I have seen firsthand how the women in my life have been subject to unfair circumstances and forced to make sacrifices at the expense of their well-being as a result of the few resources they are offered as female minorities in Texas. Some of my earliest memories are of my mom waking me up as early as 4:00 A.M. to cross from Nuevo Laredo to Laredo and drop me off at school while she worked at a rag factory. She would then pick me up from school, cross again, set up a stand at a flea market, and repeat the same ritual the next day. Similarly, my aunts were also under these circumstances in which they had to juggle caring for their kids and working to earn enough for basic necessities. The women in my family are strong; they have the willpower to work in hot weather and still come home with a wide smile and plenty of love to give to their family. However, one thing they never got used to was the lack of concern for the women’s safety at their workplace. While men in higher work positions harassed their female colleagues, including the women in my family, higher-ups turned a blind eye or fired the women who reported this misconduct. My mom even recalls a time when a young female coworker was constantly being followed home from work by her boss. There is no doubt in my mind that these experiences are not limited to just the women in my family. In fact, this sense of having to sacrifice one's time, energy, and physical health in order to care for the people they cherish is something that a lot of women in my community experience. I also understand that these struggles branch much further than just the workplace, with some women even feeling unsafe in their own homes. I have already taken a few steps towards aiding the women in my community by donating hygiene products and easter baskets to the women and children at Casa de Misericordia, a shelter for victims of domestic violence in my city. The first step to tackling gender disparity in Texas is, first and foremost, staying in Texas, specifically Laredo Texas. My goal is to attend Texas A&M International University to continue helping the women in my community. In the future, I want to be someone that any woman in my community can come to. While there are plenty of external means of assisting women, I want to become a mental health counselor to tackle the internal conflicts that arise as a result of these circumstances. Furthermore, I want to provide women in my community with the skills, strength, and confidence to stand up for themselves and set boundaries against any type of adversity. With enough work, help, and determination, I hope to help women in my state learn to heal and care for themselves the same way they care for the people they cherish.

For a long time, I switched between which career path I wanted to pursue. Now, that is no longer the case, for my current field of interest is inspired by the experiences and hardships of the people I have come to cherish throughout my life. While there are many aspects I love about my culture, nothing bothers me more than the way my community has been brought up to cope with their mental health struggles. I have seen firsthand how therapy and knowing how to care for one’s mental health can result in a wonderful outcome. During the Covid-19 pandemic, my mom, with her newfound free time, decided that it was time to reflect and heal from her past through professional help and booked an online therapist. Not only did she have a difficult upbringing, but she also developed a lot of anxiety after moving to the U.S., having me, losing both her parents, and cutting communication with her friends and family all in the span of one year. With each session, I saw my mom approach life through a new lens. She expressed how with each session she felt as though a huge weight had been lifted from her back. I was truly happy to see my mom take better care and become more empathetic for herself. This change made me realize just how wonderful therapy could be for the troubled mind. Unfortunately, I also saw the extent to which isolation could hinder someone's mental health. One day in class, our teacher informed the class that one of my classmates had taken his own life. Although we were not very close, I was still upset; he was funny and he and his friends welcomed me into their friend group during testing days. Furthermore, I knew that many of my closest friends would most likely be distraught by the news, for they would always hear them speak fondly of him. Having witnessed two different events, both rooted in mental health but handled very differently, I decided to explore the world of psychology. While I have been extremely fortunate to have supportive and loving parents, I know others are not as lucky. Thus why I aspire to become a mental health counselor, someone who can guide people towards improving their mental health. In the future, I want to extend mental health care to more people in my community by creating or working with an organization in my community. One group that I have learned about, SCAN, has a mission to extend social services, including mental health care, to more individuals in my community. After speaking to a member at SCAN, and about his role in the organization as a therapist, I discovered a way in which I could make an impact in my community. Through my efforts and this scholarship, I hope to create a future in which more people can learn to reach out and care for their mental health.

Whenever my mom recounts her and my dad's experience moving to the United States, she always looks back to the same moment. She recalls getting back from work at a candle factory after many hours trimming and cutting countless wicks. As she lays in bed, a lump begins to form in her throat and tears fall from her eyes and down her face. At that moment all she can feel are the blisters and soreness on her hands, wrists, arms, and back. My dad tries convincing her that she has made enough money until he receives permission to work in the U.S. and tells her that it would be better for her to quit working in the factory. Of course, my mom understands that it is just wishful thinking and reassures him that she can continue working until he can start looking for a job. The next day before work she buys bandage wraps for her hands, hoping that they will help her withstand the pain for a few more weeks of working at that hot candle factory. My parents grew up in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, and started working by the time they were around 15 or 16. At the time, my mom and dad believed they made the right choice. My dad did not believe he was smart enough to go to college and hated going to school. He was also under a lot of pressure to provide for himself and his siblings, for his father would spend all his earnings on alcohol. On the other hand, my mom suffered from a lot of anxiety and believed that high school was only making it worse. In exchange for dropping out of school, she agreed to go to become a missionary, which immediately convinced and thrilled her mother. While they avoided their initial worry of going to school, they soon found that dropping out only put more pressure on them; this was especially evident when they moved to Texas after having me. Not only did my parents have to juggle taking care of a baby and making money, but they also had to take care of both my maternal grandma, who had stomach cancer, and grandpa, who had Alzheimer's. Unlike my grandparents, my mom and dad are open about their lives and the mistakes they have made in the past. They have never tried hiding how moving to a foreign country, the death of my grandparents, and their childhood have shaped their lives and who they are today. For that reason, I feel like I have had the opportunity to live a comfortable life with the support of both my parents. I value the lessons they have taught me as well as the sacrifices they have made to ensure I have a brighter future. I care deeply about my education and chose to enter a dual enrollment program despite the rigorous academic challenges it entailed. Thanks to my parents, I have learned to take and cherish every opportunity that has been granted to me as well as take the most that I can from that experience. While I have been extremely fortunate to have such loving and supportive parents, I know others are not as lucky. Thus, I have decided to become a mental health counselor. In doing so, I believe that I will be able to help people, including those who faced similar obstacles as my loved ones, to overcome day-to-day obstacles and give them the knowledge, skills, and opportunity to grow into the person they aspire to be: someone they can be proud of.

Like most kids, I lasted a long time switching between which career path I wanted to pursue. Looking back, it was obvious that I was not passionate about any of those choices. Now, that is not the case, for my current field of interest is inspired by the experiences and hardships of the people I have come to cherish throughout my life. I believe that I am very fortunate; I have two loving parents, wonderful friends, and live comfortably. Thus, I never entertained the idea that someone my age could feel miserable every day. However, that changed in middle school when I became especially close to someone who was transgender. I did not get along with a lot of the girls in my gym class, but I grew fond of him after bonding over our shared love of art. When he confided in me about his poor mental health and body dysphoria I was confused. It wasn’t until he showed me his self-inflicted scars that the severity of his situation became clear to me. It was then that I began to explore the world of psychology and topics such as mental health, mental disorders, and therapy. The more I learned the more I began to understand how various factors can affect someone's mental health and how they develop. I found myself applying the knowledge I had acquired to my life and other people that I was close to, such as my parents and extended family members. I began to notice how the hardships they faced in their childhood and when they moved to the U.S. shaped them to have a difficult outlook on life and hindered their relationship with themselves and others. Thus, as soon as I learned of the hardships the people around me faced daily, I made the decision to become someone who can help people heal and tackle those issues. I want to major in psychology and primarily pursue a career as a mental health counselor in order to guide people to improve their mental health. However, I also want to extend these resources to be more accessible to the people in my underserved community and culture. Recently, I have had the pleasure of personally speaking to a member at SCAN, an organization that has a mission to extend social services, including mental health care, to more individuals in my community. After speaking to him about SCAN and his role in the organization as a therapist, I discovered a way in which I could make an impact in my community. I hope to one day create or partner with an organization like SCAN that provides mental health services to people who need it but do not have access to it. My dream is that one day individuals like my friend, parents, and other members of my community can have access to resources that will make a positive impact on their mental health and begin a new cycle of self-care, love, and acceptance.

Something that I have become increasingly aware of these past few years is the gender disparity at the expense of women in my state, especially the women from my culture. I have seen firsthand how the women in my life have been subject to unfair circumstances and forced to make sacrifices at the expense of their own wellbeing as a result of the little resources they are offered as female minorities in Texas. Some of the earliest memories I have are of my mom waking me up as early as 4:00 A.M. in order to cross from Nuevo Laredo to Laredo and dropping me off at school while she worked at a rag factory. She would then pick me up from school, cross again, set up a stand at a flea market, and repeat the same ritual again the next day. Similarly, my aunts were also under these circumstances in which they had to juggle caring for their kids and working to earn enough for basic necessities. The women in my family are strong; they have the willpower to work in hot weather and still come home with a wide smile and plenty of love to give to their family. However one thing they never got used to was the lack of concern for the women’s safety at their workplace. While men in higher work positions harassed their female colleagues, including the women in my family, higher ups turned a blind eye or fired the women who reported this misconduct. My mom even recalls a time where a young female coworker was constantly being followed home from work by her boss. There is no doubt in my mind that these experiences are not limited to just the women in my family. In fact, this sense of having to sacrifice one's time, energy, and physical health in order to care for the people they cherish is something that I believe a lot of women in my state live through. I also understand that these struggles branch much further than just the workplace, with some women even feeling unsafe in their own homes. I have already taken a few steps towards aiding the women in my community through donating hygiene products and easter baskets to the women and children at Casa de Misericordia, a shelter for victims of domestic violence in my city. The first step to tackling gender disparity in Texas is, first and foremost, staying in Texas, specifically Laredo Texas. My goal is to attend Texas A&M International University so that I can continue to help the women from my city and state. In the future, I want to be someone that any woman in my state and community can come to. While there are plenty of external means of assisting women who struggle here in Texas, I want to become a mental health counselor to tackle the internal conflicts that may arise as a result of these circumstances. I want to begin tackling this issue within my community before extending it out to as many people as possible across the state. Furthermore, I want to provide women in my state with the skills, strength, and confidence to stand up for themselves and set boundaries against any type of adversity. With enough work, help, and determination, I hope to help women in my state learn to heal and care for themselves the same way they care for the people they cherish.

One of the greatest variables that make a tremendous impact on a person’s life is culture. Not only does it forge one’s beliefs and traditions, but it can also impact the way they interact with the people around them. While there are thousands of wonderful things I have to say about my culture and how it has shaped me into the person I am today, there has always been one aspect about it that bothered me the most. As a girl with parents and extended family who were raised in Mexico, nothing has bothered me more than the way they have been brought up to cope with their mental health struggles. The women in my family are, without a doubt, some of the most loving and selfless people I have had the pleasure of speaking to. However, nothing saddens me more than the sacrifices they have made for their loved ones, at the cost of their own health, and how they choose to hide it behind walls and smiles. Similarly, I have come to hear many stories about the men in my family as well. Unfortunately, most of them are not at the best stages of their lives, with most of them drowning their worries and frustrations with alcohol or other vices. As my knowledge of mental health expands, I now understand the root, or at least a part of the root, of their self-destructive habits. Growing up, they were forced to mature faster than any child should while at the same time bottling up the stress that pressure brought them. Now, I cannot help but notice a tinge of regret, sorrow, or frustration from the adults around me, and I cannot help but wonder how this pain could be prevented. While I have been extremely fortunate to have parents who have gone out of their way to break this cycle, I know others are not as lucky. Thus why I aspire to become a mental health counselor, someone who can guide people to separate themselves from the harmful and destructive mentality they have been conditioned into adopting while still being able to enjoy the beautiful and exciting aspects of our culture that I and many others in my community have grown to love. Currently, I live in a city where 95.5% of our population is Hispanic, and although everyone is impacted by our culture to different degrees, I have no doubts that we all share or witness similar experiences. For that reason, I want to extend mental health care to more people in my community by creating or working with an organization in my community. For instance, one such group that I have learned about, SCAN, has a mission to extend social services, including mental health care, to more individuals in my community. I have had the pleasure of personally speaking to a member at SCAN, after speaking to him about SCAN and his role in the organization as a therapist, I discovered a way in which I could make an impact in my community. I am aware that changing the world is a very ambitious and challenging task. However, I hope that through these future efforts, I can at least pave a path toward a future in which the people who share my culture, as well as others around the world, can learn to care for their mental health and begin a new cycle of self-care, love, and acceptance.