My parents were just shy of 20 when they had me, making them teen parents. Some people still put shame around this, but my parents gave me a great life. They didn't let their young age or inexperience stop them from being the best parents they could be.

Being that I was their first kid, and in the end the only girl, I definitely was spoiled, but I never had things handed to me on a silver platter. I always worked for what I had in some way or another, I always put more pressure on myself than they did, and we all had high expectations for my future.

At the young age of 13, I lost my dad and being the oldest sibling, I took on an even bigger role of helping my mom with my two younger brothers. My responsibilities didn't start there though. From a young age, I was mature, and my parents trusted me. I have been able to watch my younger brothers, and earn my own money for as long as I can remember, and because of this, I have always been more mature than other people my age. I would babysit to earn money and started working at a restaurant as soon as I was old enough. I never liked having things handed to me, because it was not how I was raised.

I liked making my own money, and not having to ask for it when I went places, but that doesn't mean that I didn't notice how so many of my friends were just given things. High school and college are the two platforms that I found myself getting slightly annoyed at, with the privilege a lot of my friends or classmates had without even realizing it.

In high school, I was one of the first to get my license, and my mom and I went halfsies on a used car a few months later. I ended up getting in an accident where my car was destroyed and I didn't have the money to replace it, so I went without. Other people got their licenses after me, and their parents bought them cars right away. It just seemed unfair.

Then last year in my spring semester when deciding what I would do for a sophomore year in terms of living, the people I wanted to get in an apartment with didn't have the concerns I did because they weren't paying for their own rent. Of course, this annoyed me because it again was seemingly unfair, but that is life, and I'm grateful that it is the way it is.

While living this life I am going to hit bumps, get mad and feel like everything is stacked up against me, but the way I was raised has prepared me for it all. Because I was raised to work hard and fight for what I believe in, I have grown to be a very well spoken and determined individual. I have learned how to be self-sufficient and definitely know how to manage money. I am prepared to go out into the world and make of it what I want to, thanks to my parents.

I am a very independent person who has always looked out for others and not just myself, but I also know how to be a little bit selfish when it is needed. I learned the value behind earning money and putting it towards things you want and/or need, like when I finally saved up enough on my own to buy myself a car. Sure the people who have things handed to them their whole life seem to have a "better" life, with less stress and more possibilities, but I wouldn't trade having to work for what I have to be handed everything even if I could.

I am the woman I am because of how I was raised, not in spite of it. I am extraordinary, motivated, and extremely determined to conquer this world because it is just another step in earning what I deserve. You get from this life what you put into it, and I genuinely believe I have and am going to continue to get so much out of my life because of the work I put in to be where I am today.