Ever since I discovered marine biology in my 8th grade AVID class, I have become obsessed and dreamt about my future career, research, work, and the fun things that I can do with this career. During high school and my first semester of college, I've started to expose myself to marine biology in more detail, specifically the endangered species. I've learned about thousands of endangered species at risk of potential extinction, and the Vaquita whales catch my attention the most, as their population is under approximately 10. With this in mind, it made me pursue a rescue mission in helping the critically endangered species so they would not become extinct and have a lower biodiversity in their area. I am currently attending Arizona State University, majoring in Ocean Futures (Coastal and Marine Science), to ensure that I will gain education and possibly experience to go towards my future goal of becoming a marine biologist. As of right now, I have completed my first semester and will soon be a part of a study abroad program in Baja California to gain basic research experience by participating in sea turtle research and interacting with them. I soon hope to attend other study abroad programs to give me a hint on what I am going to be exposed to in the future, but what would hold me back is my financial situation. What I hope to take from Arizona State University is learning the specifics on marine biology, such as marine animal conservation, research, and others, to ensure that I will become educated enough to become a marine biologist. I also plan to be part of an internship during the summer to reinforce my professionalism and resume so I can take a big step closer to my future career. I also plan to be in a full-time job near the end of my time at Arizona State University to further improve myself in terms of work experience, collaboration, and my overall professionalism. Since I live in Arizona, where it is full of sand and mountains, I would need to save up money to move near the coast to directly impact the endangered species that I want to help protect and grow. I dream of having a positive impact on the ocean environment through protecting and saving the endangered species that are critical to the environment. Leaving one species to die would leave a small but dramatic effect on the environment and other organisms that rely on those vulnerable species. I believe it is important that it should be addressed and taught to ensure that the oceanic habitat remains healthy and sustainable. The worst part of near extinction is that we may never retain those species back, which may become extinct forever.

My parents gave me the biggest opportunity of my life when they migrated from Mexico to the United States on foot. Their purpose in staying in the United States was to give me and my siblings the freedom and power to become whatever I wanted. I am a first-generation student attending Gateway Early College High School to earn high school and college credits to boost my educational and academic goals. I have been accepted at Arizona State University to earn a Bachelor’s degree in Ocean Futures. I am planning to become a marine biologist to explore and research the deep sea, something humans do not see every day. I also love seeing living organisms as it feels therapeutic and amazing. Other careers I am also interested in are microbiology and jewelry. This would lead to my plan to make a positive impact on my family by not only attending college and receiving degrees but to paying back all of my parents’ struggles when trying to raise me to become a successful individual. My parents spent so much money for me and my siblings to get an education at college because they could not reach those achievements themselves. With three children planning or attending college tripling the amount of tuition and other expenses, my parents would have to burn more money than before to keep us in college. Additionally, we live in a lower-class income household which could hinder my parents' financial management. I know that I will need to focus on my education and future so I can repay the damages my parents have done to help me through college. Hopefully, I can retire them, give them opportunities to experience a happy life, and overall show how grateful I am to have parents who care about my future, education, and life. It may sound easy when I say and plan out my plans to create a positive impact on my family, but there are still chances that it might fail and I will not be able to do the things that I wished to do. My parents have sacrificed their energy, dreams, and money to keep me going forward to reach my destination. As I look towards the future, I am dedicated to achieving the feeling of success to bring satisfaction to my parents. As of right now, the only thing I need to ensure that my plan and dreams become reality is to focus on myself.

Minecraft has been one of my favorite games since I was a young boy. I have been playing it throughout all my life watching videos, and tutorials, and playing it with other friends. There is an unlimited amount of activities, modes, and packs that Minecraft has to offer, but my favorite aspect of the game is playing it in normal mode. Everyone has played Minecraft survival mode at least once when they play it, but it holds a special bond to my life. I have never taken Minecraft seriously, especially in a normal survival world, and have been focusing on other game modes like Skywars and Sandbox mode. Minecraft survival is one of the most relaxing times to play and it satisfies me with how the game looks, the aesthetics, action, animals, entities, and the buildings I can build. Minecraft also has the most therapeutic songs in any game in history and it makes me think back about life. It resonates with me deeply because Minecraft survival looks so much like real life. I have not been appreciating how the world looks and what it does for me, and Minecraft does the best job of representing our world. Also, it helped me go through my childhood. Games have been limited in my childhood since my parents did not have money to buy a console, so the best thing they gave me was a small laptop that was able to run Minecraft. It is not much, but it helped me through my life making it brighter. Minecraft survival mode is my favorite aspect of the game because of how relaxing the game can be and gives me a realization of the real world at such a young age. It drove me through my childhood and I have appreciated it till this day.