Spanglish Version
​By: Colibri Libre
Who you are ? Why you are here?
1. Nothing is impossible
2. Looking into the mirror and you can do it
3. Mirar alrededor
4. Listen to your mother
5. Leer
6. Listen the persons who you love
7. Escuchar música positiva
8. Learn from others
9. Experimentar y hacer cosas nuevas
10. Learn from persons that you want to be like them
11. Hacer más de lo que te piden
12. Go outside of the bubble
13. Hacer siempre lo correcto
14. Be open mind
15. Ayudar en lo que puedas
16. Don't be afraid
17. No olvidar sonreír
18. Find other ways

Book Authors: Alejandro, Nataly, April, Brenda, Lisa, M.C., Erminia, Rosa, S.R.P, Selena, Sebastian, Yeca, J.J., Tania, Tato, Yesi
​Translated English Version 
Author: Mrs. Kitty
This is a book that contains in its pages the 16 powerful and inspiring stories, told in the form of comics, made by the aforementioned authors, where they try to make their voices and stories heard. I like to think that they wanted to show us 16 different ways of what can happen with a new life, like moving to a new country and starting at zero. These are 16 stories with which you will identify yourself in the stories, if you are an immigrant, and if you are not, it will help you to see those who emigrate with different eyes. It is interesting to have written it in English and Spanish since it shows the interest they have in sharing their stories, not only with Spanish-speaking people. It should also be noted that it is a book that could be easily read by adolescent youth since their stories are told in the form of drawings made by themselves, which implies simple but concise dialogues.
                
As I said before, there are 16 stories of which I would like to introduce my favorites.

I Cross Barriers to Change Myself
By
Erminia
In the foreground is the drawing of who I suppose is Erminia, coming out of a big hole. When you read in the story you realize that that hole was just a symbolism. At the end of the story we see her aging, but no longer inside the hole, but outside the hole, trying to get people out of that hole, hole from which she has already left.

At the end of her comic she says: "I think it's important to tell my story because it can be motivation for other young people, they may think they can do it too." The story of Erminia was not just a personal story telling her struggles, but also a story that motivates you not to give up. Erminia ends with a powerful phrase: "Finally, I want people to know that being an immigrant does not make me less.

Broken Pieces
By
Brenda
Personally I could say that this is my favorite story. I'll let their words explain their comic. "I decided to use puzzle pieces and maps in my story because I see life as a big puzzle that will define your future. And when using a map, I use the instructions to guide me through life''. This is my favorite story because it seems like a great metaphor and they have a very good use of grammar.

 To Be Me
By
 J.J.
J.J. wrote a story about bullying and motivating others to ask for help before it gets worse. He tells us that what happened in his story has given him more confidence in who he is. He also tells that even being here at U.S.A., he has suffered from bullying but now he does not let anyone make him feel less than he is, or as he says "I do not let their words hurt me mentally." He says he knows that being an immigrant is difficult because it makes it difficult to succeed but now he trusts himself and has the impetus to move on. J.J. ends by saying: '' I hope others identify with the stories told in this book, that they can see that others have the same problems. I hope it motivates them to move on. Books are like life and contain many lessons. The important thing is to be able to share and learn from one another".

Coming Out of the Bubble
By
April
April tells a personal story, a story that many immigrants can identify with. She talks about her experience when she reunited with her father after many years, and as she said, ''This comic shows how difficult it is for young immigrants to live without their parents, and also how difficult it can be to get back to being together''. She talks about the reasons why she decided to call his comic "Coming Out of the Bubble." At the end of her story April says, "what I want most is that those who have experienced the same pain may know that they are not alone".

Black Butterfly
By
Rosa
Rosa's story tells of a tragedy that gave rise to sadness. She shares of how her brave mother did everything possible so that her family of 5 children could move forward regardless of adversity. Her brothers started thinking about the American Dream and how it would benefit them and she knew that she had to do something for her future so she took the decision to leave her life and start a new one in another country, giving everything up to prosper in a new country.

I hope you enjoy this book as much as I did. Something important that I should mention is that this book is also a fundraising tool to fund the Latino Youth Leadership Council's Voces Sin Fronteras Scholarship Fund which will provide educational opportunities to youth who are ineligible for traditional scholarships and resources to reach the dream to go to college. It also supports Shout Mouse Press to continue the amazing work of uplifting unheard voices. You can order your copy of Voces Sin Fronteras: Our Stories, Our Truth here:  http://www.shoutmousepress.org/cart1/layc

​Book Authors: Alejandro, Nataly, April, Brenda, Lisa, M.C., Erminia, Rosa, S.R.P, Selena, Sebastian, Yeca, J.J., Tania, Tato, Yesi

Espero que disfrutes este libro tanto como yo. Algo importante que debo mencionar es que este libro también es una herramienta de recaudación de fondos para financiar el Fondo de Becas Voces Sin Fronteras del Consejo Latino de Liderazgo Juvenil que brindará oportunidades educativas a los jóvenes que no son elegibles para las becas y recursos tradicionales para alcanzar el sueño de ir a la universidad. También ayudara a Shout Mouse Press para continuar el increíble trabajo de elevar voces no escuchadas. Puede solicitar su copia de Voces Sin Fronteras: Our Stories, Our Truth aquí: http://www.shoutmousepress.org/cart1/layc

Original English Version (Spanish Translation Below)
Autor: Mariposa Monarca
In the world there are people who have the happiness or luck to be born in a family with money and privileges, but there are also people who are born in poor families and who have to work hard to survive. In many cases, families have to separate; mothers or fathers have to go out and look for sustenance for their children. Year after year, families embark on a journey to the United States with the hopes and faith that they will be able to earn money and support their families who stay in their country.

Mami says that my brothers and I are blessed to have a different life from theirs because neither of them could finish high school or even elementary school. When mom and dad tell us their stories and what their lives were like as young people, it gives me chills and sadness because they did not have the opportunity to finish primary school or have a career like us. Mami says that when she was ten years old, my grandparents took her out of school to work with them in the vegetable field and earn more money. My maternal grandparents had eight children, two girls and six boys; Mom was the third of the eight. At that time, for the babies that were born girls, the probability of studying or having an education was very low, and they would only learn how to take care of their husband and take care of the house or children they would have once they turned between fifteen or eighteen years old. That's why my grandparents said that the education of my mother or my aunt was not so important and that they should stay at home or work with them in the field. My Mami's dream was to have a degree in accounting, but when my grandfather took her out of school to work, she had to get rid of the idea that she would continue her studies. Mami says that she only learned to read, but not to write, and to this day her writing has not improved much. When she was thirteen years old, she met Dad, who was sixteen years old. Mami says she will not forget when she met dad. She says that one morning she dragged a donkey who carried two large containers of water on either side, it happened when the town was going through a water problem and was getting almost no rain. That morning she met my dad, who brought a donkey too. It was there that they fell in love.
​
Papa tells us that when he was a few months old, two men killed his father, leaving him alone with his four sisters and his mother, who was both mother and father at the same time. He has no memories of his father, only what Grandma has told him.

Papi had the chance to finish fifth grade, where he learned how to read and write. But before going to the sixth grade he had to leave the school because they had to move to the town where my mother lived. Once they arrived at their new home, Papa decided to help his mother bring money home and care for her four sisters. He took the role of being the man of the house and of the family; since his father was dead, he had to take care of his mother and sisters. Once Mom and Dad met and started a relationship of three years, the day came when Dad and Grandma went to my mom's house to ask for her hand so they could get married. The day came when they got married, and a few months later, my mother was pregnant with my sister. Mom says that the house where they lived was made of tree branches and that covered the top of the house, and that my sister had to wear the same dresses every day because there was no money to buy more cloth to make her a new one. The food they most often ate was tortilla with salt or salsa with butter. When the month of May or June arrived, they had to go to El Tamirano to work in the vegetable and grape fields to earn money. When my mom was nineteen years old, she was already pregnant again. She was expecting her second baby, so my father made a difficult decision to immigrate to El Otro Lado.

I was four years old when my father left. My father went to pursue a dream to build a house and save money for our education. Although he was a bricklayer and worked in the fields, he would never earn the money he needed to make his dream to build us a house, a reality. Like most people who immigrate to "El Otro Lado," my father left his home country with high expectations and hopes of what life in El Otro Lado would be like. He thought that the life in El Otro Lado would be easy, but once reality set in, he realized that dollars were not as easy to make as the stories that my uncles told made it seem. After being separated from my father, one morning he sent us a letter, in which he explained that my mom had to take the same journey to El Otro Lado too, hoping that between the two of them they would earn more money for our house, for our education, and for my abuela to be cured. Abuelita had cancer and many other diseases. That night, Mami spent the whole night thinking about the decision to leave us and go with Papa to El Otro Lado. The next day, my father made the decision to take Mami with him to El Otro Lado.

Mami nos dijo,“tienen que ser fuertes,” (you need to be strong), as she promised that once she got to El Otro Lado, she would work a lot, and that in a year she would be back with us. My sister, my brother, and I stayed with Abuelita. Two months after my mother and father left us, Abuelita died. For my mother, it was difficult to overcome the death of her mother.

After the death of mi Abuela, my mom decided to stay in El Otro Lado for three years to save more money so that we would have a different life from theirs and from my grandparents; due to lack of resources and money they did not have the opportunities that now my sister, my brother, and I have. As a daughter, I had to be strong for three years without seeing my parents. That's why I promised my Abuelita that I would study hard to have a different life and a better education. Each story of my parents is an inspiration and motivation for me to be a better person every day. Thanks to them, my sisters, brother and I have a very different life because we have the opportunity to finish our studies and have a better life. Thanks to them, I was able to finish elementary school, high school, and now I'm in college studying social work at University of the District of Columbia (UDC). My parents have been a blessing in my life, and although they did not have the opportunity to study and have a career, I can do it because they are my example to follow every day, and I can strive to have a different life from theirs.  

SPANISH TRANSLATION
​
Diferentes Mundos
Author: Mariposa Monarca
En el mundo hay personas que tienen la felicidad o la suerte de nacer en una familia con dinero y privilegios, pero también hay personas que nacen en familias pobres y que tienen que trabajar duro para sobrevivir. En muchos casos, las familias deben separarse; las madres o los padres deben salir y buscar sustento para sus hijos. Año tras año, las familias se embarcan en un viaje a los Estados Unidos con la esperanza y la fe de que podrán ganar dinero y apoyar a sus familias que permanecen en sus países.
 
Mami dice que mis hermanos y yo tenemos la bendición de tener una vida diferente a la suya porque ninguno de ellos pudo terminar la escuela secundaria o incluso la escuela primaria. Cuando mamá y papá nos cuentan sus historias y cómo fueron sus vidas cuando eran jóvenes, me da escalofríos y tristeza porque no tuvieron la oportunidad de terminar la escuela primaria o tener una carrera como nosotros. Mami dice que cuando tenía diez años, mis abuelos la sacaron de la escuela para trabajar con ellos en el campo de vegetales y ganar más dinero. Mis abuelos maternos tuvieron ocho hijos, dos niñas y seis niños; Mamá era la tercera de las ocho. En ese momento, para los bebés que nacían niñas, la probabilidad de estudiar o tener una educación era muy baja, y solo aprenderían a cuidar de su marido y cuidar de la casa o los hijos que tendrían una vez que se volvieran entre quince y dieciocho años. Es por eso que mis abuelos dijeron que la educación de mi madre o mi tía no era tan importante y que deberían quedarse en casa o trabajar con ellos en el campo. El sueño de mi madre era obtener un título en contabilidad, pero cuando mi abuelo la sacó de la escuela para ir al trabajo, tuvo que deshacerse de la idea de que ella continuaría sus estudios. Mami dice que solo aprendió a leer, pero no a escribir, y hasta el día de hoy su escritura no ha mejorado mucho. Cuando tenía trece años, conoció a papá, que tenía dieciséis años. Mami dice que no olvidará cuando conoció a papá. Ella dice que una mañana arrastró un burro que llevaba dos grandes contenedores de agua a cada lado, sucedió cuando la ciudad estaba pasando por un problema de agua y casi no llovía. Esa mañana conoció a mi padre, quien también trajo un burro. Fue allí donde se enamoraron.

Papá nos dice que cuando tenía unos meses, dos hombres mataron a su padre, dejándolo solo con sus cuatro hermanas y su madre, que era tanto madre como padre al mismo tiempo. No tiene recuerdos de su padre, solo lo que la abuela le ha dicho.
 
Papi tuvo la oportunidad de terminar el quinto grado, donde aprendió a leer y escribir. Pero antes de ir al sexto grado tuvo que abandonar la escuela porque tuvieron que mudarse a la ciudad donde vivía mi madre. Una vez que llegaron a su nuevo hogar, papá decidió ayudar a su madre a llevar dinero a casa y cuidar a sus cuatro hermanas. Él tomó el papel de ser el hombre de la casa y de la familia; dado que su padre había muerto, tenía que cuidar de su madre y sus hermanas. Una vez que mamá y papá se conocieron y comenzaron una relación de tres años, llegó el día en que papá y la abuela fueron a la casa de mi madre para pedirle la mano y poder casarse. Llegó el día en que se casaron y, unos meses después, mi madre estaba embarazada de mi hermana. Mamá dice que la casa donde vivían estaba hecha de ramas de árboles y que cubría la parte superior de la casa, y que mi hermana tenía que usar los mismos vestidos todos los días porque no había dinero para comprar más telas para hacer una nueva. La comida que más comían era tortilla con sal o salsa con mantequilla. Cuando llegaron los meses de mayo o junio, tuvieron que ir a El Tamirano para trabajar en los campos de verduras y uvas para ganar dinero. Cuando mi madre tenía diecinueve años, ya estaba embarazada otra vez. Ella estaba esperando su segundo bebé, por lo que mi padre tomó la difícil decisión de inmigrar a El Otro Lado.
 
Tenía cuatro años cuando mi padre se fue. Mi padre fue a perseguir un sueño para construir una casa y ahorrar dinero para nuestra educación. Aunque era albañil y trabajaba en el campo, nunca ganaría el dinero que necesitaba para hacer realidad su sueño de construir una casa. Como la mayoría de las personas que inmigran a "El Otro Lado", mi padre dejó su país natal con grandes expectativas y esperanzas de cómo sería la vida en El Otro Lado. Pensó que la vida en El Otro Lado sería fácil, pero una vez que comenzó la realidad, se dio cuenta de que los dólares no eran tan fáciles de hacer como lo hacían las historias que contaban mis tíos. After being separate from my father, una mañana nos envió una carta, en la que explicaba que mi madre también tenía que hacer el mismo viaje a El Otro Lado, con la esperanza de que entre los dos ganarían más dinero para nuestra casa, para nuestra educación y para que mi abuela se cure. Abuelita tenía cáncer y muchas otras enfermedades. Esa noche, Mami pasó toda la noche pensando en la decisión de dejarnos e ir con papá a El Otro Lado. Al día siguiente, mi padre tomó la decisión de llevar a Mami con él a El Otro Lado.
 
Mami nos dijo, "tienen que ser fuertes", ya que prometió que una vez que llegara a El Otro Lado, trabajaría mucho, y que en un año volvería con nosotros. Mi hermana, mi hermano y yo nos quedamos con Abuelita. Dos meses después de que mi madre y padre nos abandonaron, Abuelita murió. Para mi madre, fue difícil superar la muerte de su madre.
 
Después de la muerte de mi Abuela, mi madre decidió quedarse en El Otro Lado durante tres años para ahorrar más dinero y así tener una vida diferente a la de ellos y de mis abuelos; debido a la falta de recursos y dinero, no tuvieron las oportunidades que ahora tienen mi hermana, mi hermano y yo. Como hija, tuve que ser fuerte durante tres años sin ver a mis padres. Es por eso que le prometí a mi Abuelita que estudiaría duro para tener una vida diferente y una mejor educación. Cada historia de mis padres es una inspiración y una motivación para que sea una mejor persona todos los días. Gracias a ellos, mis hermanas, hermano y yo tenemos una vida muy diferente porque tenemos la oportunidad de terminar nuestros estudios y tener una vida mejor. Gracias a ellos, pude terminar la escuela primaria, la secundaria y ahora estoy en la universidad estudiando trabajo social en la Universidad del Distrito de Columbia (UDC). Mis padres han sido una bendición en mi vida, y aunque no tuvieron la oportunidad de estudiar y tener una carrera, puedo hacerlo porque son mi ejemplo a seguir todos los días, y puedo esforzarme por tener una vida diferente a la de ellos. 

Original Spanish Version (English Translation Below)
Autor: Colibri Libre
Hay una típica frase “nunca sabes lo que tienes hasta que lo pierdes”, y a ahora que estoy a miles de millas de mi país, he conocido lo que he pedido. En nuestro país nadie nos dice la importancia de tu cultura, y tampoco hay una perspectiva a nivel global.

Mi país es El Salvador. Si has oído de él seguramente es solo su mala reputación, su violencia, y su corrupción. Cuando vine a Estados Unidos llegue hasta sentir pena cuando me preguntaban de dónde venía y de qué país era. Luego me di cuenta de su valor y de toda su belleza y cosas buena. Al saber todo eso, sentí pena conmigo misma, por una vez odiar mi pais. 

El Salvador, un país verde con sus montañas y sus volcanes latentes. Unas playas con arena fina que son más que disfrutables. Esa humilde época de la corta de café donde almorzábamos con frijolitos y un huevo en torta. En esa calor y hambre era todo un manjar. Eso era vida y mientras descansábamos sentados bajo la sombra de algún árbol. Me pregunto si esas personas que van al Starbucks, saben cómo luce un árbol de café y su fruto. Me pregunto si valoran todo el trabajo y el proceso para que el café llegue ahí hasta sus manos. Entenderan la mano de obra barata que se le paga a esas personas? Donde migajas es la paga de una persona que ha cortado cienes de libras de ceresas de cafe. Pero bueno, espero que un dia entenderan que el proceso de tener una taza de café es bien largo, duro, y basado en la inequidad y injusticia.

Cómo olvidar los árboles de mango cuando luchábamos para poder cortar uno del árbol. O los naranjos!!! Cómo olvidar esos paisajes detrás de mi casa. No necesitábamos viajar tanto para poder ir a una zona verde. Pero lastimosamente no lo apreciamos porque no sabemos lo que tenemos. No hablemos de ríos, libre de darse un chapuzón. Y a la hora de comer donde todos estábamos reunidos. 

En la clase de Estudios Sociales nunca entendí de la conquista de América. Pensaba que era algo bueno. No entendía mi identidad esta basada un una historia dolorosa y llena de sangre. Cuando mis maestros me decían sobre los conquistadores que vinieron a saquear todo, matar a mucha gente indígena y a obligarlos a olvidar su cultura yo no creía, porque eso estaba en los libros. Ahora que estoy en Estados Unidos entiendo eso perfectamente porque eso paso aqui tambien con su gente indigena.

Pero lo mas poderoso que he aprendido y entendido es que para crecer sanamente, tienes que estar sujeto y apoyado muy bien a tus raíces y así elevarte como un árbol saludable para dar buenos frutos. Pero aún así debemos cultivar y seguir enseñando que nuestra cultura es algo que le tenemos que tener orgullo.

ENGLISH TRANSLATION
​
Would It Be Right?
Author: Colibri Libre
There is a typical phrase "you never know what you have until you lose it", and now that I am thousands of miles from my country, I have come to know what I have lost. In our country, no one tells us the importance of your culture, nor is there a global perspective.

My country is El Salvador. If you have heard of it, it is surely only its bad reputation, its violence, and its corruption. When I came to the United States, I even felt sorry when people asked me where I came from and what country I was from. Then I realized its value and all its beauty and good things. Knowing all that, I felt sorry for myself, for once hating my country.

El Salvador, a green country with its mountains and dormant volcanoes. With beaches with fine sand that are more than enjoyable. That humble season of picking coffee cherries where we had lunch with frijolitos and an egg inside a bread. In that heat and hunger was a delicacy. That was life, and while we were resting we were sitting under the shade of some trees. I wonder if those people who go to Starbucks know what a coffee tree looks like and its fruit. I wonder if they value all the work and the process so that the coffee gets there up to their hands. Do they understand the cheap labor that is paid to these people? Where crumbs is the pay of a person who has picked hundreds of pounds of coffee. But hey, I hope one day  they will understand that the process of having a cup of coffee is long, hard, and based on inequity and injustice.

How to forget mango trees when we were fighting to be able to cut one from the tree. Or the orange trees!!! How to forget those landscapes behind my house. We did not need to travel so much to be able to go to a green area. But unfortunately we do not appreciate it because we do not know what we have. Let's not talk about rivers, free to take a dip. And at lunchtime we were all together.

In the Social Studies class I never understood the conquest of America. I thought it was a good thing. I did not understand my identity is based on a painful history and full of blood. When my teachers told me about the conquistadores who came to loot everything, kill many indigenous people, and force them to forget their culture I did not believe, because that was in the books. Now that I am in the United States, I understand that perfectly because that happened here also with its indigenous people.

But the most powerful thing I have learned and understood is that to grow healthy, you have to be grounded and supported very well to your roots and thus raise yourself as a healthy tree to bear good fruit. But still we must cultivate and continue teaching that our culture is something that we have to have pride in.

​Original Spanish Version (English Translation Below)
Autor: Iron Butterfly
Estados Unidos es el país de las oportunidades, el país donde todos persiguen el sueño americano. Estados Unidos un país iniciado, cultivado, y crecido por inmigrantes y si, lo vuelvo a recalcar, Estados Unidos es un país de OPORTUNIDADES  para todo aquel que las busca y se aferra a sus sueños. Una persona sabia me dijo un día, las oportunidades llegan una sola vez en la vida y tienes que saber aprovecharlas…si tu sueño es ir ala universidad hoy yo te digo que tu puedes lograrlo, y que no hay absolutamente nada que te impida lograr tus metas. Para ir a la universidad en Estados Unidos no hay consejos que te aseguran ser admitido y lograr graduarse de una universidad  pero hoy yo te contare como yo lo logre y que fue lo que funcionó para mí. Primero que nada, tu tienes que querer ir a la universidad por ti mismo, y no porque alguien te empuje a hacerlo. Tu tienes que tener la iniciativa y pasión para perseguir tus sueños y eso te dara mucho más impulso y resistencia en el camino. Estos son los pasos que yo tome para lograr ir ala Universidad

1. Participa en programas recreativos.
Aunque no lo creas la participación en programas recreativos hará una gran diferencia cuando tu tengas que escribir tu hoja de vida al final de la secundaria. Participa en muchos programas durante y después de escuela, y que sean programas muy variados, y que estos programas fomentan buenas cualidades y habilidades que puedas aplicar a tu escuela, carrera, y vida.

2. Trabaja duro para obtener buenas notas 
Yo creo que las notas en tu escuela no definen quien tu eres pero las buenas notas definitivamente importan cuando aplicas a una universidad o incluso para becas y para diferentes ayudas financiera. Definitivamente yo te recomiendo que si quieres ir ala universidad, trabajes duro para obtener y más importante mantener tus notas altas. Pero como puedes hacer esto? Asistencia y participacion es lo primordial. Si no asistes a clase no puedes participar, y por lo tanto no estas informado de los ejercicios hechos en clase, y las tareas que el maestro asignó, y eso afectara tus notas.

3. Conoce a tus maestros y demás personal de la escuela.
Conocer y tener buena comunicación y una relación con tus maestros  te ayudará en diferentes aspectos. Te será de mucho beneficio porque cada aplicacion de universidad requiere por lo menos dos cartas de recomendación. Lo mismo es para cada aplicación para becas y si tu tienes una buena comunicación con ellos te darán las cartas de recomendación que necesites y dirán muchas cosas buenas de ti para asegurar que tu obtengas a ayudar necesaria. Ellos también pueden informarte de oportunidades de becas y programas que sean de tu beneficio. 

4. Infórmate y aplica para ayuda financiera temprano.
Cuando comiences tu último año en la escuela secundaria, asegúrate de solicitar la universidad y las becas de forma rápida y temprana y no te pierdas estas oportunidades porque cuando estás en la universidad todo el dinero te ayudará. Solicite muchas becas durante y cuando se gradúe de la escuela secundaria. Muchas de las becas hoy en día están especialmente dirigidas solo a estudiantes de secundaria y eso significa que no hay muchas alrededor a medida que avanzas en tus años universitarios.​

ENGLISH TRANSLATION

​​Ways to Go to the University in the U.S.A.
Author: Iron Butterfly
The United States is the country of opportunities, the country where everyone pursues the American dream. The United States a country started, cultivated, and grown by immigrants and let me emphasize again, the United States is a country of OPPORTUNITIES for all those who seek and cling to their dreams. A wise person told me one day, opportunities come only once in life time and you have to know how to take advantage of them...if your dream is to go to college, today I tell you that you can achieve it, and that there is absolutely nothing that prevents you from achieving your goals.  To go to a university in the United States there are no tips that assure you that you will be admitted and get a degree from a university but today I will tell you how I achieved it and what worked for me. First of all, you have to want to go to college for yourself, and not because someone forces you to do it. You have to have the initiative and passion to pursue your dreams and that will give you much more momentum and resistance along the way. These are the steps that I took to achieve being able to go to a University

1. Participate in recreational programs.
Although you may not believe it, participation in recreational programs will make a big difference when you have to write your resume at the end of high school. Participate in many programs during and after school, and make sure they are very diverse programs, and that these programs encourage good qualities and skills that you can apply to your school, career, and life.

2. Work hard to get good grades
I believe that the grades in your school do not define who you are but good grades definitely matter when you apply to a university or even for scholarships and for different financial aid. Definitely I recommend that if you want to go to college, work hard to get and more importantly keep your high marks. But how can you do this? Attendance and participation is paramount. If you do not attend class you can not participate, and therefore you are not informed of the exercises done in class, and the tasks that the teacher assigned, and that will affect your grades.

3. Know your teachers and other school personnel.
Knowing and having good communication and a relationship with your teachers will help you in different aspects. It will be of great benefit because each university application requires at least two letters of recommendation. The same is for each application for scholarships and if you have good communication with them they will give you the letters of recommendation you need and they will say many good things about you to ensure that you get help needed. They can also inform you of scholarship opportunities and programs that are of your benefit.

4. Learn and apply for early financial help.
Make sure when you start your senior year in high school that you apply for college and scholarships quickly and early and do not miss these opportunities because when you are in college all money will help you. Apply for many scholarship during and when you graduate high school. Many of the scholarships nowadays are specially targeted only for high school students and that means not many are around as you go deeper into your college years.