* 
As you walk down the street in the city where you work, you spot a grimy, old penny on the ground. Do you pick it up? No. Do you care what happens to it? No. You keep going. A bit later, you spot a quarter. You pause.
This time, you consider picking it up, but is twenty-five cents really worth your time? No. You keep going. Somebody else might take it, but definitely not you. Still later, you're just about to reach your office when you spot a five dollar bill on the sidewalk. Now that's what you're talking about. You pick it up and walk into the building, quarter and penny forgotten.
California is full of pennies and quarters. What about them? Will they ever reach their destination? Will they ever amount to anything if no one stops to appreciate the value they can add?
I'm Lin and I'm a quarter. I'm not a penny but yet also not the five dollar bill. I'm just your average hard-working student and I want my spot in higher education. I want to be appreciated for the value I can add to the Golden State.
It's true that some people might not want to go to college, they might not think they need to or should, but for the rest of us: HEAR US OUT!
We might not seem like much alone, but if all the pennies and quarters in California joined together, we could make something great. Will you stop to appreciate the value we can add? Save me and my peers a spot in college.
Thank you.
