I was born in Southern Los Angeles and lived in a conserved community of predominantly hispanic immigrants seeking socioeconomic prosperity for their families and an adequate education for their children. My family was a part of this community and as such, I was always met with a high standard for education and was taught to fully appreciate the benefits that followed it. I would constantly be reminded of these benefits when I would continuously witness not only my own family struggle, but when neighbors and friends also struggled to provide essential payments for their utilities, food, or rent. These financial struggles stubbornly persisted to haunt my family and in 2008 we were in no position to maintain our home and consequently lost it. This drastically strained family …show more content…
Unsurprisingly, students, including myself, would easily succumb to this mindset. We were in a challenged area in which no one expected more than a suspension or referral from the students and as such, we would fall into a void absent of any sort of motivation. We were merely thought of as “the ghetto” with no real potential for higher education. Many students believed this trend to be a self-evident truth. We were not smart, we were not capable, and we were not enough. Not until the end of sophomore year did I fully decide to break away from this negligent system. I knew I was just as capable as anyone in a so-called “prosperous” community. I knew I could accomplish my aspirations of higher education and so I enrolled in the most challenging classes my school had to offer. I put in all my effort into proving to myself that I was worthy of being part of the top and proving people wrong. I want and will prove that students in my community are willing, determined, and more than capable of reaching their aspirations in whatever way that may