Becoming a first-generation college student is important to me as I feel that being a first-generation college student means more opportunities and options will be open to me. Both of my parents have only completed high school and with only a high school diploma it's hard for them to get good jobs that pay well. Seeing how my parents have had to deal with this has further motivated me to get a college education to not only improve my quality of life but also my family's as with this education I will be able to better provide for them. I can recall from a very young age the struggles my parents had to go through with their jobs and how it also affected me. My mother had to pick up many shifts just to make ends meet and was constantly tired with how much she had to work. She would also work at odd times of the day so I rarely ever got to spend time with my mother. My father is an engineer but because he only has a high school diploma it is hard for him to find work or keep it. Because of this, there have been many times when he would be unemployed for months leaving my mother to pick up more shifts. Since my parents didn't have much time to look after me I found myself joining many clubs and doing lots of after-school activities to keep busy so that I wouldn't have to be home alone. The activities I joined have inspired me in many ways and have shaped who I am today and what I want to do for my career. One extracurricular that has really stuck with me is the Robotics club my school offers. I have been in Robotics for over three years now and it has really influenced what I want to do. Ever since joining I have realized that I love building and designing things of my own. There is a huge sense of accomplishment when you get to design and build your own thing. I also feel like the Robotics club has helped me develop better logical thinking skills as sometimes when I run into problems when building I have to think about solutions quickly since we have to have our robots completed before competitions start. Other extracurricular activities that I feel have shaped who I am are the Art club and Ecology club my school offers. The Art club pushed me to try different mediums of Art that I feel have made me turn into a more creative person. The Ecology club made me think and be more considerate of others. We are always trying to help other people out by recycling, setting up food drives, and collecting things that could help people in our community. I feel like all of these extracurriculars together have collectively inspired me to become an Architect. I wish to design affordable housing that will last a long time for lower-income people to live in. I want to help and contribute to my community in this way. My life experiences have inspired me to go to college to pursue these dreams of mine. Seeing how my lower-income family has struggled to get and keep jobs has motivated me to get a higher education to not only better my future but to also help and provide for my family and to help other low-income families like mine.