Hey there,

It's been awhile. I was busy trying to focus on my last semester of college. It paid off!!! I am now officially a graduate of the Colorado School of Mines (which I learned recently took the number 1 spot for engineering school in the USA)! I am now the holder of a Bachelor's degree in Chemical and Biochemical Engineering. I still can't believe how far I have come in my life. Being a young mom and all the stressful moments we as a family had to push through so that I could get here. The hard and stressful all nighters to the stress it put on my relationships with my family, fiance and friends all led up to this point and I couldn't be happier!

I was very lucky to have an amazing support system. I was able to surround myself with the type of people who wanted more in life and believed that I could be more than just a teenage mom statistic. From the time I found out that I was pregnant I have done everything in my power to succeed in something that would allow me to take care of my family. I never let people tell me how my life should play out...even though they tried and I hope that you never let anyone dictate your life either. I take things one day at a time (not to say that I don't PLAN because I am totally a planner) and have figured out along the way that life is really what YOU make it. Your biggest enemy is yourself. You decide what is too hard or too easy or too stupid. YOU decide whether or not you will live your dream or not. Unfortunately I had no financial help from my parents, but I didn't let that stop me. I received grants (financial aid) and took out loans in order to pay for my education, but I didn't let it go to waste. I cannot wait to start work as an engineer. I have always been a problem solver, someone who could look at a problem in a different light and figure out how to make things work. Solving problems is what I love and when you do something you love, all the stress and money in the world couldn't prevent you from doing it.

In closing I just want to say thank you to every single person who has told me that I can do this, I can make it and who has supported me through it all. I also want to say that you can do anything you put your heart and mind into. Follow your dreams and do something that makes you HAPPY it is well worth it.

<3 Crystal