KC Royals Charities Scholarship Essay

“Tu eres mi vida, mi ojos y mi corazón,” translates to “You are my life, my eyes, and my heart.” my parents tell me. “Tú eres nuestro futuro y mi orgullo.” – “You are my future and my pride.” Those words stick with me daily. Coming from a Mexican household where I am the first daughter, the first to attend college, and the first to take that big step into new opportunities that my parents fought so hard to attain, I can’t thank my parents enough for all the sacrifices they made not only for me but for themselves as well. It takes a lot for a person to leave those dirt streets where they once played, those little tienditas where they once spent time, and especially leaving their parents behind to better their future for the generations to come but also to accomplish their American dream.

For me, my family is my community, my support system and my world. I believe my community is a group of people who reside in the same area, whilst also being affected by both that area and the people in it. It’s always been important to me to help out my community and give back for all the times that my community helped me when I was the one in need. I consider my community a major support system for me and I’ve always wanted to share a sense of purpose within my community; and help in dealing with everyday problems within my community such as littering, potholes, gun violence, and so on. My community involves my family so by pursuing something that I love, I gain the opportunity to give back to my community.

My parents are some of the most hardworking people that I know, they have of course struggled here en el Norte by not knowing the language or how they do things here. But that’s one of the many things that I admire about them because despite their disadvantages they still managed to fulfill their American dream. As a little girl in a predominantly white elementary school, I always felt out of place and judged for my skin color and not knowing the native language. I felt I was treated differently for not meeting the beauty standards of blue eyes and blonde hair. I would come home from school in tears, but my parents were there to reassure me with tears in their own eyes that my brown skin and features were beautiful and powerful. They told me that the most honest and hardworking people are brown-skinned. My way of giving back to my biggest inspiration is by staying motivated to keep going and attend college to get my degree in Nursing. I want to give back to them so they know that all their sacrifices weren’t for nothing.

Additionally, I want to be in healthcare. One of my personal experiences was when my mom was in the hospital I was only a 14 years old girl who felt hopeless because there was no one there to help the language barrier that we had but all those seconds and minutes felt like torture because the reason my being was in deadly pain. “Tu eres fuerte y yo creo en ti mi corazón.” This translates to “You are strong and I believe in you,” my dad tells me while I walk by because, in that hard moment, he froze, not knowing how to handle this situation. I had to take control and advocate that things weren’t right and she needed immediate help, walking into that cold and helpless room, waiting for the doctor. The first thing I noticed was the detached present. He looked at my mom and started to ask questions but very quickly realized there was a communication barrier so then he turned to me. Even though I had never spoken to a white man much less an educated white man I knew I had to take that responsibility for my mom’s well-being. He started talking in a mix of how he would talk to a grown-up which sent me into a confused sense of state. The struggle I faced at that moment was not being able to translate the medical terms into Spanish and the fear lay very heavy on me because one wrong translation would cost my mother. Yet younger me found that courage to persevere and get my mother that surgery she needed.

“Gracias a Dios hablas español” translates to “Thank God you speak Spanish”. This is one of a million reasons why I want to become a nurse. Now I want to be that positive break in the healthcare cycle, I want to be that bilingual registered Nurse who will guide that timid 14-year-old girl that I once was by offering that opportunity I did not have in my times of struggle. I want to be that gasp of fresh air of relief that my patients and their families have when going through something difficult. I want them to be able to tell others that this time there was someone who looks like them to help. That was not misleading and was there to see their lives get better. In addition, my lovely parents who came from nothing and gave me everything did a wonderful job in raising me to be how I am. I have one of the most caring hearts, I want to help everyone and anything regarding what they look like or going through.