A Student, A Changer, and Facing Injustice

I am a Muslim Woman who was born in Chicago, but raised in Palestine and Chicago. I am 
currently a senior high school student and undecided of what I want to do with my future. I 
know that I want to help people as much as I could and make a difference even in the 
smallest way. I will be attending Wilbur Wright College and try to discover what I want to do 
for the rest of my life there, discover who I am and what inspires me the most. My long 
term goal of education is to obtain a Master’s degree in what I choose in the future, but for 
now, my goal is to find the right career for myself and what I truly want to spend the rest of 
my life doing.  
 
I value confidence and inspiration. I value love and family. I value anything that will get me 
to be a strong independent woman. In my family, all my siblings knew what they will be 
doing. One will be studying computer science, the other to become a teacher, another in 
Architecture, and so on. But I have always wondered where they found their inspiration 
from. I see how much each one of them values what they do and I try to learn from them. 
Whenever I see the people around me working hard for what they want, I get inspired to do 
the same. So, my values come from those around me and the inspirations that have come to 
me in life from them and myself. I will always remember that it’s important to value 
yourself and then the people around you to truly know who you are. 

As a Muslim Woman, I know how it is to be judged or started at because of what you believe 
in or what you wear. I have always and will always believe in equality. One person does not 
define everyone around them. Even though not many things have happened to me, I know 
family and friends that have had awful experiences because of their religion or what they’re 
wearing. That is why I know that I want to help people in the future see the right from 
wrong and open their eyes to the injustice that is happening. No matter what race you are or 
what religion you follow, you will always matter. I want people to know that. Once, my 
family and I went out on Fourth of July to see the fireworks by the lake. A man passed by 
and said these words exactly, “Go back to your own Country.” The first thing that I have 
thought of is why do people always talk before thinking? Why do they think that it’s okay to 
talk to people that way? What do they achieve out of this? Do they not know that many of 
us are born in this country? This is my country too. I will always stand with what’s right and 
I want to continue doing that in the future. 
 
I am currently undecided in what I want to study, but I do know that no matter what I study, 
I want to try to achieve my Master’s degree. It’s important to have a job that will stabilize 
your future and make you comfortable enough not to worry about financial issues. Goals are 
very important. They help you set up for your achievements in the future. Goals help us see 
where we stand in our plans and our future. It’s important to remember that in order to 
achieve a goal, you must take action. I know many people that have goals and want to 
achieve them, but are not taking the smallest steps to achieve them. What’s the point of a 
goal if you don’t try to reach it? I plan on achieving a Master’s degree by first starting my 
path at a community college. I have thought about this a lot and I think a community college 
is the best fit for me to start. It is cheaper and I would start taking the prerequisite classes 
while trying to figure out what I want to study and make a living out of in the future. After 
receiving my Bachelor’s degree, I will work with it hard enough to also have money to start 
my Master’s degree. I can achieve what I want as long as I take action and keep believing.  
 
My personal mission is simple. I want to encourage others to be the best versions of 
themselves. Don’t let anyone bring you down because of what they say. Always believe in 
yourself. It’s the key to confidence. My goals and personal mission align because they both 
have something in common, which is they want to make a difference in this world, even if 
it’s a small one. It’s important to remember that everyone starts out with small steps to 
achieve what they want. The people that you look up to started out with small steps, even if 
you don’t believe it. No matter how big or small your goals are, you start with small steps to 
achieve them and become who you want to be in the future.