If you ask anyone to describe me from first grade, they would say I was that little Mexican kid who didn’t know a whole sentence in English. All I would say was “cheese”; it was the first word I learned in English, besides “hi.” It was the first day of first grade. We introduced ourselves. I said my whole name because in México we are accustomed to use both our fathers and mother last names, and everyone laughed. After everyone was done we were asked our favorite animal, and I said I liked ratones (mice). “Why?” the kids asked, and I said, “Because they like queso just like me.” My teacher translated and, for some reason, cheese was the only word I memorized and from then, my friends just called me cheese.

Since Mexicans make a large part of the United States population people might think it not a big deal, but they are wrong. People set your expectations low, it’s either you drop out and go work in manual labor, fast food, or become drug dealers. The people, who believe that, are very ignorant. When I hear these things, I do not react negatively, I just smile and think to myself, “Man this person is ignorant; I cannot wait until they see me as their dentist.”

Until now I have done community service for school, and that is a class. I wish to do more with and for my community; I do help senior citizens and things along those lines. An example of this is when my mom and I went grocery shopping and this old lady was struggling to get some canned beats. I asked if she needed help and she said yes so I began to grab some canned beats. As I grabbed the first can she yelled, “No! Not that one,” she told me that she wanted the ones from the back because they were better. So I grabbed eight of the cans from the very back and put them in her cart. The kind old lady thanked me and left. I hope to do more something that would make someone’s life truly better. Doing something for someone makes me feel good, but it also helps the Mexican community. At times when I am with my family I can tell people look at us differently like we are bad people. By me helping my community it will show that Mexicans are not “bad people” we are good and just like them. We can do good, we are not criminals just because of our ethnicity.

My freshman year I did not have the greatest grades and in sophomore year I even failed a class, but this year (junior year) I am getting good grades and making up that half credit I am missing. I am getting my life back on track. Before, college was not part of my future, but I realized I need to do better for myself and my family. My mom tells me they came here for my siblings and me so we can have a great education and not have to work in a job that pays minimum wage. I finally realized I need to take advantage of the opportunity, and I hope to be the first in my family to attend a four year college. I raised my expectations to show everyone that Mexicans can be more than what they think. I know I will succeed.