LGBTQIA Arts and Personal Development Scholarship

Ever since I was young, the arts have been one of the most influential points in my life. Art has been an outlet for me since I was in kindergarten and was making finger paintings on construction paper. Although I’m not making finger paintings anymore, those days sitting at the small easel have allowed me to venture out and find my true self. I used many different outlets of the arts to express how I felt or used it as a coping mechanism. I always knew I was different than the other kids in my classes and up until my junior year of high school it killed me. I’ve never been happy with myself because I’ve always had this secret of who I was. I’ve struggled for years coming to terms with my sexual orientation and gender identity. Art was my savior; it saved me many times from hurting myself or anyone else. Fortunately, I’ve made it through my struggle, and art was the sole reason why. I ultimately want to improve and make a mark on the beauty industry. I have discovered my love for hair and makeup recently through my involvement with theatre and it’s left a lasting impression on me. All I think about now is coming up with a new hair design for an actor or what this actress’s makeup is going to be for a show. It has completely enveloped my life and all I can do going forward is make a difference. I want to give people the same happiness I felt when I got my first life-changing haircut this past October, or make people feel the same way I felt when I successfully did my makeup for the first time and finally felt pretty. I want to change people’s lives and make people feel happy and good about themselves. Often I see people who do this job because they did not know what else to do; for them, it was an easy way out. They lack the passion to bring life back into people and make them feel unique and special. I want to pursue a career in cosmetology because I genuinely care for everyone out there. This is my passion, my dream, not just the “easy way out”. I want to inspire people much like each cosmetologist who has made me feel like a brand new person. My ultimate goal is to one day work at Disney World. I want to contribute to the magic for so many small children out there the same way I was. I remember walking into the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique at the ripe age of three and feeling magical after the makeover I was given by the cast members there. I will never forget the pure happiness I felt that day as I walked around the Magic Kingdom in my Belle dress with my brand new makeover. That same feeling I had at three is the same feeling I want to give other little girls and boys who visit. If I can one day inspire and change the lives of those children, it will be all I ever ask. I was truly changed by the cast members on that day fifteen years ago, and I suppose it’s the reason art resonates with me. If I were to be awarded this scholarship, it would help my family tremendously. We aren’t necessarily poor, but we all work extremely hard to get by. My parents have been supportive of me throughout my journey in the arts and are supportive of my ambition and future career of becoming a cosmetologist. By doing this, and hopefully being awarded this scholarship, I can help take some of the load off of their backs so they won’t have to worry about me as I travel away from home to pursue my future. Taking away that extra burden, my parents will be able to care for my two grandmothers, one who is, unfortunately, going through chemotherapy, and my youngest brother much easier and won’t have to worry about budgeting nearly as much. I always do whatever I can for my parents and I’ve come out of my pocket many times to make sure things were stable at home. Overall, I hope to one day change the lives of people and inspire like those before me. I hope to be the answer to someone’s prayers or the light in someone’s dark alley. My way of changing the beauty industry is through passion and inspiration, even if that means starting at the little easel in kindergarten.