"What do you think, Nora?" This question, as simple as it may seem to answer, was one I frequently struggled to respond to throughout the course of my life. Strangely, I could not concoct a response to a question I knew had no correct answer. As I sat there anxiously trying to come up with a response for my teacher, a realization fell upon me. All that was being asked of me was to state my opinions and standing points on a subject, yet I couldn't seem to do it. With the self-revelations that came from the American high school experience, I figured out why this question was the most dreadful for me to answer. The principle of being a "people pleaser" was an idea I had fixated my life around from a very young age. Growing up as the daughter of two Mexican immigrants, I was aware early on that not everyone was willing to accept entirely new ideas and opinions when they had become accustomed to their own. In an attempt to not upset people who may not have been welcoming of my parents and my background, I grew up trying to assimilate with the culture that was most around me while attempting to forget the existence of my very own. After all, if hiding my background meant that all the sacrifices my parents made were going to be worth something, I would do it all over again. I knew I couldn't make the mistake of letting anything, even my beliefs, ruin everything my parents had done for me. Because I feared making the wrong people mad, my idealization of neutrality came to life. As a freshman in high school, I had made it my mission to create a positive image for myself to be liked by my classmates, even if it wasn't entirely true. I changed many things about myself to meet my peers’ perceptions of me. This also meant being neutral in situations where different opinions were being voiced. In the process of agreeing with both sides, I lost the value of my own thoughts. Pleasing people had become the basis of my relationships and even my personality. After years of incorporating this idea into my lifestyle, I realized that my need to satisfy those around me had made me a stranger to myself. What could I do to change that? Looking back at the reasoning for justifying this feeling, it all circles back to one constant; An unintentional selfish desire to feel like I belong. I have realized the only way to repress this feeling is by finding comfort in utmost solitude. Knowing the basis of who I am as a person and what I believe in should be far more valuable than caring about how others see me. Though the journey of loving oneself first comes at the price of loneliness, I trust the right people and memories will fall into place - things I won’t have to hide parts of myself to please. Through this experience, I realized my love for learning. It was the one thing I knew that made me, me. I am motivated to become successful not only for my self-given responsibility of being my family's keeper but also because I owe it to myself to chase my dreams. I should not find guilt or grief in having dreams more prominent than what my hometown can offer. For so long I feared not belonging; I feared not meeting other people's expectations. My education and success however are the two things I realize I am entitled to. I belong.