Personal Statement

I was born in Guadalajara Jalisco and raised on a small ranch called Atemajac de Brizuela. My dad left when I was small kid, but came back when I was three years old. One year later my sister was born. Once my sister was born my dad decided to come to the United States because he knew that he had better opportunities here than in Mexico. Four years after that I came to the U.S.A at the age of nine not knowing a single word of English. My family lived with my uncles in a two room house with a total of thirteen people living there. I understood the challenges and sacrifices that my parents were making to bring me to this country. I quickly learned that I would have to work hard to succeed and take advantage of the opportunities my parents came here for.

When I started school, I got to meet English-speaking Latinos who helped me immerse in this new culture. It was a challenge to memorize words in English; it was like starting to write with my left hand. Despite all of this, I always kept focused, and this helped me discover the real meaning of perseverance. When I started high school, I began as an English Language Development student, and earned high grades. My junior year, I petitioned to be switched to regular classes. I also became more diligent, I changed my

I was only a high school freshman but I knew working was going to help my family. I started as a dishwasher and changed to busboy position, but quickly learned that working and being a student in high school changed things. Experiencing a normal teenage life was no longer an option. I also learned that when you work in a restaurant you have a lot of responsibilities. After some time, my father pulled me aside and told me that this was the life of someone without an education. He encouraged me to work hard in school to change my life, and if not, I was going to have very limited