My name is Zara, and I am proud to be in the field of Dental Hygiene. I have been traveling out to Brooklyn from Long Island for the past few years. It has been a rough yet fulfilling journey. I fought through every obstacle to be where I am today. From the people who said I wouldn’t make it,  to the snow storms we had during clinic days, and to the job I had to keep to stay in school and be independent. My parents went above and beyond for me and i cannot appreciate them enough. I come from a culture where people believe that if you’re a girl and you’re not going to become a Doctor or Engineer, you might as well stay home and learn to cook. I found very little support from other relatives who constantly ask “why not a dentist? A dental hygienist is nothing”. I will be the first hygienist in my whole family and i will definitely have something to prove to them.