I come from a family of four, my dad Javier, my mom Miriam, my sister Marely, and then there’s me Jose, or how everyone else knows me by, Cortez. We are all mexicans, my parents were born and raised in Mexico, as well as my sister and me. We come from the state of Nayarit. My dad came to the U.S 15 years ago, and as for my mom, sister, and me, we came 12 years ago. The only education I had was at a pre-school level but from Mexico but it didn’t really matter because I entered kindergarten here in Lindsay 3 months after I arrived to the U.S and Lindsay. I was raised in Lindsay, and so far have lived here practically my entire life. Living in a small town like Lindsay doesn’t give you a whole lot of advantages in the real world. There’s not really that much of opportunities, other than working on the fields, which mostly every resident from this area works. I attend lindsay High School, it’s a small school with around 2,500 students, which also there is not a lot of opportunities. “It is what a man thinks of himself that really determines his fate.” Ralph Waldo Emerson, throughout kindergarden to the 8th grade I was not into school at all, I would go because my parents would tell me I had to go. If I ever said I didn’t want to go, they would say “si no vas, va a venir la policía y nos va a llevar a la cárcel” which translates to “if you do not go, the police will come and take us to jail” and for a 6 year hearing that from his/her parents of course it would want the child to go to school, because there’s no child that doesn’t want to be without their parents. So my parents would tell me that every time I would say that I didn’t want to go. But thanks to my low interest in school when I was growing up it has made me realize many things, such as not being as smart as most students. That hasn’t stopped me from doing my best in high school, everyday I try to do my best, I try to finish all my work on time, pay attention to the teacher, and not make the same mistakes that I made before entering high school. I now take my education seriously and I could say it was a major mistake not realizing that school is important for your future, and for your life. My life could have been different if I would have realized this mistake 7 years ago. Throughout my life have been told that because of my lack of interest in school I would not graduate from high school. Thanks to those people that have told me I wouldn’t graduate from high school, it has been my goal ever since I was in the 6th grade, I would like to prove them wrong, and show them that I am able to do anything that I set my mind to. Some of those people were family. Such as my mom, and my sister. They have believed in me, but not a 100%, that will not stop me from achieving my goal, and proving to them what I am able to do. I could say they are my reason to achieving my goal. I would like to prove them wrong, but not only that, I want to do it for myself, because it would be a huge accomplishment to graduate from high high school.