Events That Can Shape And Mold An Individual

When people are struck with hardships in life, the way they react reveals their true character. Having a certain mindset can greatly influence how they handle problems, differentiating one person from another. Many can feel discouraged and feel like giving up when they hit a rough patch. In other cases, the will to be in a position better than where they are at the moment gives them the motivation to succeed. Adversity can have a positive effect on the development of an individual's character, providing them with the drive to overcome their current situation.

Being a daughter of immigrant parents has never been easy here in America. Both my parents worked excessively hard to be financially stable. Unfortunately at the age of ten my life changed. I learned that my parents no longer loved each other. The arguing and fighting my parents had, only damaged me emotionally. I was too young to grasp the idea that my parents were separating which become one of the hardest times for my mom to maintain my siblings and I. Shortly after, I began attending church and fell in love with the idea of getting closer to God. Luckily, my life took an enormous turn the moment I gave my life to Christ. God has opened numerous opportunities for my education. I am proud of all the accomplishments I have achieved in high

My parents Immigrated from Poland to the United States in search for better opportunity for the children that they planned to have. When my parents finally made the move, they started with nothing and no one to turn to; they did not even know how to speak English. All my parents knew for sure was that they were going to raise three children in America and do all they could possibly do to motivate and make them passionate for school. My parents have always wanted their children to achieve the careers of their dreams and be able to support their own family as well as be happy with their lives. My parents have struggled with money their entire lives, which is another reason why they did all they could to get to America and motivate their children for schooling. They did not want their children to struggle with money the way that they did. But this led another issue, affording college. My parents did not have enough money for their children to attend college. Because of this, I have done my best in school to earn outstanding grades and do my best to earn scholarships.

My story would have never begun if my parents had not made a huge decision in my life, almost 15 years ago. When they decided to move our family across the border, my future would be become unknown. The fate I had been destined to have was completely altered, now, I had the opportunity to change my life for the better, to strive for something bigger. My parents pushed me to be the best I could be, and to work as hard as possible to get what I wanted. As the daughter of two Mexican immigrants I grew up in a very cultural household, and being surrounded by Spanish at all times. The only negative being I had to learn English on my own, and which led to me having some difficulty when I first started school. Yet, growing up in a Spanish speaking

As a child, I never realized the obstacles my family went through and why they wanted me to be the best student at the school. My parents tried their best in sheltering me from the truth but I always knew we were struggling financially. Growing up, I witnessed my parents struggle to find jobs and a stable house

As a child I faced many difficulties that most children at my age would never face, but in order to understand my story you must first understand my background. I was born in Mexico City, Mexico at the age of four my mom made an incredibly important decision that wouldn’t only affect her, but also me as her son. My mom, Rosalia, made the decision to move out of her country that she had grown up in, and the country that I had begun my life in, in order to move to the United States so that her son could not only be with his mother, but also his father. At that age I didn’t think much of it, but today I sit here and respect the decision that my mom made at that time, and appreciate the amount of courage and strength that it took my mother to make

I am hispanic and asian, a first generation American through my mother and above all a Heath, Texan. I was raised in West-Texas by a family that had contrasting cultures and both contrasted with the culture around us. We weren't well to do either, our house was next to the local amusement park; it had rat problems and I even remember waking up with bugs beside me in the cold months. Later on we moved to the Rockwall area. I was attending my third elementary school, and my parents weren't working three jobs anymore, but still had demanding jobs as teachers and I spent more time with babysitters than I did them. I didn't have the support system that other kids had that reinforced the importance of

My childhood is filled with pleasant memories because my parents wanted better for me. They wanted more from me than to be that stereotypical “drop out” that would get me no where in life. I am an a regular student and I graduated high school class. I took my general ED courses, I was student body treasurer of the leadership class and a member of the Take Action Campaign. I'm attending a good community college and am in the AB540 club. I play different sports and am an active member of the community through The EduCare Foundation. I did everything right, the good way, the “normal” way. So why is it that in all of my accomplishments, the only question that I get is “How did you survived the challenges to get to where you are today?” Why does the fact that I am Hispanic mean I’m not a normal person to be

My parents came from Mexico to the United States for a better life, like many other families. My parents were not privileged enough to make it past a middle school education. They worked very hard so that my siblings and I could succeed in America. Therefore, I felt bad whenever I asked for help on homework because what if they couldn’t help me? I never wanted to make them feel bad for not knowing English. Instead I struggled through it on my own because I was going to be the one they could depend on, later in life due to my education. Instead of letting my parents go through the struggle, I did everything on my own. I struggled so that they could later depend on me.

Leaving home at the age of 18, loving on my own, figuring how to become an adult, and moving out to college, there were many things being thrown at me in which I was not fully prepared for them. Moving out at 18 is normal for any high school graduate in The United States. Being a Mexican American women it was more than just the net step to life , but a huge accomplishment. Being ascribed into a poor family increased the desire to move forward. My parents did not want me to follow their footsteps into the world of low waged labor, they wanted more. Growing up all I heard from teachers and family members was to go to college. For many it’s the normal thing for a high school graduate to do. For me it was more than socialization it was the path

I was born in a small ranch in Mexico, and raised in Oregon .My first year and a half I grew up with only my mother and grandmother, my father in the US trying to raise enough money to send to my mom and me . I came to the United States with my mom at the time in only understood Spanish. The Spanish language stayed with me up until I was 3 , I was the only child but my older cousins taught me a new foreign language. From the moment I learned to speak English to almost 14 years later, being a year away fro graduation its been a big struggle. Fighting against the "I cant's" and "failure" it's been a bumpy ride. Something that has really shaped my life is, as I grew up I didn't quite understand the meaning of immigrant, my 7 year old mind didn't

Most people would say that once you go through certain things, they change you and some would say for the better and some would say for the worst. It all depends on how you look at it and if you want to learn from it or let it haunt you for the

I am who I am today because of my parents, first my dad worked so hard in order to be able to pay to get our papers and be able to legally come into the country. The immigration process took more than 10 years. We were only able to see my dad once a year because he was here working and saving up to bring the family together. In July of 1998 just 3 months before I was born my sister Elena passed away before being able to come into the country, she waited for so long to reunite with my dad and it didn't happen she left before her dream came into reality. When my family was finally able to reunite we made the most of it we enjoyed every second with each other. When I entered school I was known for the Mexican girl who didn't know English however

Growing up in America has been one of the most unexpected and surreal experiences. I am only twenty three years old but being from the Big Apple, New York and being raised by single parent, nothing in my life has ever been a walk in the park. I am considered a minority because I am Puerto Rican and African American and it has always been tough for me living in such an urban area. Not having the best financial status is what made thing even harder. My mother had to struggle to make ends meet for me, but we made it and are still making it. I have always seen my neighbors, friends, and family also experience the same hardships as me. Many of the people I know had to fight to

My mom brought me to America in 2002. This move was difficult as I had to leave my family behind. Up until then, I grew up in the midst of a large, extended family. I had cousins to play with and multiple adults to spoil me. Furthermore, moving to an entirely different continent where the culture and environment was different from what I was used to, did not help. I experienced quite a bit of culture shock and language became a problem. Those first few months when I could not communicate with my new classmates were lonely. On top of that, seeing my parents work so hard to build a new life in a country where we had no family to rely on, made me hate our situation. However, being an immigrant taught me some valuable lessons and shaped who I am today. At an early age, I learned to become more independent, more responsible. I had to learn to do certain tasks, such as making my lunchbox, doing my homework, by myself. I had to learn to adapt and to appreciate what we had. Each new place we moved to, I experienced something new. In Ohio, I learned what chicken tenders were. In New Jersey, I experienced my first snowfall. In Texas, I bought my first pair of cowboy boots. As I grew up, I learned to treasure what the United States had to