I began working at the age of 16. I was in my sophomore year of high school. I wanted a job as soon as I turned 16 because I did not want to continue to see my single mom struggle with her 3 children, even if that meant just helping out a little bit. I worked at an ice cream shop that was a few blocks away from my school. It was not that bad balancing work and school because I did not work as many hours and it was an easy job. I did not even consider it a real job until I left and began a new journey. I would do my homework there because it was not so busy and how hard was it to decorate cakes and sell ice cream, right? After high school, I decided that I wanted to take a more serious turn and get a job in something that would actually give me a head start in my career. I started college at CUNY York College and started a new job at CVS Pharmacy. Reality really hit me. This new job was more serious and I had to learn a lot. My first couple semesters were not that bad. I then decided I wanted to join the Pharmacy team at CVS. After entering into the pharmacy from just working in the retail front store of CVS, this is where my challenges began. I began to work more hours, lose weight, become so tired and less time for school. I was devoted to prove myself in my job place that it became my first priority. The struggle for my culture is to make something of yourself, get a high standard job, be better than your parents. It was a tough pill to swallow when I saw my grades start declining and GPA dropped. Anxiety sank in. I kept getting promoted at my job, but not doing as well as I could have in school. I started seeing a pattern in myself, not sleeping at night, when the day is over and I can finally think. I would stay up hours just worried about what I would become, if I would be a failure to my mom and family. I set my priority and I took less hours at my job and began spending my late nights studying and getting work done instead of worrying. I took action to make that change. It was through my setbacks that I realized my priority and what had to be changed. I am now in my senior semester of college and have been able to boost my GPA and let my setbacks be my motivation.