My parents' bank information was stolen from them. The thief made over many purchases over hundreds of dollars putting my parents in an even worse financial position. This was devastating because we were uncertain if the bank would believe us, and because they took so long to view the purchases the thief was able to get away with stealing our personal information. They did this by duplicating the Bank’s website and then my father had placed his credentials into the fake site, and it went directly to the thief. Sadly, this is only one of the many methods hackers use to violate a person's confidentiality, integrity, and accessibility rights. Technology is the present and the future and hackers yield a great danger to that future. technology is expanding and the people buying new technology are unaware of the dangers of the internet. Nor do they know how to protect themselves. I plan to pursue a Bachelors's and Masters's Degree in cybersecurity. This has been a goal for me ever since I was 8. One of my many inspirations is the lack of safety and general protection on and off the internet. There have been many incidents where personal information is held by major companies has been stolen and used for inappropriate posts or used to access financial assets. I’ve been a first-hand witness to this. My goal is to create a cybersecurity system to prevent this from ever happening again. I've been learning through hands-on simulations and educational websites. I am on the path to receiving a certificate in cybersecurity. It has taught me the hundreds of ways that a hacker can go to force themselves into the system. When I first saw the many ways, I was anxious about how am I suppose to stop every one of them. I then calmed down and reminded myself that this is not an easy journey and that I will have to put time and commitment into it. Learning did not discourage me but made me more ambitious.

With trial and error, I learned to see failures as a chance to learn and grow. I believe I speak for most people when I say the fear of failure has stopped us from new experiences, new connections, and self-development. It has stopped us from taking the path that was meant for us. I am not proud to say that there were hundreds of times that I didn't take a chance at something new because I was afraid of failing especially in front of others. I am however now proud to say I will not let the fear of failure stop me from learning and experiencing new things even knowing it will not always be easy. I knew I needed to change that when my nephew was born. I didn't want him to experience the feeling of regret for not doing something. The feeling of being afraid. Learning from my own experience, regret is a horrible painful feeling. I then developed a plan for him not to let fear of failure win. I decided to be a role model who is not afraid, who takes chances, and who doesn't give up. During the pandemic, I have realized what is truly important such as my family, career, and my goals. Learning what is important has helped me grow as a person. It allowed me to take a step back and see the non-healthy habits I have to change in order to get where I need to be. I've changed my locked mindset into a growth mindset, my low self-esteem into I can and deserve to succeed, impatient to remind myself that great things often take time and there is no going around hard work. I have changed a lot this past year but what hasn't changed is my kindness, beliefs, and dependability. I've learned a lot through my journey of self-discovery. I've learned that when becoming the person you want to be, there will be times that you will go back to your old habits, but do not let that stop you from coming back stronger. No one succeeds on the first try, especially in creating habits for themselves. I've learned to laugh and smile instead of being disappointed in life. I've learned that I am fortunate enough to have the support to believe in myself, even when I'm facing obstacles on my own the majority of the time. This is my life, my battle and I will persevere. I took so many lessons from my self-discovery this past year, that I can say that I am proud of the person I am becoming. That my journey is still not over but I will succeed. I will become an entrepreneur with a cybersecurity business who will not be afraid of learning new things. I will not be brought down when failing and continue to work towards accomplishing my goals.