Identifying as a letter of the alphabet was never part of my plan, but during my person journey of growth, I learned how strongly I resonate to the letter B. Bisexual. Accepting this was nearly impossible because my family doesn't understand what it means to find love within men and women. While I've never felt unloved by my family, I've always felt unsupported in my love life. Constant reminders of how my choices are "wrong", or "weird" never pushed me to openly come out. At family dinners when these liberal topics would come up I would force myself to fake laugh at their inconsiderate jokes. It hurt me deep down because together, we were truly laughing at me. However, writing has always supported me. I'm passionate about pursuing writing because it's one of the only forms where I can truly be free. I specialize in writing screenplays, and want to further my education in a film degree. As a little girl, writing always came natural to me. I would spend recess nose deep in my pink fuzzy journal, rather than playing house with all the other kids. As I grew older I looked up to writers and directors in the LGBTQ+ community. Luca Guadagnino is my favorite director, who focuses his films on queer art and relationships. I realized after watching his movies that I do this as well. Subliminally I would always write characters who direct themselves to gay or open relationships. I am most passionate about writing films with these films to better represent other people in my situation. It's easy to keep quiet about who you are, but I've learned that's not living. Living comes within finding your own letter that best fits you and owing it everyday. Through my screenplays, I believe there is a strong reflection of the person I have learned to love. My characters are often confident in their identity, or learn to be through the support of their community. I pray that through this form of media people will become more transparent and open-minded to the LGBTQ+ world. Writing has always spoken to my soul the way no person could. I like to believe I am good at it, and I find true happiness typing away while my ideas and passions blossom into acts. I often find myself putting off other tasks, whether it be chores or social outings, just to have more time with a pen and paper. I'm always writing, and what I love about it the most is that I can always be myself. I never have to worry if the computer is judging me just for who I kiss behind closed doors. So while I may not have the most supportive community, and at times feel ashamed of who I identify as, I always know I can fall back on writing to support me every step of the way.

It's hard to watch children get bullied, but it's harder when you are the one who has to withstand the punches from others' mouths. As a young girl, I knew writing was my passion from the minute I could hold a pen and paper. During recess, I would often be taunted by the laughs and looks from others as they played on the playground, and I stayed in a small shaded corner with the comfort of a notebook and pencil. My why in writing is to make that little girl in the corner proud when she sees her stories on a billboard in New York, or one of her books in a local Barnes and Noble. In a world of people with closed minds, my motivation lies in the small support from creative minds. It's hard to write when nobody wants to listen, but if you get one follower, that's all it takes to unleash inspiration for an ethereal story. I continue to write because my soul has never longed for anything except to make stories with words. Every dream of mine ends with seeing one of my productions on the big screen. I don't wish to be famous or rich; I only ever wish that I could be as passionate as I am with writing and share it with other people as a full-time career. With the advancement of technology, my ambition would be to use these programs to help heighten ideas and inspiration, but not replace the raw experiences and emotions that only people are capable of. I have always loved the art of writing, and I would love to pursue a long-term career in screenwriting and movie production. I have begun to construct many ideas and drafts of screenplays, and to be able to continue this as a long-term thing would mean that I have won in life. As a student of the arts, artificial intelligence programs can be helpful in terms of outlines, but when it comes to the foundations of storytelling that will always be done by a person filled with passion, and I have forever longed to be that person. I could use new technology to experiment with different styles of writing, and create a much more diverse audience, but at the end of the day, the passion and idea for the story will come from my brain and not a computer. I believe that as a student of the arts, tinkering with new technology is important, and being able to adapt is a skilled characterstic to have. Our world is increasingly digital every day, and there is no escaping the tools of artificial intelligence. They can be extremely helpful in the drafts that I write or the poems that I conjure up. Being able to call myself a screenplay writer would be like telling people my life is complete, and that I have reached peak success and happiness. With the amount of time I spend writing and producing stories, drafts, poems, ideas, and writing, I can't see myself as any other student except for a student of the arts. I have countless ideas that I know can be successful movies. My biggest idea that I am most passionate about grew from a small school project I was given called "Playing for the Other Side". My ambition as a student of the arts would be to pursue a passion in writing and film with the assistance of new expanding technology. However, I would like to ensure that this technology only helps escalate creativity, promote diversity in film and ideas, and provide a better structural support. This is because the raw agony upon which creative stories are built will always come from the little girl in the shaded corner who spends all of her free time writing and dreaming of becoming a successful screenplay writer.

When all the kids could be seen on the swings and slides during recess, there could also be a small girl spotted in the shaded corner of the playground with a notepad and paper. This girl was me. School was preparing me to work a 9-5 as a well-educated individual, and yet I always yearned for something more. My background shapes the way I write my stories because they shine with my passions. I've never wanted a stereotypical life, the life that everybody has always been telling me I have to live. Go to school, get married at 25, have 2 kids at 30, establish a well-paying job, and then eventually I'll be able to retire. My experiences with people giving me this advice have only made my stories more interesting. When I make the pen talk to paper, or when my fingers caress the keyboard, you can see who I am radiate through my writing. Stories of traveling, soul-fulfilling poems of culture, adults with no boundaries, but most importantly, happiness. The life of a promising, happy author will always sound more appealing than a life filled with boredom and misery, even if accompanied by money. My experiences of watching people, such as my parents, pick money over their dreams have led me down a path of ambition. I was born to be a writer, and despite the negative comments people give me, I will always choose to be happy over rich. As a little girl, I was told I should go into a respectable field such as education or health, but those don't speak to my soul the way stories do. The only field I am meant to go into is writing, and I can't see myself living a lie. So while others may choose the money over the passion, I will always choose the passion over the money. If I am not a writer, I am nobody. You can see aspects of ambition, love, culture, emotions, apathy, empathy, and happiness in any story I create. My stories reflect my life because they demonstrate what it's like to walk against the world, while keeping your head high and a smile on your face. So while many mentors of mine will disagree with my attitude towards life, I will always live in alignment with my passions and soul. My personal experiences of constantly being dragged on wanting to be a writer only influence my passions more. They make me want to prove everybody wrong and accomplish something bigger than life. I identify with my writing because after reading it, you can tell where my heart lies and what my soul wants. And despite the constant bickers, I always hear it will it will always want to be a writer.

As a young girl I have always been drawn to the art of writing. I noticed from a young age I would begin to analyze the way movies portrayed their dialogues and backstories. I don’t remember a part of my life where writing was not my passion. Growing up I would always favor english over math, and while other kids would play on the slides of swings, I would sit in the small shaded corner and write stories. Over my childhood years I have written countless stories, all filled with passion and big dream. My dream would be to one day write and produce my own movies on a big screen. Art education influenced me because it taught me the many different styles of writing, and how an author can never be wrong with their own creative ideas. This led me to discover poetry, and I can proudly say that I love writing poems more than anything. My best friend Emily and I have been best friends for 11 years, and she is my everything. The entirety of our friendship I have always known her as the best artist in the world. Currently she is at Valparaiso University following a bachelors in art. The way she moves a pencil and creates such ethereal masterpieces has truly shown me that if you have enough passion you can create wonders. As little girls I would always write stories, and she would be the profound illustrator. Emily is tue only person who actually cares and listens to my stories. Everybody else always tells me it’s not worth their time, or the one I get most often “how will you make any money off of something like this?” Even my own parents think it’s foolish of me to pursue a journalism and film career. However when the world stood against me, Emily stood with me. Without her I would have caved into societal norms and chosen not to peruse a deep passion of mine. When people ask me these questions I always tell them it’s not about the money it’s about the love I have for the craft. I can’t see myself doing anything other than writing. If it wasn’t for Emily, I would have never been pushed to try this. Writing not only impacted my life growing up, but presently I can always find myself writing stories everywhere I go. My goal as a writer isn’t to please the world, but to please the little girl in the corner at reverse who nobody believed in.

This scholarship will help me because it will support my education, which will further advance my goal driven career in film, journalism, and production. I plan on going into a film career, and my long term goal would be to one day write and produce my own movies. As a small term goal I would love to work for a news outlet in Chicago! While I grew up in Indiana, Chicago has always been a second home to me, and working there one day would be my dream! I am a first generation college student, so my parents don’t understand the full capacity of college funds, so this scholarship would help our family greatly. I am a 3.9 GPA honors students who works and volunteers outside of school, so while I am trying hard to support my education, this scholarship would really help with some of my college funds. I am very proud of myself for deciding to pursue a bachelors degree because neither of my parents graduated. My dad was a foster kid who had to drop out due to insufficient funds, and from there he joined the army. I have learned a lot from my dad, and I believe this is why my work ethic is extremely strong. This scholarship will help me with funds that way I won’t have to drop out like my dad. My mom never had a high GPA, and doesn’t understand how hard school is as an honors kid. Winning this scholarship would help with the money towards classes and books that my parents are not able to pay. My grandpa died of cancer on Christmas this past year, and it has been really hard on our family. I’m trying hard to support myself financially that way my parents don’t have to grieve while also being put into an educational debt. However, with all the studying and school work I have, the work I can do is limited. This scholarship would help my family out because then we would know that part of my funds are being handled. This would mean a ton to my family considering how much we have been through after his death. I really enjoy playing badminton, traveling, learning about cultures, and hanging out with friends in my free time when I am not in school or studying. This scholarship would help fund my education while also ensuring I can still participate in some of my favorite activities!