Here's the deal, I was an only child for almost 13 years and once my brothers were born, I had no idea what consisted of the "big sister package". When they were born, I just thought they were cute little babies. Well, that was almost 9 years ago and I truly had no idea what was coming at me.

I never imagined that being a big sister meant that I had to wear the leadership hat every single day for the rest of my existence. 

Leadership as an older sister is not about bossing my siblings around, is about taking care of the people you lead. In this case, my two little brothers Emiliano and Sebastian. I constantly feel challenged by what is best for them and what is best or more convenient  for me. The funny thing is that I not just feel pushed to be better because of them, but I want to be a better human being because I know they look up to me. It's actually very motivational.

I realized that my brothers looked up to me when they started asking me questions about my college education and my grades... Was I impressed? Yes! Was I scared? Of course! In that moment, all I could think about is how I have to be a good example for them, I have to take them under my wing and guide them in a way that only a big sister can. It doesn't only feel like "my big sister duty", but it's something that I want to do.   It's a constant challenge to better myself for them, like I always have to learning so I can teach them new stuff. It might sound strange, but that's the way I feel. My siblings are a blessing in my family and I will do my best for them. 
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As a little girl, I always dreamed of graduating with a college degree. It's funny because I had no idea what I wanted my major to be and at the same time, no one else in my family had graduated high school nor even aspired to attend a university. It was never expected of me to attend college, but something in my heart always pushed me to higher education.

When I was a senior in high school, I realized that my grades were NOT what was required to get into a good university... or any university for that matter. Regardless, I applied to several universities and I didn't get accepted anywhere. When I say I didn't get accepted anywhere, I mean it; I wasn't accepted to a single university (to the ones I actually applied to). I was devastated. I knew my parents weren't disappointed, but I was.

Shorty after I graduated I was not very motivated to apply to a community college, but at this point it was my only option. I struggled to keep my focus and I was constantly choosing my social life over school. In all honesty, it was hard to follow my heart when I felt like the odds weren't exactly in my favor. 

Like I said, my grades in high school weren't the best, and I knew that I could accomplish more. It was a matter of me having to break the habits of making my social life a priority, but making a balance between being a student and having a social life. 

Here's some quick tips to break those very annoying barriers:

1. Stay connected with your goals

• Picture where you want to be, write it down, or even make a board with cool motivational phrases and pictures and stick it in your forehead, just kidding; stick it in your bathroom mirror. If you're constantly connected with your goals, you will keep your head in the game.

2. Hang out with people with similar goals

• When you spend time with people who share similar goals with you, they will help you stay on track! Accountability partners are literally worth gold!

3. Break out of the cycle 

• It is very easy to believe that you can't do it because no one you know has done it before. SNAP OUT OF IT!

4. Believe in yourself like no else will

• Your goals are YOURS! Picture them, want them, get them! Surround yourself with positive energy and love everything that you do in the process!

​Quick ending to my story, I graduated community college in two years as an Honors student. As of now, I'm attending San Diego State University and I'm getting my bachelors degree in Communication and Media Relations in May 2018. I believed so hard in my dreams that I was able to break my family's barriers and my negative habits. Being the first one in my family to get a degree in a university allowed me to believe that anything is possible if you are able to believe in yourself and believe in your goals, you just have to set your mind to it. ​

I never really consider myself a leader, and for that reason I knew I had a lot to learn. Going a little off topic, I love reading, always have and probably always will. The thing is, I'd rather read poetry or random romantic novels than business related books... let's be real, books about business are lame. However, I recently discovered a different category of books called self-help books and I LOVE THEM! The newest bulk of knowledge I added to the "cool books I have read shelve" in my brain is You are a Badass ​by Jen Sincero. 

Something amazing about this book is that it's full of powerful advice and motivation! I usually read in the morning, so this book would get me pumped up before starting my day. The most important message that I got was to LOVE MYSELF. 
Reading You are a Badass inspired me to continue doing what I love regardless of what other people think. The advice in the book might be a cliche, but it's advice that we need to hear. We have to believe in our dreams, we have to want it badly enough to do the impossible, we have to love ourselves, we have to become a badass.
​Anyway, I highly recommend this book if you're looking for motivation! This book is easy to read and very funny. E-mail me if you have any book recommendations! 

Have you ever been forced to work in a group? My answer to that question is both yes and no.  Personally, I used to love working with other people, until I realized how complicated it is to organize a group. Have you ever been stuck in the awkward situation where you're with your team/group and everyone is quiet and starring at each other? Just waiting for someone to start talking? Waiting for someone to "take over"? I have and it's not cute.
In the past, I would have taken the leadership role instantly when working with other people; but after a couple of projects... I felt drained and overwhelmed most of the time. I felt like I had to do all the work and the other people in the group were getting a good grade based on MY work. #unfair #peoplesuck #collegeistheworst
The thing is that my past groups/teams were lacking leadership and organization. There was no common foundation, no common goal, no structure, no direction. 

Here are some tips about leading a group project:
1. Establish group norms

• Norms don't have to be strict guidelines or restrictions. 
• A group norm can be "meeting every Tuesday from 11:00 am - 11:30 am".

2. Create roles

• Who's the editor?
• Who's the creative mind? 
• Who's printing the project?
• Who's bringing the pizza? (this is the most important role!)

3. Assign equal parts of the work/project

• Just do it. 

4. Create DEADLINES

• The deadlines you set for your group should be before the actual deadline! Give yourself and your group time to make mistakes, then go back and fix what has to be fixed. 

At the end of the day, group work is something that you can't avoid. It's very important to learn how to lead a group and also be part of a group. You will eventually be called to lead, start thinking about how you want to lead and how you don't.