My favorite Disney character is Piglet. I’ve always liked Piglet since I was little because he just reminds me of myself sometimes. At times I can be quiet and shy around people, but once I get to know you, I’m more comfortable with you. In the show Winnie the Pooh, you can see where Piglet can be a scaredy-cat at times and I find it adorable because when he does get scared, he likes to hide behind something and cover his head.

I’ve always wanted to buy my parents a house, and I know that kind of sounds unrealistic, but I think the harder you work for it and the amount of time you put into the hard work, you can achieve your dream. I plan to pursue a career in Athletic Training and become successful to be able to provide for my parents like they have provided for my siblings and I. They have done so much for us after coming to this country with nothing. I know there’s a ton of people that use this kind of story, but it’s a story that means a lot to everyone who uses it. My parents didn’t have the best childhood. They lived in El Salvador and were poor. They came to this country, so they could give my siblings and I a life that was different from them. I thank them for having had that much courage to leave their family to come here and make one of their own because I know that I wasn’t in their shoes, but I could imagine how hard it could’ve been. Not only did my parents give us a better life, but I’d like to think they gave themselves a good life too. They might have to work and do a lot for us, but they no longer have to face poverty. I mean we aren’t the richest, my parents do the best they can to buy us the things we want. My parents don’t really ever buy something they want for themselves, and I want to be able to buy them something in the future that they wouldn’t buy for themselves. It has always been one of my dreams to buy them a house because right now we live in a small house and have lived here for 9 years now, and I think we are in use of a better and more modern home. One of my main reasons to go to college has always been to provide for my family financially and to become successful. I want to share that success with them in the future and show them that not only did I go to college for myself, but for them as well. One of my main worries about going to college is the money though. My parents already pay for my brother’s tuition and to have to pay for another child’s tuition is something that is in the back of my head everyday. They’ve told me that as long as I’m pursuing my dream career that it didn’t matter, but to me it does because I don’t want them to have to become in debt. I look up scholarships everyday and apply to as many as I can, so they don’t have to worry about paying so much money for me to go to college. In this world, it’s all about money nowadays. Inflation is a huge problem, which means my parents have to work harder to provide for us. Now, I’ve never worked a day in life, but not because I don’t want to, but because my parents won’t let me. They continue saying, “You don’t need to work. If you need money, you can always come to us.” I don’t want to have to depend on them anymore, so pursing a career in Athletic Training will help out so much, but first I obviously have to get into a college. My parents deserve the world and I want to be the one to give that to them after everything they have done for my siblings and I.

I’ve played soccer for 11 years now and that’s how I’ve maintained my mental, physical, and nutritional health. School doesn’t get in the way of that. I always plan when I’m going to do homework either before practices/games or after. Every time I play, I’m in a better head space and it helps me escape from reality and get clarity on things going on in my life. It helps me stay in shape too. 2 years ago during quarantine, I wasn’t doing good mentally and physically. I had gained 15 pounds and felt disgusted every time I looked in the mirror. If I didn’t feel good in my body, then I didn’t feel good in my head. I did go on a diet, I went on a calorie deficit. I also did at home workouts. If I’m going to be honest, there were days that it was hard. Some days I just wanted to eat everything and there were other days that I didn’t want to eat at all because of the guilt I felt from eating a lot the day before. Eating was very much hard for me and it still is even after losing the 15 pounds I had gained. I do feel way better in my body now than I did 2 years ago, but I always think that I could do more. A couple months ago, I started going to the gym to get stronger and build some muscle. Ever since I started, I felt so much better about myself. The feeling of being active everyday and not just laying in bed on my phone, is the feeling that I love the most. I’m not saying that going to the gym solved all my problems I had with my body because it hasn’t. Sure it has made me feel better about myself mentally and physically, but I still have hard days where I can’t stop thinking about how many calories are in a food. Eventually the time will come when I don’t think so much about the calories and just eat with no worries, but for now I’m taking it day by day. I am very proud for how far I’ve came in this journey and will always see it as growth.

I’m pretty sure everyone wanted to buy a car or a house for their parents when they were younger, well I still do. My goal in life is to be able to provide for my family as they provide for me. With the career I’m aiming to achieve, I’m more than certain it’ll be possible. I love my parents very much and seeing them work hard to provide for my siblings and I kind of saddens me. I know that’s what parents have to do, but for once I just wish I could do the same for them.