Hello, fellow fashion enthusiasts!!! My name is Mariana Maldonado. I am 20 years old going on 21 in April! I am the oldest of three. I have a younger sister that is 17, two younger brothers (one that is 13 and the youngest is eight). I am the first of my family to graduate high school and the first to be going to college. For being the first to go on to college in my family, I am very proud to be setting a great example for my younger siblings. I always want to encourage my younger siblings to achieve higher than the bar that I have set for them.
During my high school career I mainly focused on getting good grades and scoring high on my college entrance exams. Since getting accepted to college was my ultimate goal, I didn’t have a real preference in what college I would like to attend. As long as they had a good program in what I wanted to study, which is medicine, specifically physical therapy. USF is a great school. I enjoy that it is not too far from home, nor is it too close. I think that has influenced me in growing into the responsible and independent woman I am today. In high school I didn’t really have much care for my looks or much less find my sense of style. But since most of the initial stress of getting accepted to college is gone now that I am a college student, I have found a newfound interest in finding myself and who I am as a person. Little things like buying a new pair of heels, a fun new print blouse, a good pair of jeans that just hugs your body’s curves all in the right places is an immense boost to my self-esteem. Fashion is not superficial or plastic I think it really is a fun way to express yourself and find who you are as a person.
