Valenzuela, Melisa

Mr. Petty
AVID 12-1
22 August 2019

My Why?

I am in AVID because I want to attend UC Santa Barbara. I want to attend UC

Santa Barbara because I want to go to a college that is not the central valley to study

psychology. I want to study psychology to become a psychiatrist or psychologist. I want

to become a psychiatrist because I would like to not only go far in education, but also

get a job where I get to help others. I want to help those with mental illnesses because I

believe that more people need to help those that are deprived from happiness due to

something they can not control. People work to help those that are physically ill, but not

those with mental illnesses. I have witnessed people in my life suffer from conditions

such as depression and anxiety, and I have seen how medication can help in situations

like that. People of all ages suffer from mental illnesses, and they can be controlled with

the right doses of medication. I believe I can go that far in my education and career

because my parents have always told me that I am extraordinary in every way. I was

raised to not settle for mediocre because I have everything in my power to be better. I

came from a family of field workers that did not have the opportunity to an education,

and I have seen them work hard to provide everything for my sister and me. They want

so much more for us which is why they have pushed us to be academically driven. I am

putting in the hard work needed to graduate and attend UC Santa Barbara because I
owe it to my parents to be an amazing, successful daughter. I want to be the best I can

be academically and in every other way.