A lot of my family members always told me, “You’re never going to be smart enough to graduate high school and if you do you won’t ever get into college.” Now I thank them for all the years they picked on me and told me I wasn’t going to become anything in life, because now I can take all that negativity and prove them wrong.

I grew up in a small town in Texas with a population of 800 people. Most people who graduated from the school there never ended up going to college, which gave me no hope of being successful. My parents got divorced, and my mom, my twin sister, and I moved to Las Vegas hoping for a better life. Most of my family members were always bringing me down, telling me I was dumb and how I would never graduate college like my parents. But when I got to my sophomore year of high school I let go of all negative friends and family members, I stood up and said I was gonna break the cycle that my family had either of not graduating high school or not going to college. I told myself, “Impossible is not.” And if my family wasn’t going to support me, I didn’t care; I knew what I had to do to become successful and l wasn’t going to let anybody ruin it for me.

During my freshman year of high school I didn’t really care about my grades or GPA because that was when life was the hardest. I know I can’t really blame my personal life for distracting me from my education, but I had no desire to  work hard in school. Throughout 9th grade, I had a 1.5 GPA and finished the year with a 1.8. The beginning of sophomore year i was at a different school with a new environment of people surrounding me, that was when I knew it was time for me to step up and get good grades. Even though I was still going through a lot at home, my only desire was to get good grades. And I achieved this desire: throughout the first quarter I was able to maintain straight A’s and only 1 B but ended the first quarter with straight A’s and a 4.0 GPA. The second quarter was harder but I didn’t give up, I knew I could do it and I only pushed myself harder. I also ended the quarter with straight A’s and a 4.0 GPA. At the end of the first semester I ended with a 4.1 GPA. When I showed my mom my grades she was so happy, the smile on her face made me cry because ever since her and my dad got divorced I had never seen such a big bright beautiful smile on her, and I told her, “Mom I promise you from this day on I am going to be the daughter you always wanted  me to be, I know I’ve made really bad decisions in the past, but now I’m going to get into a good college and be successful and give back for all the years you’ve pushed me to never give up.” By that time we were both crying and she kissed my forehead and said “I’m proud of what you have done and who you’ve become and you make me proud to be your mom.” Ever since then I have tried my best in school, I’ve stayed up hours and hours studying and doing homework and some nights I only get 3 to 4 hours of sleep. But at the end of the day becoming a First-generation college student is all I need to show my family members and anybody that IMPOSSIBLE IS NOT.