UC Berkeley is an intellectually challenging school to say the least. If you’re like me and don’t have parents to financially support you, this being before financial aid existed, you worked and attended school.

While feeling abundantly overwhelmed one semester, my Spanish teacher spoke to me after class and his few words changed my view of not only school, but the way I would look at life in general.

“Don’t look at life as a daunting task, but as a challenge for you to overcome. Look at how far you have come in life and know that one day you will look at this and say, ‘I was able to overcome all of that’ and know that your current situation will also pass by. That YOU were the one that fought through the battle and won.”

This one moment of pure encouragement after a life time of self-doubt and negative criticism, created a hope in me that I carried though life. To know that one person spoke only for a minute and influenced me for a life time is a influential achievement.