Abran Arreola-Hernandez Latino Scholarship

Since I was five-years-old, I have been struggling with an invisible illness known as juvenile arthritis. To many, this disease is only attributed to people who are older and have lived long lives. However, I had barely begun my life and was already suffering from extreme pain that oftentimes left me physically paralyzed or bedridden. As a child, this put a damper on my goals in life and made me believe that I would never be able to enjoy life like the other children my age. When I was struggling with my health, many teachers and even doctors claimed that it was impossible for me to be in extreme pain since I was so young. Many people doubted my struggle and claimed that I was a liar. However, as I mentioned before, no one can know you just by looking on the outside. Although I looked young, I was suffering terribly on the inside. This lesson is what pushed me into taking action. Every time I went to the hospital, I was amazed by how many children who, just like me, were suffering from various illnesses. Being young and sentimental, I often told my parents how distraught I was at being unable to help the other young patients in the hospital. Thinking of how holding a stuffed animal in a tight hug made me smile even on my sickest of days, an idea had struck me. Getting straight to work, I began to collect various stuffed animals from anywhere and everywhere. I asked local churches, stores, family friends, and parishioners if they could donate to my cause. Soon, I had over a hundred stuffed animals to give away. My very first stuffed animal donation was at Holy Name Medical Center in New Jersey, all of which were distributed to the children in the hospital. I was proud to be able to help give a smile to people who were suffering. To this day, I have continued my stuffed animal donations with as much tenacity and drive as my younger self has. In this way, I hope to have impacted my community with a ray of hope. Despite having a particularly rocky summer in terms of my health, I have begun to recover and desire to work toward the goals I thought were once impossible. I hope by continuing my donations and working toward higher education, I can achieve my goal of genuinely helping others gain hope. Through my struggles and difficulties, I learned that a little bit of hope can go a long way.