Dear Summer Search, Hello! My name is Brittany Ferguson, I am 17 years old and I’m from Richmond California. I go to Richmond High School and I’m currently entering my junior year of high school. I have lived in Richmond for about 80% of my life, and the other 20% was in Antioch. I live at home with my mom, sister and my brother. About two years ago, we moved from my step dad’s house it was seriously a tragic move. Times were really tough for my family. My mom works as a bilingual aide at an elementary school that’s probably an hour away from our house, and my brother works two jobs one only in the summer as a Park Ranger Intern. He was the first to graduate in our family, but he had to go to our local community college in order to save money to help my mom. I feel bad because he’s already 20 years old and really wants to start his life, but he knows if he leaves he wont be able to help my mom. I don’t live an easy life, I go through a lot at home im often the mediator of the house. I’m my moms shoulder to cry on, I’m always there for her whenever she needs me. But I don’t really have anyone to lean on and be there for me, I keep a lot of my problems inside me and I express myself through my taste in music and doing makeup. But as far as my mom goes I love my mom to death, but now I realize I have to start living for myself and that’s exactly what I did this summer. Anyway, through all that stuff, I want to get out of Richmond, move to Los Angeles or Georgia and most important make something out of myself. Through Summer Search, which I got recommened to join by another summer searcher Romelia Loaiza I want to reach my goals and get to c ollege. I decided to join Summer Search when I heard of all the opportunities that are available to kids like me. I honestly feel like through Summer Search I can go to college, and study Criminalistics and finally reach my dream of going to a four year college and further making it to law school. This summer has been the best summers of my life, I went with Deer Hill Expeditions to Colorado, Utah, and Arizona on Ancient Pathways. My trip was completely life changing and totally worth everything I had to go through to get to my trip. My course had 3 major parts to it, river, service and the mountains. Through the many ancient pathways we explored I found myself starting to believe that I could face the many obsticles on my trip. One of my goals I set for myself was to lead, my instructors offered me the position to lead everyday in the mountains. And when I reached the top of Mt. Hesperus in Colorado at 12,000 feet in