Have you ever glanced at somebody and notice something unfamiliar about them? Their appearance, style, accent, or maybe the way they behave. We’ve all been raised to tell a different story. My whole life has been about doing my best and trying to impress people around me. Not everybody will make it to the mountain with you, but knowing nothing worth having comes easy, I never give up. There’s always that one person who will never have something positive to say bout you, but strength is about holding it together when everyone else thinks that you’re falling apart.

“Hide not your talents. They for use were made. What's a sundial in the shade?” Benjamin Franklin once said. I’ve always been proud of my work and not afraid to show it off. Its not that I don’t have any weaknesses, its knowing that no one is perfect and live like tomorrow will never come. Four years ago, my family moved to the United States. I was a 13-year old girl who found herself in the strangest place ever. It was like a nightmare and I wasn’t expecting to wake up anytime soon. Being in a new environment, all I saw was new faces of people that spoke different languages. I was left with no other choice but trying to fit in because I wasn’t going anywhere.

I lacked the language but that didn’t stop me from trying. My mother always told me “hide your weaknesses when creating a team routine” anonymous. I talked like the whole world, understood me, and assumed every person was lost like me. Life didn’t seem as interesting to me as it did to other people but everyday, it got better. My speech wasn’t good enough to put me in a debate class, but I qualified for journalism. It gave me a chance to communicate what I couldn’t get out of my mouth. Writing helped me raise my voice and express my point of view to the public. Finally! I felt like I belong.

I think of life as trying to solve a word puzzle. Some answers just come right away; some just don’t fit because they too short or too long and other require a lot of thinking and sometimes leaving the puzzle incomplete. But at the end, all the words count because without them, the puzzle will never make sense. I can be in a small club that’s never noticed, be in a club that is average or be in a famous club that always stands out, but at the end of the day, I’m a Rutgers student and important like everyone else. I try not to let anybody bring me down just because they think they know better.

I’ve watched people lose something they love so much. A track star breaks his foot and loses his carrier. A basketball star’s kidney fails and he’s not strong enough to get in the field knowing his teammates depend on him. These incidents affect people’s lives so much, his coaches, family, fans, team and the whole world. But what about the people who have the potential to be such stars but have low self-esteem. They afraid to use their talents because they think nobody cares. People are so much concerned about people who have already found them ignoring the ones who desperately need their hands. I’d love to be a student counselor someday to help my peers find themselves.

People who don’t know me have always misjudged me. She talks too much, she’s immature, she can’t do it, and she’s too young to understand. I’m not saying I’m perfect but sometimes it’s about trust. Even though I’m not an adult yet, I’m no longer a child, I’m just a teenage girl fighting my own battles. I’ve always given positive attitude and chances to victims who need them. I enjoy being the center of attention because I love to be heard just like everyone else. It satisfies me to know that there’s somebody out there who benefits from my words.