Personal Statement

Hello, my name is Cristian Ceja-Castaneda and I am from Merced california. A

rural town that's very diverse, we have people of every color and ethnicity with very
different opinions. This small town is home to ninety thousand people. I will graduate in
the year 2024 after twelve long years. Also after high school I plan on going straight
into real estate. But that might change, it's been in between that and becoming a
firefighter or a cop.

I grew up in an immigrant household with low income struggling to make enough

money to pay the bills and keep a room over our heads. But we managed and since
then they have only grown and been getting better over the years. And still growing till
this day it's been getting better. Both my mom and dad are field workers working
whatever is in season. They've been working in the field for as long as I can remember
and probably still way before I was born. English is my second language and Spanish
is my first language so I had to struggle learning English. Especially since in my house
we only speak spanish there is no english.

My family overcame poverty by working in whatever we could. We lived in the

same apartment for thirteen years and now we live in a house. We have even had
enough money to buy more than one car. I was englishless for six years before I met
my old neighbor George. George only spoke English and me only spoke Spanish. That
was a problem because we were friends. For the two years that George lived there we
taught each other our language. He taught me English and I taught him spanish. I
remember he was able to say my name because we would say it in Spanish and he
would call me Trish.

These life experiences changed everything for the better because with any of
what I learned I would have been a completely different person and wouldn't be here
where I am today. Without my parents struggling to pay the bills I wouldnt understand
the value of working a job and having discipline. They taught me that in life nothing is
given and if you want something you have to get it yourself no one else is going to do it
for you. And if it wasn't for George I would have been struggling to learn english right
now or even have been delayed a couple years to learn it. But since I learned it when I
was in kindergarten it helped me understand everything and pass with flying colors. I
am so grateful to have met everyone I have and I thank god for putting me through what
I've been through.