I am who I aspire to be. Some people see me as that one Asian girl. But I am more than that. I am kind and loyal. I’m outgoing. I’ve been through a lot in my head that no one knows. I am not gifted nor have I ever been. I push myself in ways I could ever think of. I’m like a tree, a lonely tree. I might look like someone but you really need to dig into my “leaves” to really see who I am. I am tough and strong on the outside but soft and emotional because I’m afraid of getting hurt. I am a Japanese American and I’ve been made fun of and they said ‘you better not bomb us at school.’ Just because I am of Japanese descent doesn’t mean anything or if it even decides who I am, who I’m meant to be or anything at all. Waking up in the morning and looking at myself I see someone who I aspire to be. I see someone who is capable of doing anything that she puts her mind to. I see a young girl who is just trying to fit in. I see a swimmer who has big hopes in life. I see a future doctor. I see someone who reaches for the stars but misses every time. We all want to be perfect but in the end none of us. We are perfectly imperfect. We are never made here on this earth to be perfect. There isn’t a definition on what is perfect because we haven’t seen it yet. We can be good at something but we can still be better at it no matter how good we are. When I see people getting put down at school it hurts me because they might be happy on the outside but inside they are hurting even more now that others are hurting them as well. We need to be able to freely speak our minds without being judged or criticized. I am who I aspire to be. No one change that and that is why I am me, Kaile Itow.

Sometimes people tell us to just be us but we don’t know who we are. Some say you will figure it out but we may not still. We just have to be who we aspire to be and that’s all that matters. I dream big and work hard to achieve those dreams even though people have told me,  you will never be that good or you will never do that. I turn my anger into motivation. I turn the negative things they are saying into a positive thing to make me work that much harder to achieve those goals, to prove them wrong. My 2 biggest dreams are finding a cure to cancer and to become an Olympic swimmer. Those have been my goals for a long time now. I still haven’t given up even when I might be doing in school or in swimming. I still did not give up. No one should be put down because your goal is too big. When someone says that goal is impossible for you to get, reply with yes you may think it is impossible so watch me reach that now, watch get there and prove you wrong.  You make sure that they know even though you say it is impossible I am saying it is. I believe in myself more than anyone can believe in me. I am the only one who can push myself. I am the only one who knows that I can do it. I am the only one knowing that there will be bad times reaching but I will get there because I believe. We can’t let other people tell us something about us that we actually believe, especially if it is hurtful. Let’s stay positive and let us be happy without the stress and pain of life on top of us, holding us down. 

Thank you

Kaile