Superheroes aren’t only fictional. Superheroes have been around long before we were even born. One of them being Cesar Chavez. Chavez was a Mexican-American labor leader and civil rights activist. I admire his dedication to improve the lives of farm workers. I relate to him the most because as a daughter of immigrants and being Mexican, I know the struggle my parents went through to try to earn the most they can to afford paying rent here in California. Chavez went through that hardship himself earning only 40 cents the hour. He knew he had to make a change for himself and everyone else working on the farms. He spent his life savings funding the National Farm Workers Association and won important victories such as increased pay and better working conditions. Together they boycotted grapes which eventually led to an agreement to raise the workers’ pay and give them the right to unionize. Chavez was a true hero, winning many fights for the rights of agricultural workers. His quote “Si se puede” or “Yes we can” sticks with me and it is my motto to get through school and accomplish all my dreams and goals in life. Anything is possible and I can do it. Mind over matter. I can do it!

Where to even start? There are many problems we are facing currently. From the pandemic to Russia vs. Ukraine to skyrocketing gas prices. But one problem that stands out most to me is global warming. Earth is our home. It is home to trillions of people. And it has been home to many before us and hopefully it will be home to many more future generations. Due to environmental issues, there has been a decrease in habitat and biodiversity loss. Resources are becoming depleted and the Arctic ice is melting due to higher temperatures year round. This poses a threat to wildlife living in the cooler areas and also the coral reefs. Many big companies have tried to reduce their carbon emissions and are aiming to be carbon free by 2050. But as a whole nation we can try to use less plastic, stop dumping our trash out into the street, recycle, spread the word on being resourceful and caring for our ecosystem. If we all could join in on the fight against global warming, we can help save our Earth and provide a healthy home to those future generations. Wouldn’t it be nice to still be able to see elephants or polar bears, or even get lost in a forest? Deforestation is ruining nature’s beauty but we can help preserve our world and take care of those endangered species so our children’s children can be able to see how beautiful Earth is.

Fear, worry, and intimidation kept me from applying to a university after taking 5 years off after community college. I felt that school was not for me and I felt lost in my path to take. Everyone in high school talked about their dream school and I didn’t have that. I didn’t feel like I fit in. Why did I not have the same dreams or motivation as the others to pursue a higher education after high school? I went to a community college simply to please my parents and show them that I wanted to become better. But my two years at school, I was only going to school but had no real clear path of what I wanted to become. How could I know? I wanted to go to cosmetology school but that was too expensive for my family. So I took the less expensive path. While I still dream of maybe one day achieving a cosmetology license, I now know what I want to do. After working at a physical therapy for 6 years, I found my passion and I bloomed. I got encouragement from the therapist and I decided that I had taken too much time off and it was time to go back to school. I am working towards becoming a physical therapist one day and help as many people as I can. I want to make an impact on people’s lives and help them regain confidence in doing stuff on their own or seeing how strong their body is. It is a very rewarding experience to see how therapist can change a person’s life after an injury, stroke, or whatever it may be. I have only read books about techniques used to manually stretch or how to perform a couple of exercises and to me it intrigues me to discover new ways to help in recovery. From working at a clinic to beginning my education again, I am ready to take on whatever comes my way. I am no longer afraid or worried that I won’t be able to complete school. I am optimistic that I will reach my goals and help as many people as possible.

Happiness or joy is not having absence of problems, but it is how we deal with them. In life we are going to run into a couple of hardships but it is up to us to make our life better, stress isn’t caused because of doing too much. It is caused by doing too little of what we love. What brings us joy, what brings us that happiness. Joy to me is like nature. It is beautiful and alive. But if a disaster happens, that nature no longer looks or feels the same. However, alone it decides to go back to how it was before disaster hit. And just like nature, we may have hard times and be upset, but we can change that and become happier and bring joy into our life.

Depression, being bullied and being alone. That’s what it felt like growing up and in elementary school. My parents were always working, my mom worked two jobs simply to make ends meet and my grandmother would always take care of me, until she was diagnosed with cancer and passed away 2 years later. She was like a mother to me. Coping with loss of a loved one at the age of 12 was difficult and my escape was food. I gained weight and was constantly bullied at school. This only made my depression even worse and I ate more to feel better and it was a horrible cycle. One day I decided enough was enough. I signed up for boxing and transformed my life physically and mentally. I was no longer weak minded nor weak physically. I lost 20 pounds in two months and I had a whole new relationship with food. Losing the weight helped me feel better about myself and boxing helped to discipline myself and not overeat. Of course I missed my grandmother greatly but she always reminded me when she was still alive, that she will always take care of me and be watching over me until I grow old. It has been over a decade that she has passed but up till this day I am still involved with some type of physical activity and in a way I feel that if I had not been in such a dark place in my life, I would not have seeked some type of help or activity to help with my depression. My grandmother will always be in my heart and I feel that she was my strength and my guide to a healthier lifestyle.