insurance, that’s not the case for all. Oftentimes we’re only able to afford basic health insurance, which still leaves many families with costly medical bills. Meanwhile, other people opt to not get health insurance, which leads them to pay full price for medical services or to avoid the doctor altogether. Many of the affected people are Hispanic, and I am one of them. The unfortunate reality is that Hispanic families are more susceptible to devastating chronic illnesses that require constant medication and treatment (Northwestern Medicine). Moreover, because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, numerous people were left with permanent damage to their health as a consequence of contracting COVID. Are they able to pay for the stay at the hospital that kept them alive? What about the treatments they will need for the rest of their lives? Sadly, I have come to the conclusion that most of the people who suffer financially also suffer from the most damaging illnesses and need our help the most. I am interested in helping my under-served population of Texas because I want to give back to the community that has given me so much. Texas has given me a home, schooling, friends, family, and the resources I need to reach my dreams of becoming a nurse. I know I may not be the most experienced person in the nursing field yet, but I know the under-served population, because I am part of the affected population too. I know how and what they think. I know their fears and worries. I believe my determination and understanding of what the people need will be a valuable asset to the nursing community in the battle towards advocating for the under-served communities of Texas. Through nursing, I hope to become a leader that advocates for the well-being of everyone. I will gain the knowledge and skills to give the underserved communities the proper care they need and deserve. I also want to guide and inspire other healthcare workers to be leaders and overcome barriers and disparities in the system.

I consider my greatest achievement to be retaking my nursing entrance exam. Weird, right? One would usually consider having to retake an exam as an unfortunate experience. However, retaking that test is one of the best things that could have happened to me. This journey was difficult, but I was able to learn multiple aspects about myself that I will always treasure. So what happened with the first attempt of my entrance exam? Well the results weren’t bad. My score met all the requirements for my school. It was even considered a competitive score. The problem was me. I am kind of a perfectionist, especially with my grades. I already had very high expectations of what my score would be. Unfortunately, that first score just did not meet my expectations. At first, I was crushed. I spent about four months preparing myself for the exam. I worked day and night trying to balance online college classes during a pandemic and studying for my test. Additionally, I had set a goal to apply for my school’s honors program. In order to meet the requirements of the honors program, I needed a much higher score. Overall, this first score left me thinking that I wasn’t enough, that I would never get accepted into nursing school. Thankfully, I quickly pulled myself out of that slump. I reminded myself that I couldn’t give up on my dream because of one score. I know this won’t be the last time that I feel discouraged over a score in my nursing journey. I knew I needed to believe in myself and be a tad more gentle on myself. So I gave my mind and body a couple of days from non-stop studying, and after collecting my thoughts and setting my priorities straight, I got right back into it. For this second attempt, I approached my studying differently. I took notes differently, I used different resources, and utilized more practice questions. More importantly, I took better care of myself. A couple of weeks later, the test date for my second try arrived. I quickly became nervous and started doubting myself. Nevertheless, I reminded myself that I had been working too hard to freak out now; and that I can achieve any goal I set my mind to. So during my test, I used every single test strategy I had learned in my life. Reading slowly, rereading questions and answer choices, taking my time. And after the most nerve-wracking 3 hours of my life, I clicked “submit”. I sat on my chair with my eyes closed for about five minutes, terrified of discovering my results. But with my heart about to jump out of my chest and a hopeful mind, I opened my mind. Immediately, a couple of tears rolled down my face, happy tears. My score had dramatically improved and even exceeded my expectations. I felt a huge weight off my shoulders and felt so relieved. My hard work had paid off, and I couldn’t be more proud. At the end of those crazy months, the result of my hard work started showing in my achievements . I was accepted into my dream nursing school at eighteen years old. I am currently preparing for my school’s Honors Program interview. Aside from fulfilling many educational goals, I also made many personal achievements. I picked myself up from a very dark place. I made changes to my everyday routine that have made my life better. Despite all the negative impacts that COVID and quarantine brought, and overcoming multiple obstacles, I was able to achieve a much better, peaceful relationship with myself

I am my “everything”. More specifically, future me is my “everything”. I have found that many people see their perfect future as themselves with loads of money, perfect house, perfect job, maybe even a perfect family. Everyone wants this “perfect” life. However, if these last couple of months have taught me anything, it is that even though perfectionism is subjective, it is impossible for everything to be “perfect”. Ironically, my perfectionist self took a deep blow from this lesson. You see, I was raised to always aim for perfectionism. My parents wanted me to have “perfect” grades and “perfect” behavior, to be the “perfect” daughter. This upbringing led to me now becoming deeply upset in any situation where I don’t perform “perfectly” or can’t meet “perfect” expectations. Unfortunately, I am now suffering the consequences, mentally and physically. On the other hand, there is a bright side to all of this. If this pandemic has taught me anything is how important self care is. Going on walks, having breaks, treating my body right, and most importantly, being nicer to myself. These small changes in my life have made all the difference in my life. I’ve never been more happy and in peace with myself. I’ve come to realize that I don’t need a “perfect” future. I don’t need to be a “perfect” person or student. Wherever my life leads me, all I want is for future me to be happy. From now on, I promise to always be proud of my imperfect self, for she has achieved so much and also has so much more to achieve.

There’s a quote that states “Be the hero you needed when you were younger”. I guess you could say my biggest inspiration in life is myself, my younger self. I want that little girl to be proud of all her hard work and determination to reach her dream of being the first nurse in the family. I want to keep fighting for that passionate, caring, and stubborn girl. I want younger and current me to remember what it’s all about. How we want to help, inspire, and make a change in our community. However, I want current and younger me to realize that we are not trying to make anyone else proud. We tried doing that for our entire lives and it ended up bring consequences that we will have to carry our entire lives. Becoming a nurse is something we have wanted for so long. We have spent long nights studying and stressing to make sure our dream comes true. We have gotten through our first checkpoint, graduating high school. And we will keep fighting all the way through nursing school and beyond. During this journey, however, I intend to put myself first. I lost count of how many times I almost lost myself. How close I was to giving it all up. No this time, I have to do it right. I have to put me and my mental health first. I will nurture my current and child self. I will reach out for help when I need it. I will cry when I need to. I will take breaks when I need to. I will do everything in my power to give that little girl the life she has always wanted. Not a life of complete luxury. I will give us a life where we’re both genuinely happy with who we are and what we have achieved. A life where we love and are in peace with ourselves.

For my brain, the COVID-19 pandemic was the perfect habitat to nurture and grow my mental problems. My anxiety, stress, and depression have been at an all time high. Taking a nutrition class for nursing school exploded into a full out eating disorder. As a result, I am now dealing with the multiple medical consequences that came with leaving all of these unchecked. However, these experiences have also made me realize many things. I think the first and most important is how fragile health is. You can have the strongest physical body, but the moment your actions start damaging your mind and body, it all goes downhill. I regret not reaching out for help sooner. I would have saved myself a lot unnecessary pain. However, once I did reach out for help, my relationships with my parents and friends became stronger. I don't feel as if I have to keep everything bottled up anymore. I have realized that I am not completely alone. I never was. I always had people that loved me by my side, even if it took me too long to realize that. Finally, everything that I have gone through these past couple of months have inspired me. They have inspired me to let go of everything that has been weighing me down and to work towards becoming the best version of myself. I know the road to becoming that person won't be linear, but I know that by believing in myself, I will be able to do anything I set my mind to. In conclusion, I have seen how the pandemic has affected our society. For the better and for the worst. I have learned many lessons the hard way, and I will carry them in my heart for the rest of my life. I will look back at these moments when I am at my future nursing jobs, laughing with friends and family, or even when I'm crying in my room at night. I will remember all the choices I made and their consequences. And at the end, I will love myself a bit more everyday.

My desire to venture into the nursing field has been quite a mystery to my family members. I will ultimately be the first member of my family to be part of the healthcare field. However, even without that previous exposure, being selfless and helping others has always been part of my daily life. From a young age, my dad always emphasized helping people and putting others before myself. My dad has done anything from helping people whose car broke down to helping out his community as a volunteer firefighter. Unfortunately, I also witnessed my grandmother battle against breast cancer. I was a young child when this occurred and didn’t fully comprehend how serious her illness was, but I knew I wanted to help her in any way that I could. As time went on and I matured, reliving the stories of my grandmother and the hardships she experienced made me feel completely helpless. That feeling gradually increased as more of my family members developed chronic diseases like diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis and high cholesterol. Simultaneously, I was also learning about the science of the human body; and I found it fascinating. The more I learned, the more I understood what was happening inside the human body. The more I was able to understand the body, the more I would be able to help my family members. Then I realized, why stop with my family when I could also help other people in my community? Not only do I have a passion for helping others, I believe in the power and wisdom of science. I want to take that passion and knowledge to help make a change in patients’ lives. I want to be there during a patient’s worst and best moments of their lives. While I don’t have any family members in the healthcare field to inspire me to become a nurse, I want to inspire others to enter the medical field. I want to make a positive impact on the lives around me. Specialty wise, I have a pretty open mind. I can't say that I know exactly what field I want to specialize in the future. However, there are some fields that definitely peak my interest. The first one is obstetrics. I believe the reason that I am drawn to this field is because it allows me to take care of mom and baby simultaneously. Additionally, I know about the inequality of care among patients of different races/ethnicities. I would like to specialize in obstetrics in order to help the healthcare system move towards a more equal treatment of patients; be able to properly inform and aid moms during and after their pregnancies; and empower women in one of the most chaotic moments of their lives. The second field that I'm interested in is pediatrics. There's this quote that says “be the person you needed when you were younger”. Since these are children, they are more vulnerable. I want to be the nurse that will advocate for their well-being no matter what. The last field that I am interested in pursuing is trauma. My dad has received plenty of security and emergency procedures due to his job, so I understand how crucial the first few minutes are for a patient’s life when they arrive in an emergency room. Additionally, I acknowledge how a single decision can influence the life expectancy of a patient. Therefore, I want to specialize in trauma to be able to use my skills to help make crucial decisions on the immediate care of an emergency patient. However, my interests could change at any time, right?

I think it is safe to say that being the first member of my family to venture into the field of healthcare has been one of the most confusing experiences I have experienced. I am pretty sure my family was also confused about my decision of choosing to be a nurse. A nurse? From a family of mostly engineering and business degrees? Bet you nobody was expecting that one. Having no close relatives working in healthcare definitely left me feeling a bit lost. Actually, for some time I almost felt like I had no right in choosing to go into the healthcare field. I believed that since so many people that choose to study health science are inspired to do so by a family member, I could not make the same choice. I realized, however, that having a family member or a close relative in the healthcare field has never been an admission requirement for things like nursing or medical school. Later as I researched more about the nursing field, the stronger my determination became. Then I had an epiphany. Who said I could not be my own inspiration? The only thing on my mind that was stopping me from choosing nursing was the fact that it is unprecedented in my family. However, there is always a first right? From that moment on, I decided not to let anything stop me. I was going to get the most knowledge I could and achieve my dream on my own if I had to. Then came the actual nursing school application process, during which I felt like I was going in completely blind. Applying for my nursing school introduced vocabulary that was completely foreign to me. I didn’t know about the different admission exams, and how crucial they are as part of or the pre-requisite classes. I had to inform myself of which products to use to prepare myself for the TEAS. I would study day and night to ensure I got the best score I could. I even took the test two times because I knew I could increase my score from the first time I took it. I also had no idea how to write a personal statement or what to write about. As someone who usually struggles with writing essays, this was probably one of the most difficult part of the application for me. I was not very sure how to structure my essay to stand out. I did not know for sure what schools were looking for in an applicant to grant them acceptance in the school. Finally, I knew no tips on how to build my resume. I found writing my essay even harder because of COVID, which destroyed all my plans to do volunteer activities in my area. I did not have much to fill into my resume which was terrifying. However, even after many sleepless nights, I was able to get through it all. To sum it up, this experience led me to a new-found independence.I had to call, email, and ask everything on my own. I had to break down all the details for my parents. I had to get through confusion and doubt from my family and even from myself. I think 18 years old is a relatively young age to start nursing school to achieve my bachelor’s degree. But I believe that with this new-found independence and determination I will get through nursing school and reach my dream of changing lives.