Born in San Diego, California, Valerie Gonzalez, eighth grader, has had a interesting life so far. Gonzalez said, “I moved to San Antonio when I was 2, and I’ve lived here ever since. I would love to move back to San Diego when I’m older, but I want to make sure I have a good job, because it’s very expensive to live there.”

“I think of the end more than the beginning. I want to live a successful life,” Gonzalez said. “I want to be happy and have a good family.”

Gonzalez has danced her whole life. “ I loved to dance when I was younger, I would do it all the time. I started dance classes when I was 9 and I’ve been doing it ever since,” Gonzalez said.

She feels that dance is healthy and it helps her feel good about herself. “It hurts to walk the next day from stretching so much, but that’s one of the best feelings in the world to me.”

Even though she loves to dance, Gonzalez can get frustrated easily and it sometimes impacts on her personally. She said, “Sometimes, when I mess up and the instructor corrects me, I get irritated. When she corrects me and I get upset, I feel like I’m spoiled, because I know that she’s trying to help me, not hurt me, and my feelings can get in the way of seeing that.”

In addition to dancing, Gonzalez is mainly focusing on school. “Even though school isn’t always my favorite part of the day, school is an important part of my future. As soon as I get to high school, I’m going to work my butt off for a scholarship. It’s easier to know that in the future, I can have my school paid for, instead of having a $30,000 debt that I’ll have to worry about paying off for almost the rest of my life,” Gonzalez said.

With school in mind, Gonzalez is thinking of what she will do in life after high school. “When I grow up, I don’t really know exactly what I want to be yet. I want to be successful, and do something that I’ll love doing. There’s so many decisions, and it’s hard to make one. When I was younger, I wanted to be an actress, and sometimes I still do. If I can’t be in the scene, I want to be working through the scene as a director. I’m always thinking of stories in my head, but I never write them down, so it would be fun to do something in the writing business. Then, I think of engineering. It’s a good career, and I would learn a lot, and make good money. But at the same time, I want to do something that’s at least pretty fun, and not do it all for the money,” Gonzalez said.

Gonzalez’ friends in school are a big part of her life as well. “I like being with my friends. It’s nice to be around people who have a similar life to me and like and dislike some of the same things I do,” Gonzalez said.

Even though school and dance are a big part of her life, Gonzalez’ family has a big impact on her life. “My family is very important to me. Without them, I wouldn’t have anything. My little brother and sister bounce off of me, and I’m glad to be an influence to them. Even though my siblings  get on my nerves, and even though sometimes I want to explode when I take care of them, I still love them. They’re there to listen and support me, and I’m glad to have a loving and stable family,” Gonzalez said.

“They pay for everything, but they encourage me to do my best. I do things for me, but also to make them proud”, Gonzalez said.

There’s one extra member of Gonzalez’ family that is no longer with her in person, but is still with her in her heart. “I lost my grandfather when I was a toddler. I would always hang around him, we were basically joined at the hip. He took care of me, and I would always try to take care of him,” Gonzalez said. “I wish he was still here. I think that if he were still alive, life would be much better with him. I would love to have a great connection and relationship with him, because I lost him very young.”

Still keeping dance in mind, Gonzalez loves music. “Music takes me to many different places. It gives me different emotions, and it’s fun to be in a different world for a couple of minutes.”  Music is a good part of her life, and Gonzalez plans to keep it that way.

Just like everybody else, Gonzalez has her opinions on events and drama that happens in school. “I don’t like cliques. To them, it matters what clothes you wear, it matters who you hang out with, it matters if you play sports or do some kind of activity. I don’t think all of that is so important all of the time,” Gonzalez said. Gonzalez thinks that it’s okay to open up to people, and that you can have different friends.

Gonzalez thinks well of herself, but like everybody else, she has flaws and things she wants to fix. “I know that I talk way too much. I actually have a fear of one day not being able to talk at all,” Gonzalez said.

Gonzalez also has goals for her future, and getting ready for the rest of her life. “I want to earn a scholarship, so it won’t be hard on my parents and I to finish paying for school. If I get a scholarship, I think I’ll have a good start to life.”

In the end, Gonzalez has a loving family, a hobby that she loves, different ideas for different areas in her life, and plans for her future. “I’m a lucky person to have what I have,” Gonzalez said.