When I graduate a year early from The University of Texas at Austin in 2026, I will be the first in my family to earn a college degree. My mom has a high school diploma, and my dad dropped out of college. I come from a long line of hardworking people , the daughter of a McDonald’s manager and a TSA agent. My family has always known work, not education. But I want to change that, for myself and for my three younger brothers. I want them to see higher education as possible, even expected. My roots go back to 1973, when my grandfather came to the U.S. from Jalisco, Mexico, at just 14 years old. He slept on a park bench when he had nowhere to go. He later picked apples in Washington and eventually settled in Orange County as a factory worker. He used to tell me that he once dreamed of being an architect, but he had to put food on the table first. He always said, “Even if you have holes in your shoes, don’t let that stop you from chasing your dreams.” His words were the catalyst to why I decided to pursue a college education despite the debt. Being first-generation is empowering, but also isolating. I filled out the FAFSA on my own. I registered for classes alone. I have no one to ask when it comes to applying for corporate jobs or anything of that sort. When I made the Dean’s List, my family didn’t really celebrate. And at first it hurt me. But I realized that it’s not because they didn’t care, but because they didn’t understand what it meant. I’m majoring in marketing a field where Latinos are deeply underrepresented. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, only 8.3% of marketing managers are Latino. While searching for scholarships, I realized there were very few for Latinas in marketing. That’s something I want to change. Once I’m established in my career, I plan to start a scholarship fund for Latinos who want to pursue marketing. I’ll begin by contributing 5% of my income, with the goal of increasing that over time. Even a small opportunity can open a big door. My goal is to inspire others not just through words, but through action. I believe shared understanding leads to better workplaces and better futures. And I hope my journey can be a step toward that change.

My friend invited me to her birthday dinner, but I couldn’t go because I had to pay my rent.

It’s been 5 days since I graduated from The Woodlands College Park high school. I have never been more excited to start my life journey. I will be the first in my Honduran/Mexican family to pursue a higher education. This August 23 will be my first day as a college student. I am participating in UT Austin’s CAP program. So I will be attending the University of Texas at Tyler for one year, and then I will finally attend the school of my dreams. I plan on attending the Mccombs School of Business. I will double Major in International Business and Marketing. Although I do not get the opportunity, to attend UT during my freshman year I’ve remained persistent. The old pessimistic, Vallerie would’ve settled for Texas A&M but I decided to take the risk to follow my dreams. As a senior, I learned that nothing is impossible, as long as you are persistent. After I receive my bachelor's, I plan on pursuing a Master's in business administration. My end goal is to own my own company, although I don’t know what industry I want to concentrate on. I just know that I want to own something that is an asset to this planet. Whether it’s life-saving vehicle tech that reduces collision impact, that ultimately improves safety because the dated seatbelts are not up to par with the constant improvement of a car’s speed. An app that motivates weary college students by sending a notification of how much money they’ll lose if they chose to be unproductive. As well as interchangeable-sole sports shoes, that will allow people to play whatever sport they like. That will eventually cut costs for triathletes and parents whose kids participate in different sports. I have many ideas, I just hope I have the opportunity to have my ideas come to fruition. Winning this scholarship will greatly assist my parents and me financially. This month we’ve spent 865 dollars on freshman, housing, and orientation fees. Although I’m grateful that they’re supporting me, I know it’s financially hard on them. My mom only has a high school diploma and my dad dropped out of college. Descended from a McDonald’s Manager and a TSA agent, I hope to inspire my three younger brothers to get a higher education. All my bloodline has ever known was to go straight to work, and I’m glad to be a catalyst for that change.

My mind runs and passes by hundreds of ideas per second. I have a journal to capture all of my ideas so that I don’t lose any value. As a little girl, they were quite goofy. Crustless pizza and bubble-making trampolines. I have always wanted to find a solution to a problem. I think it is ambitious, but I hope to have one of my ideas come to fruition. I currently have 2 ideas that I’ve been stuck on. My most recent idea is a magnetic jewelry box. A couple of weeks ago I was on my treadmill, and after the run, I realized my necklace was stuck to a magnetic key. I thought it was going to be tangled, but after I took it off, it was magically untangled. I swirled my necklace around to get it to Knott and put it back on the key. It still was untangling itself. I went on Google to see if anyone was selling the product I was imagining. Lo and behold there is no one selling my idea. During Summer Break, I will try to build a prototype, because I genuinely think this will be a good product. It solves 2 problems, it makes sure your necklaces aren’t untangled and saves space compared to your normal jewelry where your necklaces are hung vertically. I don’t think I possess many skills, but I’ve always carried creativity with me. My second idea is an app that motivates college students, by showing them how much money they’d be losing if they chose to skip class or attend a party on a school night. After a student enters their financial information, the app will create personal nonfiction for the user. I don’t want the app to be known for its negativity, so I want to create a feature that allows the user to enter productive things they’ve done that will ultimately reduce the amount of debt on their end. For example, the app tells a student that they’re saving money by staying in and studying. I also want to create a leaderboard of productiveness, that allows users to compete with each other. Competition nourishes personal growth. As an incoming freshman student, I know there will be times when I want to give up, so it’s beneficial to have a digital cheerleader that encourages me. I believe that my app will make the graduation rates skew right. As I’ve grown up I’ve realized that a lot of people have lost their childlike imagination. I’m very grateful to have a conscience that is still as curious as the day I was born.

Compared to other states, Texas women are at a significant disadvantage. From income inequality to how we’re treated day to day. As a young woman, I hope to change this reality for future women. The reality is that women have fewer rights than men in Texas. Especially with the overturning of Roe v Wade. In the South, a woman is expected to bear children and take care of her husband. A girl is not allowed to have dreams of grandeur that don’t include her groom. In this society, a Southern belle’s education ends after high school. This social expectation is what nourishes the cycle of gender disparity. However, when I graduate from UT in 2027, I will be the first in my family to graduate college. My mom only has a high school diploma and my dad dropped out of college. Descended from a McDonald’s Manager and a TSA agent, I hope to inspire my three younger brothers to get a higher education. All my bloodline has ever known was to go straight to work. In 1973 my 14-year-old paternal grandmother slept on a lonesome park bench after emigrating from Jalisco, Mexico. She soon went to Washington to pick apples and eventually moved to Orange County to be an entry-level factory worker for an automotive company. I grew up with her telling me stories, longing to be an Architect, but she had to put food on the table first. She always told me that even if I had holes in my shoes, I should never let that stop me from chasing my dreams. After I obtain my intellectual shoes, I will assist other women in tying theirs. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, only 8.3% of Latinos are marketing managers. After researching for several scholarships I noticed that scholarships for Latinas in Marketing are scarce. So when I am established in my career I plan to start a scholarship for Latinas who want to pursue a career in marketing. Although not much, I plan to fund it with 5% of my income with the hopes of increasing it every year. I hope to see more girls that look like me in my field. Pursuing higher education should be a precedent for all women. Obtaining a degree allows women to acknowledge that we are more than companions and incubators for children. A contemporary Southern belle is a woman who nurtures her prosperity, before a kin or spouse.

Since I made this memes myself I would use these following hashtags. #originalmemes #schoolmemes #memes #relatablememes #parentmemes #elementaryschoolmemes #highschoolmemes #childhoodmemes #growingupintheusmemes

I have been recently diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) , and it has changed the way I view every aspect of my life. I usually never take any comfort in numbers , but it calmed me down when I realized that every person is facing some type of adversity. Whether it’s family , financial, mental health , or any other issues, people learn to live with that burden. That concept was very hard for me to digest at first. I would have never believed you if you told me that Sylvia Plath had clinical depression or Micheal Phelps had ADHD. I thought that nothing could ever be wrong with you if you were successful. Fortunately, my idea was quickly debunked. I realized that I too could be successful , in different sectors of my life. Recently ,a new type of anxiety has come into my life , it was the idea of my future. I have had many thoughts that I would end up unhappy and unaccomplished. I have never really had any confidence in myself ,and I thought I couldn’t do anything. In my head I would never become a doctor or a marketer. Things quickly changed after I took a marketing class , and I realized I was good and passionate about it. Now I feel secure with my abilities. Having to tell my family and friends about my illness was very hard because I had to be vulnerable. I am a private person , I do not like idiosyncratic conversations. And for a long time I distanced myself from my family. I would never go to parties, holidays, graduations, baby showers, etc. Having to talk about my flaws was a nightmare, because pity was something I especially didn’t want to feel from them. Currently my relationships with the people that I love and trust grew stronger and stable. Life with mental illness has been hard. For a long time I dwelled on my diagnoses, but I had an epiphany. I wasn’t learning to live with GAD because I already had it. I have been doing so for many years , and I have had still managed to be successful. I have been Sylvia Plath and Micheal Phelps.

On June 6 , I was in line to get my 1st Pfizer dose. After, I looked down at the circular bandage on my left arm with immense gratitude towards current and former vaccine researchers. A percentage of the current population wouldn’t even be alive , if it wasn’t for those miraculous people. I admire Maurice Hilleman because he was the most prolific inventor of vaccines in history . In the new age of the covid pandemic , vaccines are a prominent subject. There is a great debate on whether to get one or not. Both sides think they are in the right, so it’s hard to have an open discussion , but it wasn’t always like that . Before 1963 the measles was a great danger to small children, with hundreds of thousands of deaths each year . When Dr. Hilleman disturbed his vaccine in 1963, thousands of concerned parents rushed to get the measles vaccine . The measles vaccine was only one out of 40 vaccines Dr. Maurice created. Other influential vaccines he created were mumps , rubella, chickenpox, hepatitis a , hepatitis b, and haemophilus influenzae. To this day , Hilleman saves at least 8 million lives a year due to his substantial contributions to the world. Millions hardly know about Dr. Maurice Hilleman because there are other influential figures like Louis Pasteur, Gaston Ramon, Edward Jenner , and Özlem Türeci. I believe it’s a great shame to not be aware of the person the planet owes a great debt to. Dr. Hilleman has saved millions of people through his work , and that’s why he is a role model to me .