People often describe me as the light in a dark room, and that light comes from the hardships I have had to overcome. Growing up, my mom always called me her “sunshine,” a nickname that has carried me through some of the darkest moments of my life and constantly reminded me that even when everything felt heavy, I could still choose to shine. My childhood was not easy. I remember countless nights crying myself to sleep, the prayers I whispered asking for my father to change, and the many times I pretended I was asleep just to avoid another conflict. I carried an emotional weight that few people my age could relate to, and silence became my survival strategy. Speaking up only made things worse, so I learned to stay quiet even when I was hurting the most. I grew up feeling powerless, manipulated, and filled with guilt that I did not deserve to carry. I was a quiet, scared girl who often wished she had a different dad, someone who would love and support her instead of creating fear. But even during those moments, I promised myself one thing, I would not let my pain turn into anger, nor would I let it define who I am. Instead, I chose to take my experiences and transform them into lessons about what I will never accept in life and what I will never allow in my future family. Over the years, I learned that strength is not about being fearless, it is about facing your fears and speaking even when your voice shakes. I am no longer the silent girl I once was; I am someone who has worked hard to find her voice and use it. My positivity is not something I was simply born with, it is something I earned by surviving my past and choosing not to let it control me. Even though some scars are still healing, I am proud of the progress I have made, because to me, it represents growth, resilience, and courage. These hardships taught me that scars do not mean weakness they are proof that you survived and became stronger. They taught me that even in the darkest times, it is possible to create your own light. Looking ahead, my vision for the future is to break the cycles I grew up in and to create a life built on compassion, respect, and love. I aspire to become a radiology technician, a career where I can contribute to the health and well-being of others while continuing to bring light to people’s lives in moments when they may feel scared or uncertain. I also want to use my story to inspire others, especially young people who feel voiceless, to know that their circumstances do not define them and that they too can rise above hardship. My journey has given me resilience, empathy, and determination, and I believe those qualities are what will allow me to positively contribute to society. Whether through my career, my relationships, or my everyday actions, I hope to be a reminder that no matter how much darkness someone faces, they can always find the strength to shine.
A hardship that I have faced is when my house won the ABC 7 Chicago light fight. My family and I, just the four of us, put up a massive Christmas display for the community. We have over 150,000 lights on our house, 6,000 feet of extension cords, and over 12 homemade structures built ourselves. The display in total takes over 2 months to set up, and when putting up a massive Christmas display like we do, comes a lot of work and dedication. That's something that I take pride in. To be able to take your thoughts and ideas and make them a reality is something that I find unique about what we do. Every year when where finished, to look back and realize you made a display for thousands of people to come look at each year, and say that I created that is pretty special. When we won the light competition I realized that you really can accomplish whatever you put your mind to, and that is something that I had never realized before. I’ve realized now that in life if you put your mind to it you can accomplish anything. I also realized that everything that I have learned while setting up and building things has shaped me in life and for the future ahead. Through this experience I've learned a personal growth of mine, which is my work potential. Through the display that we put on every year I’ve learned what hard work and dedication is, and learned a new understanding of myself. Through the community work and the joy we bring to the community through our christmas display, I feel I made a positive contribution to society. In the future I plan to have the same attitude in my carrer because I really do belive you can accomplish anything you put your mind to. My vision for the future is to find a successful job as an mechanical engineer in whichever way my college plan takes me. I'm hoping I can create great relationships in the program which will reflect the excellent traits that I have. Overall my goal is to become successful in whichever path college takes me. Another vision I have for my future is to say that I have tried my hardest and put forward the best version of myself I can be. With all that being said my goals for my college and career plan is being successful and happy.
In eighth grade, I was diagnosed with panic disorder and generalized anxiety disorder. Now, as a senior in high school, I am a sectional qualifier for my event in speech and won 1st at the Sandburg speech tournament for humorous duet acting. If you had told me that four years ago, I would have said you had got the wrong girl. I would have said that the girl I know can't even speak to her classmates or peers without having a panic attack and needing to go home. None of this would have been possible had I not decided to face my greatest fear head-on. In my junior year, I was encouraged by my therapist to join an activity that was out of my comfort zone. Given my irrational fear of new experiences and strangers, "out of my comfort zone" described every school activity. My close friend, Cayla said she needed to recruit someone to try out for the speech team, and in a spur-of-the-moment decision, I agreed. I was terrified, but after dropping out of other extracurriculars, I was determined to give this an honest shot.
My first tournament I threw up the morning of, out of sheer nerves. I placed fourth in my duo event and sixth in my individual event. I felt this adrenaline rush when performing and it felt like doing speech was sort of a "screw you" to the debilitating anxiety that had controlled my adolescent life. So, chasing that high, I continued with speech into my senior year. I won medals and awards and even made it through to sectionals. But the greatest accomplishment I ever made with speech was being able to talk in front of people about things I was passionate about, and even receive criticism from it. My biggest fear became my biggest passion and I uncovered a love for performing. I auditioned for the fall play and got a lead role and then in the winter, wrote and directed a short act of my own.
This process has been difficult and emotional, but if I hadn't joined the speech team, I would never have met some of my closest friends and realized a passion for speaking. I used to be someone who didn't have a voice, as I was too timid and self-conscious to put myself out there. Going through that has made me realize that I want to be the one to provide that voice for others who feel unheard or unseen. I will be attending Marquette University in the fall and plan to major in political science on a pre-law track. Becoming a lawyer will not only allow me to use my literacy skills and love for politics but also allow me to give back and aid others in finding their voice.
