Febrwary of 2012 was the day my entire life had changed drastically. My father had been convicted of selling illegal narcotics outside of the state. He had began serving 25 years in a federal prison. Seeing my mother and my grandparents weep as my father walked away from us handcuffed was when I began to understand how just how severe the situation was. I was only 6 years old when this happened. As I grew, I realized that it was up to myself to learn how to better my life. Losing a father figure impacted everyone in my household. All the baggage he left was placed upon my mother's shoulders. My mother struggled behind closed doors, not only did she lose her husband, she had lost the motivation to move forward. Since my father was the sole provider for my family, my mother had to step up and take the role of both parents; without any support from their families. We struggled greatly with finances and a lot of times we were left with a bare fridge because my mother struggled with paying bills. Often I would catch her breaking down on her closet floor. Seeing her mental health deteriorate in front of me strongly impacted me because it was all happening in front of my eyes. As a little girl I was confused, but I felt this anger towards God asking him "Why my dad?" and "Why my family? As time passed on, I began to pour my emotions into my academics and sports. Ever since elementary, I have always strived to be a straight A student. I joined Honors and Advanced Placement classes. I made a connection that because I couldn't work to help my mother, I would excel in school for her so she wouldn't have to worry about me. I joined the varsity team for volleyball at Coachella Valley High School. I also became the president for the Young Women's Empowerment Club, I used my extra time to learn what was happening in my community. Business is the career that I have always had a passion for when it came to applying for a higher education. I am applying to Cal State San Bernardino, Cal State Los Angeles and San Diego State. Majoring in Business will help better my skills that employers will want in future workers. It'll help open doors for me, where I can work under difierent companies. I'll hopefully have a good pay where I can help repay my mother for supporting me in every way possible. My siblings and I tried our hardest to help our mom move our family forward. I like to think that this was a lesson for us all. With this experience I will strive to continue and better my education and help my family with whatever is needed. Not only did I prove to myself, but I proved to my family that even after our difficulties we still persevered.