I am the oldest of four children in my household so there is always a ruckus. My mom crazily put me at the head of all this mess! Don't get me wrong there are moments of pure bliss but then there are times that I wish I could just strangle my brothers and sister's neck. I have been raised to the phrase "Love thy neighbor as thy self." I guess you cannot get any more neighborly than sharing the same toothpaste, shower, space, and dirty smells, huh. Growing up with many sibilings has not been a walk in the park to say the least. Since I'm the oldest I have a role to play; my two brothers and sister look up to me. I have often wondered how I can set a good example for them when I myself am learning to cope in this world. I have no secrets to life. I am a 18-year-old girl trying to make it through high school, learning to love, and finding out in many different ways what it means to treat everyone as equals. Every move I make, every step I take, will be mirrored one day, I know, in some form or fashion. I have this terrible fear that some of my actions will catch up with me. Not to say that I have things to be ashamed of but not every wrinkle has been ironed out yet. I will try though, as hard as I can to show them what a woman of God should look like, not perfect, but fervent. Fervent to do her Heavenly Father's will, fervent to not give up and to not let bad situations get her down. I will strive to be a good example for the next generation and for my siblings who I love unconditionally.
Growing up I was always taught to strive for success in everything. No matter if it was simply cleaning the house, Mom and Dad set out to instill in their children the value of goal setting and hard work. I never understood why it was so important to strive for perfection. Couldn't we just push stuff under the bed or make things just look okay? It wasn't until my eighth grade year that I began to see the method to my parents' madness. Waiting for high school was torment enough, but adding to that was the thought of harder work and bigger kids. Getting through the first couple of days wasn't as hard as I thought, yet the work was regretfully up to par. I couldn't have survived without my loving parents by my side. Dad helped me with math and geometry while Mom helped with history and English. My gratitude to them is immeasurable, because they are the ones who got me through and pushed me to succeed in every aspect of my life, showing me why you had to work hard for achievement. Besides academics, athletics was important to me as well. For being such a tall and lanky girl, I was afraid of not doing so well in the athletic field; however, Mom and Dad were again right there rooting me on to letter in three Varsity sports.
Around my junior year my parents began to question me about college. I was taken back by how soon this decision had snuck up on me. Of course I had thought about college, but now it was scary visualizing me—all alone, somewhere far away, and all that stress and work piled on! To ease my pain, I started bombarding my parents for answers about what college was like—was it fun?, scary?, was there a lot of work involved? Their answer was yes to all of them; however, I didn't feel terrified any longer, for something inside of me told me to remember that if my parents had gone ahead of me and survived, than I would too. The impact that their support had on me throughout high school gave me enough reason to trust them, allowing them to guide me into the next step of my education. In fact, they have excited me so much about being a woman of knowledge that I cannot wait till I am on my own proving myself to my fellow peers and home town. I am also excited about attending A&M due to my parents' passion for education and tradition that I know also exists at College Station. They have taught me so much over the years that I will never forget and use everyday in college like: determination, perseverance, time management, and goal setting. I will especially not forget their pursuit to give me deep educational roots and their persistent help and love throughout my life.
