College For All.

  I'm a teenage girl who came from the love of her mom and dad fourteen years ago. My mom was a very positive influence in my life because she shaped my dreams and aspirations by always supporting me and always believing i can do anything. Ever since my mom passed away my dad has been both my mom and dad. He's a working father and I thank him for that because he is also the reason why I have my mind set to what i want to become. He and my mother are the one's to thank, because now I've become a strong and brave young woman.

  In these passed years that I've lived in the OUSD I've had the opportunity to visit: U.C Berkley in both the fourth and seventh grade also I had the opportunity to visit a couple of Community Colleges in the seventh grade . The two visits in U.C Berkeley have really inspired me to try my best in school to get accepted to a U.C.I know that I can go to a Community College, but I want to aim higher than that, that is why I want to try my best to get into a U.C in the future. Visiting multiple of colleges has really inspired me, and it's also expanded my thoughts, feelings, and opinions of both college and life.

   A major issue that confronted my family and I was when my mom passed away on December 2008; When she died I felt as if I was never going to get back on my feet because my life took a big turn, it had changed so much. Living in a city where you see violence and drugs is not easy, but I manage to live with it because I want to demonstrate to those who are and who did go through hard times that nothing is easy, but everything is possible.Living and growing up without my mom in my adolescence has made me very mature and look at life differently; I've been through a rough path, but that doesn't change my perspective about anything, my moms death just made me stronger and more mature. As a resident of Oakland, it has given me strength to believe that I can graduate from High School and go on to College and graduate from College as well because not everyone in Oakland has to be a drop out,  violent person, failure, and so on. I will prove them and their stereotypes wrong because I know that I can do anything that I put my mind to.

   As a young teenage girl who believes that can accomplish and overcome anything that comes through her life, I've encouraged friends, cousins and nephews to go to college, try their best and to make a positive difference in their life, family and community. Looking at whats happen in my life so far, I've come to realize that God, and close family is all you have when you're struggling. I've also learned that in order to feel good about your self, you must think about your self sometimes, and not so much about what others think of you because at the end you're the one who will succeed in life not them; their negativity's should just make you stronger because they just want to see you fall, but you know whats best.