A life goal most people aspire to be is successful, while yes this is definitely a goal I set for myself. However, what is more, important to me is the way I get there. With my mom being a non traditional first-generation graduate. It took her 25 years to finally hold her college diploma in her hand, due to inflexible and bias work managers who gave the flexibility she was asking for to a fellow white employee instead of her, having kids was a major obstacle as well. She needed to be a mother and also complete her lifelong goals. She is from Dominican Republic, who was given so little being a minority, she did not let that stop her to become great, not only for herself but for the rest of my family and for me. She always wanted to give her family a better life than what she was capable of having. That is why she gave us access to private school for our entire lives. My mother was proud to be the only Latina walking out of the ghetto in a private school uniform. Putting the judgement and bullying out of mind, the skeptics from her neighborhood and also from the primarily white school she attended. I aspire to make my mother proud and achieve my full potential. I see myself in a similar predicament from my mother. My high school was a made up of a majority of white people. Feeling hard to fit in and be myself at the same time further on into my high school career I broke the bounds that held me back and excelled academically. As a senior in my high-school, I became pregnant. I hid the fact from my parents and friends scared and not knowing what to do. I was faced with three options: abortion to continue on my path with no obstacles, adoption, or keeping the baby. Not being able to stomach the first two options I decided to make a life changing decision and have my beautiful baby girl Joselina Evangelia Figueroa on July 9, 2022 at 2:57 am. With overwhelming support from my family and my boyfriends family, her father. I am still set on track to live my full potential and excel in everything I do, academically, and as a new mother. I will strive to give my daughter the best life she can dream of putting aside judgements and discouragement. I know I will be able to live the life that God has planned for me. She is not lesson, she is not a step back but she is a blessing, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I want to help anyone who needs it. Growing up as a minority, I have been fortunate enough to view the world how it really is and not through a glass pedastol. This is why I want to help people just like me and people who are in different situations than I am. As I grow I want to help the people around me grow and help my community grow. Success is not about the end result but about the journey. Who you have helped, who helped you and giving back. I will be going for my goals and let nothing stand in my way to becoming the best version of myself. I definitely did not have the ideal childhood most children get to experience; nevertheless, everyone has their own story and their own experiences. The types of obstacles I have faced definitely helped mold me into the person I am today.

A life goal most people aspire to be is successful, while yes this is definitely a goal I set for myself. However, what is more, important to me is the way I get there. With my mom being a non traditional first-generation graduate. It took her 25 years to finally hold her college diploma in her hand, due to inflexible and bias work managers who gave the flexibility she was asking for to a fellow white employee instead of her, having kids was a major obstacle as well. She needed to be a mother and also complete her lifelong goals. She is from Dominican Republic, who was given so little being a minority, she did not let that stop her to become great, not only for herself but for the rest of my family and for me. She always wanted to give her family a better life than what she was capable of having. That is why she gave us access to private school for our entire lives. My mother was proud to be the only Latina walking out of the ghetto in a private school uniform. Putting the judgement and bullying out of mind, the skeptics from her neighborhood and also from the primarily white school she attended. I aspire to make my mother proud and achieve my full potential. I see myself in a similar predicament from my mother. My high school was a made up of a majority of white people. Feeling hard to fit in and be myself at the same time further on into my high school career I broke the bounds that held me back and excelled academically. As a senior in my high-school, I became pregnant. I hid the fact from my parents and friends scared and not knowing what to do. I was faced with three options: abortion to continue on my path with no obstacles, adoption, or keeping the baby. Not being able to stomach the first two options I decided to make a life changing decision and have my beautiful baby girl Joselina Evangelia Figueroa on July 9, 2022 at 2:57 am. With overwhelming support from my family and my boyfriends family, her father. I am still set on track to live my full potential and excel in everything I do, academically, and as a new mother. I will strive to give my daughter the best life she can dream of putting aside judgements and discouragement. I know I will be able to live the life that God has planned for me. She is not lesson, she is not a step back but she is a blessing, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I want to help anyone who needs it. Growing up as a minority, I have been fortunate enough to view the world how it really is and not through a glass pedastol. This is why I want to help people just like me and people who are in different situations than I am. As I grow I want to help the people around me grow and help my community grow. Success is not about the end result but about the journey. Who you have helped, who helped you and giving back. I will be going for my goals and let nothing stand in my way to becoming the best version of myself. I definitely did not have the ideal childhood most children get to experience; nevertheless, everyone has their own story and their own experiences. The types of obstacles I have faced definitely helped mold me into the person I am today.

A life goal most people aspire to be is successful; while yes, this is a goal I set for myself. However, what is more important to me is the way I get there. With my mom being a first-generation graduate from the Dominican Republic, who was given so little being a minority, she did not let that stop her from becoming great, not only for herself but for the rest of my family and me. She always wanted to give her family a better life than what she was capable of having. That is why she gave us access to private education for our entire lives. She believed they set morals into us and help us achieve maturity and responsibility, which I believe did help me. I aspire to make my mother proud and achieve my full potential. I want to help everyone and anyone who needs it. Growing up as a minority, I have been fortunate enough to see the world how it is. This is why I want to help people just like me and people who are in different situations than I am. As I grow I want to help the people around me grow and help my community grow. Success is not about the end result but the journey. Who you have helped, who helped you and giving back. I believe with the right support system I will go for my goals and let nothing stand in my way to becoming the best version of myself. I did not have the ideal childhood most children get to experience; nevertheless, everyone has their own story and their own experiences. The types of obstacles I have faced definitely helped mold me into the person I am today. I feel as if going to college will definitely help me grow as a person and also grow my knowledge and mentality. Going to college will make my family proud and it was always and will always be a life accomplishment I will stop at nothing to achieve. One of my life goals is to go to college excel in everything and take nothing for granted. I want to take full advantage of every tiny opportunity I am given. I believe a college degree is critical for my future plans of success. Yes, I could get by without a degree; however, that's not what I want to do. I do not want to just "get by" in life and take it as it comes. That is not who I am. I plan to set goals for myself and achieve them. I feel having a goal is different than having a dream. Dreaming is more of wishing, when people talk about goals those are accomplishments they set for themselves and go for. I will not just wait for something to happen, I will go after and achieve my aspirations in life.

Life goal most people aspire to be is successful; while yes, this is a goal I set for myself. However, what is more important to me is the way I get there. With my mom being a first-generation graduate from the Dominican Republic, who was given so little being a minority, she did not let that stop her from becoming great, not only for herself but for the rest of my family and me. She always wanted to give her family a better life than what she was capable of having. I want to help everyone and anyone who needs it. Growing up as a minority, I have been fortunate enough to see the world how it is. As I grow I want to help the people around me grow and help my community grow. Success is not about the end result but the journey. Who you have helped, who helped you and giving back. I believe with the right support system I will go for my goals and let nothing stand in my way to becoming the best version of myself. I did not have the ideal childhood most children get to experience; nevertheless, everyone has their own story and their own experiences. The types of obstacles I have faced definitely helped mold me into the person I am today. I feel as if going to college will definitely help me grow as a person and also grow my knowledge and mentality. Going to college will make my family proud and it was always and will always be a life accomplishment I will stop at nothing to achieve. One of my life goals is to go to college excel in everything and take nothing for granted. I want to take full advantage of every tiny opportunity I am given.

I want to help everyone and anyone who needs it. Growing up as a minority, I have been fortunate enough to see the world how it is. Viewing the world face on takes a lot of patience and integrity to deal with. To not get angry why things are the way they are but t keep a steady mindset on wanting to be the change. This is why I want to help people just like me and people who are in different situations than I am. As I grow I want to help the people around me grow and help my community grow. Success is not about the end result but the journey. Who you have helped, who helped you and giving back. I believe with the right support system I will go for my goals and let nothing stand in my way to becoming the best version of myself. I did not have the ideal childhood most children get to experience; nevertheless, everyone has their own story and their own experiences. The types of obstacles I have faced definitely helped mold me into the person I am today. Going to college will make my family proud and it was always and will always be a life accomplishment I will stop at nothing to achieve. One of my life goals is to go to college excel in everything and take nothing for granted. I want to take full advantage of every tiny opportunity I am given. I believe a college degree is critical for my future plans of success. I do not want to just "get by" in life and take it as it comes. I will not just wait for something to happen, I will go after and achieve my aspirations in life.

A life goal most people aspire to be is successful, this is a goal I set for myself. However, what is more, important to me is the way I get there. My mom is a first-generation graduate. Being a minority she was given little oppurtunity. She always wanted to give her family a better life than what she was capable of having. She gave us access to private education for our entire lives. She believed they set morals into us and help us achieve maturity and responsibility, which I believe did help me. I aspire to make my mother proud and achieve my full potential. I want to help anyone who needs it. Growing up as a minority, I have been fortunate enough to see the world how it is. I want to help the people around me grow and help my community grow. I believe with the right support system I will go for my goals and let nothing stand in my way to becoming the best version of myself. I feel as if going to college will help me grow as a person and also grow my knowledge and mentality. Going to college will make my family proud and it was always and will always be a life accomplishment I will stop at nothing to achieve. One of my life goals is to go to college. I want to take full advantage of every opportunity I am given. I believe a college degree is critical for my plans of success. Having a goal is different than having a dream. Dreaming is more of wishing, when people talk about goals those are accomplishments they set for themselves and go for. I will not just wait for something to happen, I will go after and achieve my aspirations in life.

A life goal most people aspire to be is successful; while yes, this is a goal I set for myself. However, what is more, important to me is the way I get there. With my mom being a first-generation graduate from the Dominican Republic, who was given so little being a minority, she did not let that stop her to become great, not only for herself but for the rest of my family and me. She always wanted to give her family a better life than what she was capable of having. That is why she gave us access to private education for our entire lives. She believed they set morals into us and help us achieve maturity and responsibility, which I believe did help me. I aspire to make my mother proud and achieve my full potential. I want to help every and anyone who needs it. Growing up as a minority, I have been fortunate enough to see the world how it is. This is why I want to help people just like me and people who are in different situations than I am. As I grow I want to help the people around me grow and help my community grow. Success is not about the end result but the journey. Who you have helped, who helped you and giving back. I believe with the right support system I will go for my goals and let nothing stand in my way to becoming the best version of myself. I did not have the ideal childhood most children get to experience; nevertheless, everyone has their own story and their own experiences. The types of obstacles I have faced definitely helped mold me into the person I am today. I feel as if going to college will definitely help me grow as a person and also grow my knowledge and mentality. Going to college will make my family proud and it was always and will always be a life accomplishment I will stop at nothing to achieve. One of my life goals is to go to college excel in everything and take nothing for granted. I want to take full advantage of every tiny opportunity I am given. I believe a college degree is critical for my future plans of success. Yes, I could get by without a degree; however, that's not what I want to do. I do not want to just "get by" in life and take it as it comes. That is not who I am. I plan to set goals for myself and achieve them. I feel having a goal is different than having a dream. Dreaming is more of wishing, when people talk about goals those are accomplishments they set for themselves and go for. I will not just wait for something to happen, I will go after and achieve my aspirations in life.

Undoubtedly, my proudest moment was seeing my mom walk the stage at her graduation. She was not able to attend her first graduation because it fell perpendicular to my brother’s high school graduation, so she sacrificed the pride of finally walking the stage to support my eldest brother at his graduation.She ended up going back to college for another 2 years. Subsequent to those two years, she was able to walk the stage, after an elongated 25 years of education, she graduated as a first generation grad with two degrees.This encouraged me from there on to put my best foot forward and try my hardest in school so I can accomplish what she had done and more. Likewise, I can potentionally be the next generation to graduate in my family. As I am beginnin my senior year, I am on top of my work, my grades and my responsibilities. I have definitely put in the work to be where I am now. I am less stressed even though I am juggling a lot more responsibilities. However, I repositioned myself to the point where I can take on more responsibility and tasks while maintaining my grades, work, and whatever else and still maintain a healthy mind set, which is vital for a successful future. I would definitely say I matured a lot since freshman year. I have changed my mind set and am setting goals for myself I would have never believed would be possible.

As I am beginnin my senior year, I am on top of my work, my grades and my responsibilities. I have definitely put in the work to be where I am now. I am less stressed even though I am juggling a lot more responsibilities. However, I repositioned myself to the point where I can take on more responsibility and tasks while maintaining my grades, work, and whatever else and still maintain a healthy mind set, which is vital for a successful future. I would definitely say I matured a lot since freshman year. I have changed my mind set and am setting goals for myself I would have never believed would be possible. The first two years of my high school career I slacked off a tremendous amount. I had a lack of motivation, drive, and support. I wanted to do better and show my mom that I can and will do better. Seeing my mom achieve her lifelong goals inspired me to set my goals and persevere to accomplish them, taking nothing for granted and putting forth my entire self into what I genuinely want to become. Overcoming rebellion, the first imperative step I took to become a better version of myself. To become the best version of myself I needed to set my goals straight and go for them, which I have been doing since and am continuing to do. Instead of wishing, dreaming and hoping I set goals for myself to go after and attain. I would definitely go back to my freshman year self, considering that was the time in my life where I needed th most guidance. The people I surrounded myself with was a major factor in the level of success I would gain. Accordingly, I had to put muyself first. My sophmore year was not any better than my freshamn I really wished I put my schoolwork as my number one priority. By going back and setting myself straight I would hope that I would get that through my head and set my priorities straight so I wouldn't have struggled as much in my junior year, even though I am at the happiest I've ever been now. This could have been achieved a long time ago if I had the substructure I needed