For me, some of the most powerful influences in the world are my parents and my school teachers. My parents influenced me in my way of thinking and perceiving the world. They taught me what was the best way of expressing myself, my feelings and words. My parents always wanted me to give the best I can of myself in everything I do in life. My school teachers influenced me in giving me the help I needed in areas that I thought I wouldn’t be successful, they influenced me to try harder and to challenge myself. My influences on my point of view of the world have not changed because my way of thinking is similar to that of my parents. They influenced my life so deeply that my views of the world and people are almost never wrong. I come from a Hispanic background and most people assume we are all catholic’s because that’s the “norm”. However, to many people’s surprise, I was raised as a Presbyterian and to top it off as a Republican. As a child I was taught that I should never accept democratic views or be involved with other religions. My mother was a very strict person and there was never a gray color, it was black or white but never in between. For her a lie was a lie, and my siblings and I were never allowed to even consider lying to her. My childhood was very different than that of my friends, I guess because my mother never wanted to go through an embarrassing moment. She said she would never let myself get in trouble because she was not about to go to a precinct, much less bail me out jail. Although at that time I thought I was already in a prison, I now thank her for protecting me the way she did. When we are young we fail to see what adults see and how much trouble we can get into out there. A great number of youths out there are willing to commit crimes just because and others because they are in great need. Whatever the case, peer pressure plays a big