As a first-generation, my super proud of my family. My family is encouraged to follow their dreams and never give up, no matter the circumstances or obstacles. My grandmother brought us to the United States to follow our dreams. We were taught that it was going to be hard and that we must work hard to get what we wanted and what we deserved. I am doing this for myself, but I am also doing this for my family.

I see myself as a leader; followers do not know how much time, effort, and energy a leader takes to create a path. I learned the language, history, and tradition of this country to become a citizen of the United States and be able to bring my mother, so she would see me graduating from college. It took eight years of my life. Most people do not see your struggle, they only see your success, but I have worked so hard to stand where I am at this moment, and I will keep working hard to continue creating a path, not just for myself but for the people I love the most, my family.

I am constantly between the idea that “if it is meant to be, it will be” and “if you want it, go and get it” They say that great things may come to those who wait, but only the things left by those who hustle. I do not give up easily; I am an innovator persona who sees options where people see an obstacle. When people see that things are complex, difficult, or impossible, I see the perfect opportunity to demonstrate that everything is possible and that we have the power to create our path. We might not control the outcome of a situation, but we control how we react to it, which is the difference between waiting for a thing and going for it.

Albert Einstein said, “Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing it is stupid”. One day I will talk about this knowledge as an anecdote.

We are humans, and we create the rules. A good judge is not to have the ability to follow the rules consistently but to follow their heart and do what is best. It is not about ideas, it is about making ideas happen. I want to make my family proud; this is not just my accomplishment; this is my whole family’s accomplishment; this is also a personal goal that I’ve been dreaming about ever since I learned how to read in kindergarten. It will happen. This is for my family.

With Love,

Denivez