Hailey Julia "Jesus Changed my Life" Scholarship

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Growing up in a Christian household I’ve always been told about Jesus and have gone to church my whole life. I’ve always had faith, but I didn’t really “live” for Him. Throughout my college years, I tried to live my life to the fullest and went on so many amazing adventures and lived in so many places, yet I was never completely fulfilled. Something was missing. It wasn’t until last year when I decided to finally surrender my all to Jesus and to start living for Him. It was the best decision I’ve ever made.

Over quarantine, I turned my passion for Christ and comedy into creating a TikTok account, which has since been such an incredible journey for me. I have been able to grow on TikTok and Instagram while also spreading the love of Jesus, comedy, and positivity, and it has been so much fun!

Throughout my journey in living for Jesus there have always been my good days and not-so-good days, but no matter what I always held onto my trust for him. He has recently blessed me by answering my prayers and had my senior year practically paid in FULL. I was blessed by the donations from my school's alumni.

I would like to bless one Christian student, from any denomination, with a scholarship to help pay for school, just how I was blessed. To apply, please tell me how Jesus has changed your life and explain a little about your journey putting your full trust in Him.

Selection Criteria:

Essay, Christian, Faith, Ambition, Purpose

Graduate School Scholarships Undergraduate Scholarships Christian Scholarships College Students Scholarships High School Scholarships Essay Scholarships Religious Scholarships

Published January 26, 2021

Essay Topic

Please tell me how Jesus has changed your life and explain a little about your journey putting your full trust in Him.

100–750 words

Winners and Finalists

May 2021

Winners

Melody Perez

Loyola University New Orleans

Finalists

University of Florida

Palm Beach Gardens, FL

Nemecis Murillo

Central High School

Hamilton Township, NJ

Aliyana Vasquez

Park Vista Community High School

Kennesaw State University

Canton, GA

Winning Application

Melody Perez

Loyola University New OrleansHarahan, LA

Jesus has always been a part of my life, from the moment I was born to every waking morning I have now. I grew up in the church, learning about God's love and all the things He does for us. It wasn't until recently that I realized God has always loved me. I've been through many trials and tribulations that have hurt me and my family very drastically. When I was a child, my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer into which she overcame until years later when she was diagnosed with it again, this time ten times worse. By the grace of God she survived and is now 100% cancer-free. My father was diagnosed with type one diabetes, and given his prior health he was also told he wouldn’t make it through, yet he too survived. My older sister ended up being a single mother, retired alcoholic, and retired gambler who never went to college. My oldest brother dropped out of college due to drugs, enlisted into the army, and was discharged due to what he was doing, he then got deeper into his business and was incarcerated several times as his consequence. My next two brothers also struggled with drugs and got into trouble with our parents, causing our mother to stress even more and become ill. The older one struggled with addictions whereas the younger one was more of a wild child. Given all these events, I lost hope for a long time, I was lost and ran away from Jesus because I was terrified to show Him my scars. I was too scared that I wasn't good enough for Him like how people would tell me. I fell off the deep end and had no place to go and no one to run to, the church felt like an empty building and the people were just flesh and beings. I was diagnosed with depression and anxiety but was forced to act as if everything was okay. I felt as though my whole life meant nothing. In 2019, six years after what felt like the beginning of my life falling apart, I had an encounter with God but pushed it away. Instead, I started focusing on reading the Bible more, doing my devotionals, and actually learning about God. Then 2020 came and shook my world, but even through that, He was there for me. He guided me to my new church, to my new spiritual family, to my new-new life. He renewed me and filled me with so much hope and peace, all of which I thought was lost forever. I had another encounter with God and this time I listened and embraced it. He repeatedly told me, "I'm here for you. You are Mine. I am yours. You are not alone. You are forgiven." Even during those very traumatizing and heart-wrenching years, even when I felt alone, and that there was no hope and no point in life, there was Jesus. It's sad that it took so long for me to finally understand that He was always there and He never left my side, but I'm so glad I made it. I'm still learning how to trust Him more and more every day thanks to my amazing leaders and mentors, and also just through Him. Jesus took me out of a place of loneliness. Jesus walked through the valley with me. Jesus saved my parents. Jesus saved my siblings and is still in the process of saving the others. Jesus healed me, both physically and emotionally. Jesus took me out of temptation and horrible things. Jesus changed my life.