The reason I want to go to college is simple: I have to go. I have no choice. Too many people have sacrificed too many things for me to achieve the “American Dream.” There are different interpretations of what the American Dream is. To me it’s living a good, comfortable life without worrying about how I’ll pay next month’s rent.

The first person who made many sacrifices is my mother. She made a mistake and got pregnant at the age of 15, but let me tell you that she has done everything in her power to push me forward. She left her family and everything she knew to come to the United States and work.

My mom was single, and she was beautiful. (She still is.) She had long, beautiful, brown hair and a perfect body. Every single man at church wanted to date her. Whenever she was asked out she would say, “I can’t. I have a daughter in Guatemala, and I need to give her a better life.” My mom missed out on the fun of her twenties just for me.

She would call every Saturday because that was the only day her boss would let her use the phone. Every month she would send a box full of toys, clothes, and money for me in Guatemala. My mom did everything she could to make me happy. She sacrificed her life for me, and still does.

She works 13 hours every other Saturday to save up for my college education. She wakes up at 5:30 a.m. to start work at 6, not stopping until 7 in the evening. Would it be fair for me not to go to college after all that? No, it wouldn’t.

My mom is an amazing woman, and I want to do whatever I can to make her life easier. She sacrificed half her life for me. It will take just four to six years of my life to make it all worth it. How could I not go to college?

The second person who sacrificed many things for me was my grandma, my abuelita. She was my mother when my mom left. There wasn’t a night when my grandma didn’t pray for all her kids and grandkids. Still to this day, not one of her kids or grandkids have gone to college. I want to change that. My grandma had a great heart and taught me how to love and understand people on a deeper level. She taught me to always have hope for the future. Unfortunately, my abuelita passed away a year ago, but her lessons are still in my heart, and I will do everything in my power to achieve my goals for her sake.

The third and fourth people who sacrificed for me were my uncle and aunt. Because of them I was finally able to come to the United States. They left two of their kids in Guatemala and brought their two-year-old on a dangerous journey across the desert to get me here. They took care of me on the way.

I came to the U.S. illegally, therefore it wasn’t easy. I couldn’t just hop on a plane and arrive in style. We had to run, hide, and throw ourselves to the ground without caring what was under us. We couldn’t get caught, so any injury was worth it.

To this day my aunt and cousin still have nightmares. My uncle got caught by border patrol because he couldn’t keep going. But since they had promised my mom they were going to do everything in their power to pass me over, my aunt kept going with me and the Coyote (guide).

During the crossing, I saw things that an eight-year-old should never see. Human bones abandoned in the desert. Families split up. Ten years later I still cry when I remember the guide hitting my two-year-old cousin, who was crying for her mother. I tried to protect her, but I couldn’t even protect myself. An eight-year-old shouldn’t have to feel the fear I felt. All I wanted was to feel safe, happy, and protected.

I have to go to college to make that eight-year-old’s pain worth it. I have already achieved a lot, but I won’t stop until I attain all of my goals. Too many people have sacrificed their lives, family, and time to give me the chance for a better life. I can’t stop when I get my high school diploma. I want to be the first in my family to go to college. I have to be.

On graduation day, when I’m walking toward that stage, I will tell myself, You did it! And it was all worth it. I will stand up on the stage and receive my diploma and shout, “Mami, I did it!”