The biggest piece of advice I can give to another first-generation student is that you must choose to invest in yourself. The biggest uncertainty in education for us is not knowing whether it will amount to something. Even so, despite that doubt, the lack of support, the financial difficulty, despite it all, you must believe in and choose yourself every single time. Only you can do that for yourself! You will face difficulties throughout life regardless, but if you choose to move forward every time, it can only bring you closer to something tangible and real. This piece of advice has been extremely prevalent for me, as time and time again I had to keep reminding myself that this will better my life in the future despite how many times I have wanted to quit. Growing up with financial instability, starting college initially felt like I was going to perpetuate this cycle of debt for life. Being offered and taking out loans, having to work to pay for college, and having to figure out the financial difficulties of moving to a new city while still supporting my family back home truthfully made me want to give up on education before I even started. However, I am now starting my junior year of college, and I can confidently say it will be worth it in the end. I am still in debt from student loans; I am still figuring out financial difficulties, but that is life! As much as I want to say that there is some fairytale ending, these are all unfortunately very realistic situations that affect millions of first-generation students every year. All I can do is choose to move forward despite it all. I am like everyone else; I hesitate, I dont know many things, I fear the future, and I wonder sometimes if it will be worth it in the end. However, I CHOOSE to move forward, I CHOOSE not to hesitate, and I will always CHOOSE to put myself first every single time despite all of these things. Even if I started from nothing, to choose and to believe is the only thing I can ever do to change and grow! I have a duty to do that to protect not only the kid in me, but also my family and the future generations to come. The late nights studying, the numerous amounts of reaching out to advisors and faculty for help, the long shifts working to cover tuition, etc., I believe will all be worth it, because this degree can only take me one step forward. All of this to say, I understand the real fear of wanting daily stability after high school in the form of a job instead of the uncertainty and stress of a four-year degree. But education is realistically an investment for that very reason. You cannot aspire to do something that was never manageable for you. If you take away anything from this, it should be the next few lines read in first person. If I can imagine and choose to believe that I can complete a degree, then I CAN. I must invest in my dreams, myself, and my future. I have that duty to myself. I cannot let myself down.

Truthfully, while it started because it was the only language I could understand growing up, it has developed into a passion later on in life I could never have fathomed. From birth up until 2nd grade, I had lived in the US with my parents. However, due to financial difficulties, my parents decided to send me to live in Vietnam with my extended family for 2 years while they figured out these hurdles. Of course, I spoke Vietnamese at home as a child, but I was barely literate when I landed and did not have the academic faculties due to the language barriers to be on par with my peers in subjects like reading, writing, science, etc. Math, however, was the first language I mastered and learned to love; it's a universal language understood by everyone, no matter the cultural differences. Not only was it a subject that I could effortlessly understand on the same level as my peers and focus on, but it also became a bridge into creating connections with my classmates, increasing my social skills. Coming back from the US, I was yet again in a jarring cultural difference in subjects between my classmates due to formally switching over to Vietnamese for years, but yet again mathematics was never an issue for me to comprehend, making it one of my biggest strengths. Going into middle school, I started competing in local and state math competitions as an extracurricular, and because my friends had joined, it made the experience all the more enjoyable. Competing bled all the way up to graduation, introducing me to clubs, experiences, and awards that have become a fundamental part of my existence. Competing at the state level in San Antonio introduced me to the University I currently attend! Beyond this, I believe every math teacher I have had at every stage of my life made my experience and excitement for the subject all the more fulfilling and taught me something new every time. My Vietnamese teacher taught me that math can be humbling; my elementary teacher, Mr. Navarro taught me that math can be fun; my middle school teacher, Mr. Contreras taught me that math can be competitive; and finally, my high school teacher, Mr. Munoz taught me that math can be passionate. All in all, math has been. a very important topic and hobby of mine.

"I guess I have to face That in this awful place I shouldn't show a trace of doubt But pulled against the grain I feel a little pain That I would rather do without I'd rather be Free, free, free I'd rather be Free, free, free Free, free, free From here" These are the lyrics to the song Escapism by Rebecca Sugar, used in the Cartoon Network show Steven Universe. This song was sung in a scene where Steven Universe (the main character) is currently being imprisoned in a human zoo by the Great Diamond Authorities, and uses his projection powers to possess a walking, talking watermelon version of himself, to alert his gem friends on earth that he needs help. The singer of the song is the voice actor of a character in the show Stevonnie (a fusion between Steven and his friend Connie). Fusion is an intimate ritual between gems to reinforce and gain power, becoming one body with double the stats. While fusion is only possible between gems, because Steven is half-gem half-human, he is able to fuse with other human beings, which is why Stevonnie can exist, and is the singer of this melodic lullaby. While Stevonnie sings these lyrics, I feel that the lyrics are representative of Pink Diamond (Stevens mother), and her feelings of wanting to escape the Diamond reign being physically passed on to Steven, as well as the main message of characters wanting self-autonomy through the series as a whole. For background context, Pink Diamond was one of 4 matriarchs of the Diamond Authority, however was the weakest and most powerless matriarchs. She had more of an entertainment job than as an authority figure for the other diamonds, causing her to feel like she had no independence or power. The lyrics "I guess I have to face, that in this awful place" reflects her feelings that she does not feel satisfied in her role and place in life, and its sung with a feeling of uneasiness and desire for more. As rulers, the diamonds oversee planets and essentially plant "kindergartens" which were incubation spots that essentially strips planets of their resources to grow gems (soldiers). Pink Diamond had begged for her own colony for thousands of years to prove her capability and oversight as an authority figure, and when she was finally granted one (Earth), she found the organic life (humans) too precious to throw away, which caused her to rebel against using it for the kindergarten growth. Her idea of course was rejected harshly with her comrades telling her to get it together. The lyrics "I shouldn't show a trace of doubt" reflect the projections of the other diamonds telling her to do her job and be steadfast in planting kindergartens on Earth, instead of being filled with ideas like preserving the organic life forms. This distinction is important because gems are not organic life forms, they are "born" but they are made of light, essentially immortal and do not require to be fed or sleep, etc like organic beings do, and the only way they die is if their core (the gem itself) is shattered, but even then if the shards are put back together and all 4 diamonds use their power, the gem can come back to projection. The lyrics "but pulled against the grain, I feel a little pain, that I would rather do without" reflect this idea that even though Earths destruction wouldn't necessarily harm or inconvenience her in any way, she still feels somewhat inconvenienced by it as one would by like a splinter, hence the "pulled against the grain" like wood, "that I would rather do without" as in the small pain or irritations caused by the splinter. This also serves as a double entendre for the series and gives insight into Pink Diamonds personality, as she was seen as pretty much very selfish, immature, and childlike throughout flashbacks of her in the series (also partly due to her lack of authority and role as an entertainer), which is why this is more of an inconvenience to her and sung in a mellow stance rather than a more aggressive tone of frustration. However, as time passes she realized that her role even as a matriarch was completely useless, as she was breadcrumbed authority for centuries, and had no say in anything important. After this realization, she put into motion a plan where she could not be ignored, and this is a pivotal moment in the franchise where she essentially alters her appearance to look like a Rose Quartz (a soldier), and starts a rebellion by pretending to shatter herself "Pink Diamond" to show power and save organic life on Earth, as well as be a home for "misfit" gems. This is also the point where her personality changes as throughout flashbacks of Rose Quartz, (her alter ego) she is seen as more calm and mature, compared to the childlike and expressive Pink Diamond. The last set of lyrics "id rather be free" reflects the moment right before she set this plan into action, as even though she is not chained by laborious activities as other gem soldiers and lives a comfortable palace life, she still feels restriction under the Diamond Authority, and would rather have free will to do what she pleases. Skipping throughout the series, she fully maintains her role as Rose Quartz (leader of the diamond rebellion), falls in love with a human and has a baby (Steven Universe), but because she is made of light, she essentially has to give up her form and projection to create Steven, tying back into the scene where Steven eventually gets caught by the Diamond Authority (unbeknownst that he is a byproduct of Pink Diamond), and continues her goal of saving Earth. Again, even though the song is sung in the lens of Stevonnie, it serves to show a point about Pink Diamonds feelings of wanting more for herself and is representative of her thoughts, being genetically passed to Steven to carry on her legacy of saving Earth. The word escapism itself which is the title of this song, fully reflects the lyrics, as it is defined as "seeking distraction, relief, or mental diversion from the stresses and unpleasant realities of daily life" which is exactly what Pink Diamond wanted, she wanted a way out of her powerless role and into a life with independence and meaning. On top of that, I feel that the song really represents the series as a whole and is relevant to all characters present, as each character faces their own battles with independence and wanting more than what direction they are heading into, even if the direction they want is straying against the natural "order" of things, wanting to be free from the beehive mind and have freedoms through self autonomy. I feel that this song also serves as the precursor to the battles each of the individual characters in the show faces to gain this self autonomy, almost like the calm before the storm, as the songs throughout the series like "Stronger Than You", "Independent Together", or "Do It For Her", show the more aggressive and passionate feelings each character has to motivate them to act for freedom.