TAMIU GEAR UP IV 2015 Essay Contest

The Little Orange As a child, I thought I strove beyond the expectations. However, looking back I realize that I did not strive hard enough. I settled for being the best in my class and not the best version of myself. Instead of creating goals for myself to achieve, I created my own boundaries. I let my background determine who I was, and who I was going to be; I did not believe in myself. With the help of Gear Up, I realized that I did not have to let my history define my future. Influence plays a vital part in the development of one's future. It is what spawns new ideas and sets milestones to be reached; at times influence is that small push needed to reach greatness. Could it have been possible for Einstein's Theory of Relativity to exist without Newton's invention of calculus? We will never know. However, this shows how one positive action can create an impact on countless individuals. This is what happened to me. After encountering an incredible program called GEAR UP, my initial goals were elevated to unimaginable levels. I come from very humble beginnings. I was born in El Cercado, N.L., Mexico, a small city outside of the urban city of Monterrey. The best part of living in Monterrey was being able to spend time with my grandparents and cousins. However, life took an unexpected turn. My dad received the promotion he had been waiting for his entire professional career. Seems perfect right? The only problem was that it was in Laredo; 3 hours, two mountain ranges, and one river away. Obviously this seemed like the opportunity of a lifetime for a man who wanted the best for himself and his family, but, not for a four-year-old who had lived her entire life surrounded by the warmth of a traditional Mexican family. I obviously did not have much say in my father's decision, yet ultimately I was the most effected. Without knowing that I would not see my family for the next couple of months, my mother, father, two younger sisters (two years old and six months old) and I headed for the unknown, hoping to find what evryone called The American Dream. A small cozy apartment welcomed us into our new life. We did not have much more than: one cooking pan, two foldable chairs, one change of clothes, and as a treat, one toy for me and my sisters. It was not the lack of commodities that I missed but my family. Days, months and eventually years passed, yet I could not adapt to the new, lonely lifestyle. I did not have many friends because I did not speak English. However, I found a companion in mathematics. Math became my refuge because it was a universal "language". I began to thrive in school due to my advanced mathematics skills. I slowly began to learn English and made friends. Throughout elementary school, I was always considered "gifted" just like half the students in the school. Being "smart" was common in elementary. It wasn't until 8th grade that my teachers took notice of all the potential I possessed. In 8th grade my peers began to fall short with the first challenge we had encountered in middle school, ELAR and Algebra l. This is when I was introduced to the life changing program GEAR UP. As I began thriving and getting involved with GEAR UP, the possibility of going to college emerged. Before GEAR UP, my local community college seemed out of my grasp. Growing up, going to college was definitely emphasized by my parents, however, I never really felt capable of being accepted into a college. In my naïve mind, college was only for geniuses with a lot of money. Obviously, this was not the case, but as the oldest of three and a second generation immigrant, it made some sort of sense! I thought I was not worthy of going to college, for I was a Mexican immigrant who was currently living in a very small city. I thought that being successful in Laredo was pointless because of its small size. I thought I could not compare to kids in more developed areas of the world. As GEAR UP took us under their wing, explaining to us why college was so important, I began to reassess my current academic standing. I had straight A's, however that was not my best. GEAR UP showed me that I had great potential if only I gave it my all. This inspired me to reach higher in order to achieve my ultimate goal: college.