I have recently realized that if we let our personal challenges destroy us, then we are nothing and have nothing to offer. It 's important that we take control of our situation and use the personal hardship as an opportunity to better ourselves. Each one of us have a different story making us rare, valuable, and uniquely in our own ways.

Even though my farther is a fireman, we still live paycheck to paycheck. My family has been faced with many obstacles but with the help of God, friends and family we overcame them. In 1998, my farther was diagnosed with transverse militis. Transverse militis is a disease that affects the spinal cord. It is caused by inflammation in the spinal cord and leads to paralisis. It is beleived that the flu shot was the cause of this disease. This has put a strain on my family finacially. By the grace of God, he is 97% healed.

After hearing about the struggle my farther faced, I have been dedicated to volunteering with the disabled. Throughout the four years of high school, I have completed a total of 85 service hours. Although I only needed 80 for graduation. I have volunteered at the soup kitchen, cheered on runners at charitable marathons and helped with collecting and sending supplies to the hurricane Harvey victims. I plan on volunteering throughout the year, and hopefully the rest of my life.

Now that I am a senior its seems like the first day I walked through Westside’s front doors was just months ago, but really it has been four whole