Who I am depends on how people see me because I can’t change how I already rubbed off on others. Maybe my true identity can change that. I was born in Alexandria, Virginia, raised in Jacksonville, Florida, and currently living in Fairfield, California. I grew up learning how to face the world on my own while my parents were busy dealing with other things in our family. I was naive but not as immature as my classmates were. My mom always took the time to teach me a few things about manners and common sense. Those ideas hit me really hard because I saw what the consequences were if they weren’t used right. I managed to slowly pick at details in my life from the problems I faced to aid me in being mature. I always thought about things and there was never a day where I wouldn’t stare out of our sliding glass in the living room looking at the forest in our backyard submerged in my deep thoughts. I couldn’t stop thinking about how other people see things and how crazy it is when people don’t see things the way I see it. I can never stop thinking to this day about why everyone has different perspectives and how they see the world. It just boggles my mind knowing I can’t understand their minds and yet I have to live with it. Sometimes my thoughts would lead to what am I doing with my life and it came to a realization that if I couldn’t make an impact on someone what would I be leaving when I die. Because of that it has been my goal to leave a mark on others that would motivate them into using their full potentials in life.

My experience as a youth shaped my personality although a few barriers in the road blocked me from maturing. My experience as a freshman this year was unexpected but exhilarating and helped me go past these bumps with a few beautiful sights during the journey. At first when I stepped foot on the grounds of this school I could not stop being anxious about the variety of people I would encounter and the new school environment. I kept thinking about my life at Armijo and still had a junior high mentality. Because of this, I was very withdrawn from talking in front of large groups such as leadership and the rest of my classes. I couldn’t really break that existing shell I had when I shut myself away from others in middle school. Thanks to my experiences in extracurricular activities I managed to force myself out of my comfort zone by reaching out to new people and being comfortable with myself when unfamiliar faces are around. Leadership made the biggest impact on my personality so far this year because it has allowed me to freely express myself while ignoring those who don’t accept me the way I am. I can’t thank leadership enough for helping me demolish the taunt of insecurity that followed me everywhere I went.