There are many little things in my life, some repetitive and others new experiences,

which make up who I have become as a person. However, one decision that I have made in
recent memory that has played a large part in who I’ve become as a person, was my decision to
attend my former high school: Cristo Rey San José. Before I attended high school, I was a very
quiet person who was very insecure about where I fit in the world. I felt that I didn’t really
belong anywhere and as a result of trying to fit in in middle school, I had left a lot of my
Mexican heritage behind, despite trying to fit in, I still did not feel like I belonged. When I
attended high school I found myself in a new environment where many of my peers were Latino
and Hispanic which left me feeling alone more due to who I had become. However these feelings
quickly started to leave me as I school continued on. As a Jesuit school, the teachers placed a lot
of emphasis on reflecting on our lives and finding who we were as people. As a result I began to
look at who I was and I realized how I was not a person that I was proud to be and ashamed at
how I tried to leave my culture behind to fit in, instead of being the authentic me. When I
realized that I started to make small changes in my life such as being more social with people
and also being proud of my heritage. I then began making a lot more friends and being more
trusting with people. This was a big thing for me because coming out of middle school, I was a
shy and anxious person and just being around strangers I was nervous about what they thought of
me and what I should do. This increase in confidence was also great for me in the workplace
because I was able to truly be confident in the work I was doing and that I was doing it to the
best of my abilities. I was also able to better focus on everything in life including my academics
and health. I started participating a lot more in classes and sharing my ideas with other people as
well as being more open to group work. As for my personal health, I began to realize that there
were things outside of my control and there was no point in worrying about every detail so I
began to really prioritize what is important to me. Finally all these little changes ended up with
me being a far more confident person and having passions and dreams to follow while being able
to be involved with the outside world and to really enjoy my time with people. All this because I
chose to go to a school that gave me unique opportunities to reflect and improve myself that I
never would have gotten if I had stayed in the public school system where, while I may not have
been a strong willed person, I was at least comfortable in my own denial of self change.