My name is Xionylie, a one-of-a-kind name that I am proud to say nobody else has. My father decided to name me after what he knew and grew up with. He took it upon himself to name me after the most powerful and hardworking women he knew: his mother, my grandma on my mom's side and my mother. His mom is named Xiomara, the "Xio" in my name- the most hardworking woman I have ever met in my life, whose struggles still burden her to this day, yet she holds her head up high. My grandma on my mom's side is named Any: the "ny" in my name- the kindest person I know, having the heart and courage to raise a family by herself. And lastly, my mother's name, Leslie: the "lie" in my name- the most honest person I know, she's always putting others before herself. Knowing all of these women that came before me who grew up in a Hispanic household was a challenge in itself, and my father was aware of that. But their stories have been a lesson my father carries with himself everyday, and so do I. I want to be just like them, I want to implement all of the lessons they have taught me about lending a hand whenever I can and making sure that one day, they can see the young woman they have helped shape. But what comforts me the most is that even when they are gone, I will always have a piece of them no matter what and I won't stop until I make them proud. It's important to help someone who is struggling no matter what, it's important to put your differences aside and lend a hand whenever you can. My mother raised me to be independent, but I always struggled with speaking up and being confident in this life, but she has slowly helped me improve piece by piece. Making sure to help me build and put together the puzzle that my life is without overseeing or missing a corner piece. My biggest dream, that I will work towards making a reality, has always been film making. As a Hispanic teenager, I hope to represent all of the Latina girls and boys out there who are too afraid to speak up. Who are always worried about letting people down or don't want to disappoint their families. I've always struggled with expressing how I feel, as do most minorities feel: like we don't have a voice. But I want to change that through an artistic point of view, making sure I portray accurate struggles and solutions to common problems throughout the world. We don't want people to feel sorry for us, we want people to treat us as equals. What truly matters is what we can offer to this world and what we leave in it after we're gone. I want to make an impact while I'm on this earth just as much as when I leave it.

1. I started playing volleyball when I turned 10 years old in Puerto Rico, and have loved the sport ever since. I used to compete every week for about 4 years before I moved to the United States and started high school. I tried my best to try out for my high school volleyball team as the Libero but having recently just moved to the United States, the transition was a lot harder than I had expected. I was struggling with my mental health and adjusting to this new, unfamiliar life, so I had to make one of the hardest decisions of my life. Something that I had considered to be my safe-haven somehow turned a sour topic for me. I tried so hard to find my place in this new environment, so it was completely unexpected when I made the decision to leave the sport once and for all. Instead, I worked on myself and found something I felt just as comfortable doing: Krav Maga. This martial arts that includes self defense, boxing, ground work and much more was my new safe-haven. I made sure not to stop playing volleyball completely, but I focused more on working on my fighting skills as a woman in modern-day society. I have been doing Krav Maga for the 4 years I have been in high school and have gained a new sense of self-love and awareness. 2. In Puerto Rico, I was an excellent student, always considered the teacher's pet. But that transition from Puerto Rico to the United States was the most challenging change I have gone through. At first, school was extremely hard for me since the material was so new and much more advanced. It got so bad, that the teachers were actually planning on pushing me back a grade, but when I found out, I became a whole new person. I've always been extremely competitive, it's in my nature, so I took this as a challenge and studied harder than anyone I knew. I sacrificed my social life so I could prove all of these people wrong, and it was all worth it. Even though my social skills could be a lot better now if I hadn't given that up back then, but I don't regret all of those sacrifices. I am now proud to say that I have been an A+ student taking advanced courses every single year, making sure I challenge and prove to myself that I can do it. 3. After I got used to this new life, I wanted to keep helping people in the United States just like I was raised to do in Puerto Rico. So I went searching for ways I could give back to my community. I eventually stumbled upon a program my community offered called "Boro Buddies", this is where I was able to volunteer by helping elementary students with school while also mentoring them. I have worked with several students by helping tutor them, but I wanted to put my own twist into it. I wanted to be an inspiring figure to these young, curious kids, so I made sure I was like an older sister. I taught them simple things like self-love and the importance of hard work, using my position for the better. I have many personal goals in life, but my biggest one is to become a film director. I want to raise awareness about minorities all over the world from an artistic point of view. To work with people who inspire others and help provide opportunities to those who don't have many resources/opportunities.

My name is Xionylie Rivera Ayabarreno. It's a one-of-a-kind name that I am proud to say nobody else has. Guaranteed. The day I was born, my father was struggling to come up with a name for his first daughter, so he decided to name me after what he knew and grew up with. Women. He took it upon himself to name me after the most powerful and hardworking people he knew: my grandma on my dad's side, my grandma on my mom's side and my mother. My grandma on my dad's side is named Xiomara, hence the "Xio" in my name. She is the most hardworking woman I have ever met in my life, whose struggles still burden her to this day, yet she holds her head up high every day. My grandma on my mom's side is named Any: hence the "ny" in my name. She's the kindest person I know, having the heart and courage to raise a whole family all by herself. And lastly, my mother's name, Leslie: hence the "lie" in my name. My mom is the most honest person I know, she's always putting others before herself by giving back to our small community day and night. Knowing all of these women that came before me who grew up in a Hispanic household was a challenge in itself, and my father was aware of that. But their stories have been a lesson my father carries with himself everyday, and so do I. I want to be just like them, I want to implement all of the lessons they have taught me about lending a hand whenever I can and making sure that one day, they can see the young woman they have helped shape. But what comforts me the most is that even when they are gone, I will always have a piece of them no matter what and I won't stop until I make them proud. I'm not saying that Hispanics have it the hardest, because there is always someone who has it worse than you, and I learned that from my grandmas. It's important to help someone who is struggling no matter what, it's important to put your differences aside and lend a hand whenever you can. My mother raised me to be independent, but I always struggled with speaking up and being confident in this life, but she has slowly helped me improve piece by piece. Making sure to help me build and put together the puzzle that my life is without overseeing or missing a corner piece. My biggest dream, that I will work towards making a reality, has always been film making. As a Hispanic teenager, I hope to represent all of the Latina girls and boys out there who are too afraid to speak up. Who are always worried about letting people down or don't want to disappoint their families. I've always struggled with expressing how I feel, as do most minorities feel: like we don't have a voice. But I want to change that through an artistic point of view, making sure I portray accurate struggles and solutions to common problems throughout the world. We don't want people to feel sorry for us, we want people to treat us as equals. Skin color doesn't and shouldn't matter. If you are white, black, orange, blue or pink, there's no difference. What truly matters is what we can offer to this world and what we leave in it after we're gone. I want to make an impact while I'm on this earth just as much as when I leave it.

An obstacle I faced in my life was moving to the United States from Puerto Rico. I had lived on the beautiful island for 11 years of my life, and my life changed completely when I had to leave everything behind. My dad got an amazing opportunity for work that would become beneficial for us in the future. But we would have to move 2,540 km away, to focus on our futures and new lives with new opportunities. My family and I had to leave the rest of our family members in "La Isla of Encanto", but deep down, we always knew that it was the right choice. Little did we know what a challenge it would be for our lives to change overnight. We couldn't do our daily visits to our grandparents' house, we couldn't taste our uncle's amazing food, we couldn't hug our best friends. Even though it's been a challenge, we've managed to live in the same neighborhood for almost 6 years and are happier than ever. Because as long as you make sacrifices that you believe will be beneficial for your future, it's all worth it in the end.