I have always dreamed of having my own classroom. I want to create an environment where I can foster personal and individual growth. I envision a place where students can dream and imagine themselves anywhere and everywhere, without feeling the pressures of their situations at home or from their peers. Four walls where when you open a book, a world of endless possibilities unfolds right before your eyes. I dream of and want to create an environment where students feel the excitement of possibility and opportunity. I wish for all young people to have an equal opportunity for success and happiness, regardless of their situation.

I grew up in an urban city outside of Boston. At Chelsea High School, the majority of us were of Hispanic decent and most of us did not have parents who were home after school or in the evenings to helps us with homework or who even had the skills to lend a hand. This made succeeding in high school a challenge, a lonely trip.

How did I know it was a challenge and not just the norm for all high school students? In an effort to bridge the gap of social injustice a group of students and I organized a student group called Change Within our School (CWS). CWS reached students on school grounds and off. In fact, we even had the opportunity to see the issues of injustice in other schools like Brookline, a predominantly white, wealthy, Jewish city, where students were bused in to create diversity. The differences between the schools were made so obvious by one simple exercise hosted at the Chelsea High School gym. We all lined up at half court and we were asked a series of questions. Depending on your answer you either stepped forward, backwards, or stayed in line. For example some of the questions were, "Did your parents attend college?" or "Did your parents finish high school?" With each question that followed, Chelsea students grew further apart from those from Brookline, with the exception of one or two from Brookline who moved along with us. We were all in shock, a few of us in tears knowing the great difference in our personal struggles. The Brookline students did not have the same challenges that we faced and they did not seem to appreciate the gift of their privileged circumstances. It is not as if I did not know before this exercise that the Brookline students were privileged, but looking at the spatial distance between us made the "gap" between us so clear, undeniable. And, in fact, it made it unforgettable. I fully understood my challenge. Yes, high school was a challenge for me and maybe not as much for others but that did not mean that I did not have the potential to succeed. Unfortunately, not many students come to this realization in time. But I did and I want the chance to be one of those essential forces, a teacher, behind a student that will allow him/her to realize their potential and acknowledge that there are different circumstances but that those circumstances are not determinants of your future or your potential to succeed.

Why does this matter when applying to study abroad? My experiences are shaping who I am every day. That day in the gym made me realize the challenge before me: finishing high school and defying the statistics. I am privileged, maybe not the same way the students from Brookline were, but privileged enough to seek opportunity. Today, my challenge is to finish college and to use my experience and success as an example to inspire others to create opportunities for themselves.

Traveling to Salamanca, Spain would be an opportunity to not only enhance my educational experience which is closely tied to my professional goals but also and very importantly to broaden my personal experiences. You can only envision so much from reading or watching something on TV. My curiosity goes beyond the pages of a book or the screen of a television. It's like when they say: "I'll believe it when I see it."

Last summer, I traveled to Puerto Rico and several of the Virgin Islands with the Caribbean Studies program at the University of Massachusetts‐ Boston. It also was a month long trip. When I learned about the opportunity I inquired about the requirements and cost of travelling right away. At one moment, I thought it would be impossible, but connecting with the right people at the University took me a long way, in fact to the Caribbean.

I had never been away from home for that long, and never to a place where I was a complete stranger. All the feelings of uneasiness and fear disappeared when I landed. I learned so much from the people and their culture, even from my peers. The islands were United States territories that had a lot of our cultural icons, like McDonald's, but the way of life was so different. It was the Barney bag of learning through travel, the bag with no bottom that has endless treasures. As a Spanish Literature major, I took special interest in the history and customs of the people of Puerto Rico, so I could better understand the works of literature from the island. On a basic level, it was just nice to see San Juan or Loiza, so I could better visualize it when referenced by an author. When you have a context, you have a greater understanding. This reminds me of my French teacher in high school, who taught us about the grand avenue in Paris, Champs d' Élysées. She was so precise in describing the avenue; cafés all around with open‐air seating, theaters, tons of people, etc. An avenue that is probably as wide as our city, Chelsea. She even added the famous song by Joe Dassin, "Aux Champs d' Élysées." Perhaps she would have been able to describe the avenue without having visited, but never with the same passion or with details that called upon all of our senses. That French teacher, four years ago, inspired in me the curiosity to go visit the wide avenue that has a song named after it. Moments, like these in the classroom should live with the student, seep into their imagination and motivate them to begin to imagine their own adventures, without limits, as far and deep into the world as possible.

A month long trip to study the culture and history of Spain, in one of the most historic cities of the world is an experience I would never pass up. I can only imagine the city of Salamanca, where Hernán Cortés roamed the streets and the University campus, pondering his trip to the Americas. I hope to make his trip in reverse, and visit Spain from the Americas and return to tell my students about the beautiful and historic city where Cortés came from, where Luis de Góngora studied, and where Miguel de Unamuno was a professor. For now, I have only read the works of these notable people but if given the opportunity, I will soon have a context as I do of the Caribbean and will reach a higher level of understanding when I read of Spain.

Spain is just one of many places I wish to visit. Reading has awakened in me a desire to travel to all the countries of Latin America. Latin America is so complex and diverse but is united by the Spanish language that undoubtedly was brought over by adventurers like Cortés. This is one of my personal and professional goals. I have only recently imagined this goal for myself as a result of my trip to the Caribbean and now hopefully this trip. I believe I can make this goal a reality. There are endless possibilities and opportunities before me. With the years to come I may aspire to be in other parts of the world but when the time comes it will be possible because I can only limit myself. My circumstances will not limit me. People create boundaries for themselves and others, but many have managed to break free and have led by example. I wish to lead by example. My example may inspire others, my students to dream without the pressures of life at home, to dream of possibilities without limits.

As a Spanish Literature major I have read a lot of Spanish authors and I have learned a brief history of Spain. However my true curiosity with Spain lies in the culture and customs of the people of Spain. This is a country that was able to conquer much of Latin America and influenced much of the Latin American culture, but there is a clear distinction between the Latin American culture and the Spanish culture. Its history and culture date back so far in comparison to what has been conserved by Latin America, before the arrival of the Spaniards.

Also, modern Spain has been receiving many waves of immigration much like the United States, how do natives respond to immigration? I have many questions concerning Spain and I only hope that if chosen to participate in this study abroad program that I return with more. Study abroad is an opportunity to learn outside of the conventional classroom. It offers the opportunity for a destination to become the classroom. Your surroundings and encounters become your textbooks.