Personal Statement

My name is Jayla Renee Attebery and I was born and raised in Merced
California. Merced is a rural community located in the northern San Joaquin Valley
section of the Central Valley. We are a dynamic community and the population has
increased to around 90,000 people since opening the UC. Merced is a very diverse
community with every ethnic group everywhere you go. Agriculture is the dominant land
use, accounting for more than 90 percent of all land. Agriculture happens to be Merced
County’s number one industry and it is the country’s largest employer. We are a farming
community and a majority of our fruits and vegetables are shipped all around the world.
It is also the top economic sector of the county, considering both the work of farms and
ranches and the activities of processing and other businesses that give value to the
commodities produced by the land and provide support services to the agricultural
enterprises. I am now a senior and will be graduating from El Capitan High School in
June of 2024.

Growing up, money was very tight. My parents had kids at an extremely young
age and they were very unprepared to take on the real world, now with an infant. My
first year of going to school at the ages of three and four, my mom would have to walk
me to school and then herself to work because we couldn’t afford a car at the time.
Money continued to be a struggle for a period of time. Both my parents then made the
right decision to work as hard as they could to provide for their family and eventually
were able to buy the things they needed and wanted. The best way we deal with not
having much is pushing to work hard so that we could have nice things. Also being so
young I didn’t realize what was going on so back then it didn't have much of an affect on
me but I know in no way that it was easy to be in the position my family and I are in right
now. I am extremely fortunate to have the thing I do and that motivated me to want to
work hard while I am still young so that when I am in my thirties I can be set and don’t
have to worry about my financial issues.

Looking back on hard times that I have been through makes me want to do the
absolute best I can so I don’t have to go through hardships similar to that again.
Watching my parents grow to become very successful from nothing inspires me to be
hard on myself and to push through when I feel like giving up. There will always be
roadblocks as life goes on and you just have to look on the bright side of things.
Everything happens for a reason and I think it's important to learn from your mistakes
even when your mistakes take a huge toll on your positive mindset. Striving to be
successful is very important to me and I am forever grateful to have my family's love
and support in every decision I make and I know they want me to be as successful as I
can. If you really put your mind to something and you are confident in yourself, you can
excel in anything. I know to not let people affect me and tell me what I can and cannot
do. All I need is to have an open mindset and be emotionally supported as I continue to
grow.