For my mother

As a little girl, Emily Romero did not find joy in school, and neither did her siblings. Occupied with childhood, Romero was unaware of the struggle and effort her mother put into raising Romero and her siblings. When coming into high school she had decided she would try her hardest in school. This was not solely for herself, but to make her number one supporter proud.

Romero grew up in a full house with her single mother and four siblings. She was stuck in the middle, but despite having so many members in her home, Romero’s mother never failed to make her feel valued and supported. Her mother made time for every child and made sure to do the best she could to lead them to the right path.“Who I want in my future is my mom since she really is a good support for me and I feel like my mom always guides me to what's right” she said.

From the start, elementary school was uninteresting and such a bore to Romero. She found no value for the schoolwork given, and she was not the best at making friends, with those combined she would have preferred to be at home. Romero didn’t enjoy school whatsoever which inevitably led her to lose focus, “...when I was younger I would not do good in school. For example if I was in fourth grade I was in level second grade and I feel like that worried my mom a lot” Romero said.

Upon graduating middle school and attending high school, Romero promised to try her hardest in her academics and be the first in the family to attend college. She knew she would be carrying a lot on her shoulders, but she still strives to break the cycle. Most importantly, her mother did not have the opportunity to attend college, not even high school, so she wanted to make her mother proud. “I feel like if I am able to go to college that is like a dream of my moms for one of her kids to go to college and I feel like I would make her proud if I do go to college” she said.  Most teenagers want to enjoy their high school years going out with friends, relaxing most of the time,  or some even taking the easiest route. But for Romero, balancing piles of school-work on top of her life has been tough, but more reason to keep pushing. “I have thought about giving up on like, sometimes like school. But the only thing that keeps it going because I want to make my mom proud, especially because she has got to me where im at right now”, she stated.

Romero is now a junior in high school and has maintained a 4.0 GPA. She aspires to become a registered nurse, and considers pushing further by attending college a second time. “If I really like doing a registered nurse I would probably go back to college and do something else that's more high” she says as she continues to push herself to her full potential.