There is no greater feeling of satisfaction that I have experienced than achieving goals that have broken stereotypical ideals of Hispanics throughout my life. Because of this, I do not merely chase my ambitions for the satisfaction of myself, but for my ethnicity as a whole. I am a descendant of Mexican, immigrant parents who have raised me to be the person who I am today: an intelligent, determined, and persevering individual. According to the National Center For Educational Statistics, one in every five Hispanics fails to graduate high school and drops out; I am now a college student and on my way to my World Literature degree. I have made it my responsibility of bettering the Hispanic title because stereotypes have done nothing but limit the potential of Hispanics to excel in education. By participating in varsity tennis for all four years of high school, I helped deconstruct the idea that Mexicans do not participate in tennis. The reason why I want to break stereotypes is because it allows me to get out of my comfort zone and learn things I would have never become aware of if I had chosen to live within the Hispanic stereotypes. By trying to live outside of these stereotypes I force myself to try new things and pursue activities that I would have otherwise overlooked. Living outside the stereotypes, I have become a person who pursues knowledge; I try to fill my mind with new facts every day that adds to my understanding of literature because literature has become my major of choice. With literature I am able to express my feelings word for word. The idea that all Hispanics hold minimum wage jobs will be something I exceed with my degree. Expressing myself had always been difficult for me, so writing away my feelings has helped me understand life better. The drive one gets from living beyond stereotypes is something definitely worth living for.
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