<p>I was wondering if I should put something like this in that category. This is a very rough two paragraphs.</p>
<p>I was raised by a single mother who has attempted to juggle school, work, and a chronic disease while raising my siblings and me. I remember awakening to her curled up in pain, struggling to call the ambulance due to another debilitating sickle cell crisis. It has been incredibly difficult to see my mom, my rock, struggling to walk, let alone provide for us. Her drive despite the odds has influenced me in a way that mere words cannot express. Despite numerous hurdles, she has persevered with grace and without complaint. Not having a cent to her name, even being forced to set aside her pride to get Housing Assistance and Food Stamps. These challenges have has not stopped her from not only fighting to achieve her own dreams, but inspiring me to achieve my own. </p>
<p>I feel an obligation, not only for myself, but for my entire family to succeed. In my extended family, out of all of my mother’s twelve siblings, only one has graduated from a university; out of all of my cousins, none. I have had to figure out the education process for myself. Nearly everything that I have done and am doing for my future, I have had to discover for myself. I want to please my grandparents, parents, aunts, uncles, etc. But more importantly, I have my younger cousins and siblings looking up to me, rooting for me, believing that if anyone can make it out of the cycle of poverty and struggle it will be me. I don’t want to disappoint them. I will not accept defeat. I am determined to succeed.</p>