WEBVTT

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My name is Andrea Tirado . I'm 18 years

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old and I originate from Dover , New

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Jersey . Well , I come from a really ,

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it's Dover New Jersey is a really small

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hometown . Um My parents originate , my

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mom originates from Colombia and my dad

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originates from Puerto Rico . Um My

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hometown is low to middle income . A

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lot of different races is really

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diverse . Um So I joined

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the army to help and give back to my

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parents . Um me and my family , we

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would do everything together . Um So

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just being with them all day

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to the next day completely , just

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me myself almost halfway across the

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country . Um It was pretty hard at

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first . Sometimes I can talk to my

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battle buddies and they're also first

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generation . Um So it motivates me to

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keep going . Um Knowing that I'm not

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the only one . and it just

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really brings a lot of motivation to

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continue um to know that even if

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you feel like you're alone , you're not

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alone , there's always gonna be someone

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Hispanic or uh around you to talk

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to uh to just be there for you to

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support you say , um do not be afraid

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the army is full of many

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opportunities , it is really welcoming .

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Um and nothing is impossible .