I am a singer, and have been since I started talking. My favorite place to be is on stage with a microphone in my hands, and my favorite ways to tell stories is through songs. I practice my skills every day with general exercises, but I also practice it when listening to birds singing, to stories other people tell me, when experiencing emotions I feel. I am very grateful that my talent is art, because art is in everything, and I get to be inspired all the time, as well as inspire others, and help them heal, feel comfort and have fun. I believe the ultimate goal with my talent is to make life a little brighter and I'm learning how to do that at the best contemporary music school in the world, Berklee College of Music. However, the costs to keep me here are extremely high, so it has been a struggle. I am not giving up, because my dream, my purpose, and my goals for how to use my talent always keep me moving, and this scholarship would be a great help in my path.

I am Alice, and I have always been an artist. I started singing even before I could talk and I have never stopped. I write music about my life and stories of it, and my favorite place to be is on stage with a microphone in my hands. In 2018, I decided I wanted to pursue a music degree in college, and after a lot of preparation, dedication, and support from my family, I was able to get into the best contemporary music school in the world, Berklee College of Music. However, the institution is extremely expensive so it has been a battle to keep me here, a place where I met incredible people, and learned amazing things every day. I was very happy and very inspired at Berklee until 2020. During the pandemic, I had to go through difficult situations. I lost family members, my parents lost jobs and money, which put an indefinite hold on my college studies. I was having problems with my visa and had to spend the holidays by myself, which was the final straw. I found myself with symptoms of depression and anxiety, and I didn't know what could be done. I turned to music for comfort, and on a very dark day, I wrote a song called "Light." It talks about wanting to see the light at the end of the tunnel, searching for it while fighting the demons that are up in my head. Now, I feel better, and I found a new purpose for my music. It's not only something that makes ME feel better anymore, it's now something that I want to create to help OTHER PEOPLE feel better. I want my music to heal, and comfort those that need a hand like I once did. That's the ultimate goal.

When I was 15 I found out what having a bucket list meant. Then I wrote down on the notes app on my phone: 30 things to do before 30 (years old). In 2020, when everyone in the whole world was going through a form of existential crisis, thinking about life, considering the good and bad decisions they've made along the way, and making promises to themselves to "do everything they want to do" after the pandemic, I looked back at this list. In it, I put some reasonable goals, that I'm not sure are "bucket list material", such as learning Spanish (which I did!), and get into my dream school (which I also did!), and some very broad and almost unreachable ones, such as travel the world (which, obviously I didn't do). Apart from those, there was: see the northern lights, backpack Europe and Asia, go to the border of two countries and put one foot on each side, sleep in the desert, and do volunteer work with children in poor countries. All things I still want to do, but that I don't want to try to squeeze in the 8 years I still have until 30. In fact, I want to add many more, and give myself 100 years more old to do. I also want to add things that mean more, such as "I want my grandparents to meet my future kids." Having a bucket list seems like a way to see life as a bigger adventure, but what we have to remember is that life itself is already a huge adventure, and the little things around us are what makes it so worth living.

I am from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. A city and a country with rich culture, beautiful landscapes, and happy people. But also, a city and a country that lack security, opportunities, and respect. People in Rio live in fear. I can't count how many times my mom told me not to pick up the phone while on the street, because if I did, there was a high chance that someone would pull up a gun and threaten to kill me, just to rob me. I can't count how many times I saw extremely talented people having to leave school because either the public-school system shut down, or because they had to work in order to provide for their families. I can't count how many times my grandma had to stand up on the bus because no one would give her their seat. I can't count how many basic things get taken away from me, just because I happened to be born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and I was extremely lucky to have a family who has always worked hard to try to give me the best possible living conditions. But, when the chance to study in the United States came up, it changed everything. First of all, amongst a lot of classmates who wanted to be engineers, doctors or lawyers, I wanted to study music. It took me a while to admit it, own it, and embrace it, but I knew that that was what I needed to study, I wouldn't be doing myself justice if I settled for anything else. So, I began my search and found out that even though Brazil has one of the most famous and greatest music in the world, we don't have a great institution to teach our own about it. The US however, has uncountable quality colleges and universities that gets anyone mesmerized. Second of all, everything that made me sad about Brazil is everything people in the US take for granted. I see people with the newest iPhone facetiming their friends while crossing the road. Road which cars stop when they see a pedestrian or when the light is red. I see people who have no money, but were given the chance to study at a good public school, and then get a scholarship to attend college because of their amazing grades, or because they are great soccer players. Brazil, the soccer country, doesn't have sports' scholarships for colleges. When I was faced with this whole different reality, I had no doubt that this was the country I needed to go to study and to build myself for the future. Now, the future you ask. I have always been the person who plans everything. I believe, like me, a lot of people had to re-learn how to live their lives after COVID-19 hit us last year. Not everything can be planned, we have no control of what happens. But, I know the place I chose to attend, Berklee College of Music, the most prestigious music school in the US, will definitely prepare me for the challenges I'll face in my career and introduce me to new paths, new people, new mindset. I know I'll have to adapt to the cold in Boston, but even that will be important for my growth. I know I'll be far from my parents but that will make me more independent. I know I will miss Brazil, but I know my future will be in a better place. A country with rich culture, beautiful landscapes, happy people. But most importantly with security, opportunities and respect.

When people ask me why I chose music, I tend to answer "because I couldn't imagine doing anything else." I keep on thinking how people say "it is so hard to be to be an artist" but no one considers how hard it is for the artist to NOT be an artist. Music has touched my life in every single aspect. I began to sing even before I could talk, and this beautiful for of art has been there for me in moments of sadness, as a healing method, in memories, that come back or make me think of someone special, whenever I hear a certain song. I started performing on stage at the age of six. Every year, I would participate in recitals, school shows, and do a big Christmas number for my family on December 25th. However, it was all a hobby, especially because in Brazil, where I'm from and where I grew up in, there isn't a good incentive for music, even though our own music is amongst the best in the world. So, in high school, when my peers and teachers started talking about professions, and colleges, and where we would apply, and how we would prepare to get in, I was still confused. I wanted to be a musician, and yet, this check box wasn't in the options provided. After a lot of talk with my family, and a dose of courage, I decided I was not going check engineering, law, or medicine. I was going to pursue music, as profession and life choice. I then, started to prepare myself for the auditions, a process none of my friends were familiar with. After a year of lessons, masterclasses, and self-dedication, I was able to get in the best contemporary music school in the United States, Berklee College of Music. I was thrilled and proud of myself for this huge achievement. I managed to get scholarships that allowed me to move abroad to go after my dreams. At Berklee, I met my kind of people, from everywhere in the world. We shared cultures, aspirations, fears, knowledge, drive, passion. I was surrounded by what I loved the most every single day, and I had never been happier. Nevertheless, I could not stop thinking about other kids in school, other artists that, like me, did not fit into the boxes they were being made to choose. I could not stop thinking about the lack of encouragement my country gives to the arts, and to the sports, and even though I was incredibly happy to be where I was, I was also sad that it was a very rare case. So, I started doing two things. The first one was writing music with a purpose, which is to inspire others and give them the strength they need to believe in themselves, and reach their highest goals. The other thing, was to make myself and my contact available for free in many schools in Brazil, as a resource and helper for those who wanted to pursue a similar path as mine. I oversaw applications, gave students tips, had conversations with them, heard their concerns, and explained everything they wanted and needed to know. I have now four freshmen coming to Berklee next year because of my guidance, and I'm starting to feel incredibly happy again. I hope that my music, and my story, keep on inspiring the ones that came before and the ones that are coming after me, with their own dreams and passion for the arts. After all, we did not choose it, it chose us.

2020 wasn't easy for anyone. I think no one was completely healthy, either physically or mentally. In my case, I was not healthy at all. I lost family members, a year of college, performing opportunities (since I am a musician/singer) interactions with my friends, and had to battle depression and anxiety. The day I took my first COVID vaccine shot I was extremely happy, and I began to see hope for the future. A few months later, my school announced that we could be in-person again in the Fall, and I started getting inspired right away. I sat down on my piano and started writing a song. Something I couldn't do for over a year, due to everything I was going through. By the end of the day "Light" was born, and with it so was my #Back2SchoolBold moment. The lyrics talk about seeing a light at the end of tunnel, believing there is a way out of darkness even when it is too hard to believe so, fighting our own demons. "Light" saved me. Music saved me. Coming back to life, to school, to my friends, to social interactions, to hugs, love, happiness, #Back2SchoolBold, it all literally saved me.

Please tell us about your cultural experience as a refugee, immigrant, or first-generation American, and how the challenges you've faced have shaped your dreams and vision for the future. My name is Alice Macedo, I'm a 21-year-old Brazilian pursuing a Bachelor's degree in Music Business/Management at Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. My mom used to say I started singing even before I could talk, and I haven't stopped since. Music runs in my veins and my biggest dream was to study it, and live off of it, one day. As a Brazilian, I have always loved the music of my country. My heart beats faster when I hear the guitars in our Bossa Novas, the percussions in our Sambas, and the wonderful voices in our MPBs (Brazilian Popular Music). It is safe to say I'm very influenced by Brazilian music, but it is also sad to say that a country with such rich culture doesn't have good schools to teach their own about it. With that in mind, and looking to live in a safer place, considering Brazil's tremendous unsafety, my parents started dedicating a lot of their money and energy into make my dreams come true. When I was 17, we moved to Miami, Florida, and I started attending a public arts High School that would prepare me for college. In Miami, I found out how amazing it was to be different, to look different and to share those differences with other people. After a lot of hard work, and commitment, in March 2018, I received an acceptance letter to Berklee College of Music, and in Boston I became even more grateful to exchange experiences with other immigrants like me. We, as immigrants, feel like we are family. We left our countries, our languages, and our habits behind in search of better opportunities, knowledge, expansion of our minds and ideas. That is bold, it takes courage, but it is very much worth it. We are there for each other because we understand each other, even when we are not speaking the same language. But, in my case, music is the universal language. In the same room there can be people that speak different idioms, but still connect, create, and communicate through music. It is such a special feeling, and I'm so grateful I get to live it. However, currency is not universal, and unfortunately my country's currency value is getting worse by the minute. Berklee's tuition is about 45 thousand dollars per year. With the currency exchange being $1 = R$5.2, this number is multiplied by 5.2 for me. The three alumni, members of Imagine Dragons would know the struggle of wanting to be here, but not having the means to. It is so expensive, and even with a handful amount of scholarships, my family simply cannot afford it. I'm in my last year, I'm doing things I never thought I could do, I'm growing, learning, and gathering priceless memories. But I won't be able to finish unless I can get enough money for this last year. Moving to the US was one of the biggest, most important, and most incredible changes in my life. I'm a much better person today than I was before. I faced many challenges while adapting, I faced problems with discrimination for being Latinx, and I faced the tough feeling of missing your family but not being able to go see them. But I don't blame these issues. Today, I see that everything I experienced made me the strong and positive person I am today, and this is the vision I have for my future. I want to get stronger by the day, face the challenges head on, and see through the light, meaning, understand that a bad situation doesn't mean a bad life, and that there is hope at the end. For that reason, last year during COVID, when I was going through a series of mental health issues, money and family problems, I decided to write a song about it. "Light" was born out of my need to look for reason to keep going, and I'm proud of how special it turned out to be. I hope my music translates to every immigrant, no matter what language they speak, and I hope they believe in themselves, and trust that things happen for a reason. One day we'll all understand why.

I believe I am a citizen of the world. I relate to so many cultures, places, languages, and even though I am very attached to things, people, and locations, I cannot imagine not exploring everywhere around me for as long as I live. My name is Alice Macedo, I'm a junior at Berklee College of Music studying Music Business/Management while working on my own music and artistry. I was born and raised in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, therefore fluent in Portuguese, Samba, smiles, and natural beauty landscapes. My parents have always encouraged me to learn about other cultures, to try to understand them, and even live them, if possible. I first started with English. As a musician, I began listening to songs by American artists at the age of 7. I sang the lyrics wrong and I didn't know what they meant. After a while, I discovered a new task: print the lyrics and try to translate them, on my own, word by word. By the time I was 13, I was fluent. In 6th grade, I went to Paris with my family. I had never been to Europe and I was shocked with how different people can be, how different buildings, streets, foods, clothes, weather can be. It was inspiring to look at history at every corner. It seemed like my school books were brought to life. When I came back, I started taking French classes, and today, I can read and listen it without Google Translate. In High School, my family and I moved to Miami. I thought I was only going to improve my English, and instead, I also learned Spanish. My passion for Latin culture started before I could even taste guacamole. When I started college, in Boston, I had no idea how much this would all influence my life, my relationships, my opportunities, and my music. I am able to understand my American and international peers, when they complain about politics, because I too, study their countries' situations. I am able to laugh with them, when they use slang from where they're from, because my curiosity is too large not to research every word that is new to my vocabulary. I am able to incorporate sounds from their heritages, because my ears are always listening. I am able to comfort them when their teams lose and cheer with them when they win, because sport, like music, is a universal language. I am able to get a lot of people in the same room, that grew up in different places, with different habits and backgrounds, different colors, sizes, genders, and connect them all with each other. Cultural immersion really doing what it does best: uniting people, not letting their differences set them apart. I believe the more we travel OUTSIDE our minds (which means physically travel) the more we can develop the INSIDE of our minds. The more we feel, listen, share, dream, the more we relate to others, open up our hearts, build our knowledge, accept new ideas, feel compassionate towards human beings. I believe studying abroad, something I'm already doing it, and plan on doing it even more, especially in the culturally rich European continent, allows one to understand other people and their cultures, therefore, creating a much more peaceful and understanding world. I agree to the saying: travel is the only thing that we buy that makes us richer. Studying abroad is the best experience I've had and hope to continue having in my life. Being a citizen of the world is priceless, and a never-ending adventure I'll always be ready for.

I've always been the type of student, daughter, friend, and person who did everything perfectly. I got good grades, I was always there to hear about everyone's problems and do my best to help them, I was a happy overachiever, and I never got in trouble. Last year, I met a new side of me and I was scared. During the pandemic, I had to go through difficult situations. I lost family members, my parents lost jobs and money, which put an indefinite hold on my college studies. I was having problems with my visa and had to spend the holidays by myself, which was the final straw. I found myself with symptoms of depression and anxiety, and I didn't know what could be done. I'm a musician, so, many times, I turned to music for comfort, and on a very dark day, I wrote a song called "Light." It talks about wanting to see the light at the end of the tunnel, searching for it while fighting the demons that are up in my head. I can't say it cured me, but it definitely made me look through a different perspective. I was scared of that sad person I didn't recognize. The Alice everyone knew and loved always had a smile on her face. I was determined to get that person back, and I turned to every aspect I thought could help me. Music was for sure one of the most important ones. I listen to music, play music, and sing music whenever I'm feeling down and it is unbelievable what it can do. I'm still battling, I know it's a very long road with bumps on the way, and no clear sign of what should be done. But the main difference now is that I know I can get to the end of it. I don't want to give up in the middle anymore, and I want to make sure that everyone going through the same thing, also gets to the finish line. I hope my music positively impact their lives and helps them see the light.

I knew I could sing even before I could talk. I didn't inherit it from anyone in the family, I simply was born with music being my first and love language. Ever since I was a little girl this passion had been growing with me, as well as my ambitions as an artist. I'm a 21 year-old, from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In 2017, my parents and I moved to Miami, Florida in order for me to have a better education and prepare myself for college. I finished my last year of High School and after a lot of struggle, I was able to get in and start attending Berklee College of Music, the best contemporary music school in the country. I tend to picture my dreams in my head as if they are little worlds you can unlock, similarly to the Nintendo game I used to play as a child, Mario Bros. Moving to Miami was a new world, I learned about the importance of representing my culture and latin culture in general, about how great it is to be different, and about respect for others, because we never know what someone is going through. At Berklee, a whole new world was unlocked, I opened up my mind to learn about cultures from all over the planet, I had hard moments of not believing I was good enough but was able to recover from it, and found out new goals and passions that led me to a clearer and brighter path. I'm currently majoring in Music Business/Management, which is something I enjoy very much, and it's very important for anyone in the industry. I produce live concerts, as well as work on my original songs, and artistry. Today, I know my ambition as an artist is clearer than it has ever been before, because of my experiences and everything I was lucky enough to be able to live. I want to bring positivity into this world. Whether it is body positivity, culture positivity, or confidence positivity. I want to show people the importance to believe in their capacity, and help others on the way. In the midst of the pandemic, I was going through a lot of complicated situations that included losing family members, jobs, money, which put my studies on hold, and many opportunities, as I was paving my way to senior year. One night, while I was at my worst, I started singing and writing, and I saw music save me one more time. My song "Light" was born and so was a new mindset. Like its lyrics, I committed to finding for the light, fighting the demons that were bringing me down. I plan to release it by the end of the year, but I already showed it to a few friends, who said the song was very strong and definitely helped them in times of need. You can listen to it below, and I hope you love it as much as I do. In conclusion, I believe being an artist is not a choice, your art chooses you, what changes is what you do with it. I was blessed to have been chosen as a musician and a singer, and my ambition is to unlock many more worlds for me and for everyone I can. This scholarship will help me bring that vision to life in so many aspects. Firstly, it will help me in finish my studies. Right now, my family's financial situation is very complicated and I really need help in order to be able to complete one of my biggest dreams, a degree from Berklee. Secondly, it will help me to work on my songs, my artist image and ideals, and allow me to put my music out in the world so that people can hear it and feel it. Lastly, but definitely not less important, it will give me the boost needed to start the positivity chain I intend to start. I believe in myself, but when I see others believing in myself as well, that is when the new worlds start to unlock. And how incredible would it be to keep playing that game?

The quote that means a lot to me and that I live by is "everything happens for a reason." I remember I used to hear it in self-help books, but I never believed it, I never understood it. It seemed hard to comprehend and to see that when bad things happened. With COVID, my perspective on life changed a lot. I lost family members, had to face episodes of anxiety and depression, and I was going through a lot. At that time, when someone would come to me and say "everything happens for a reason" it would make me extremely mad. Fast forward to August 2021, time went by so fast that what happened a year ago feels like forever and yesterday at the same time. Now, I can see some things more clearly. I had to miss one year of college last year due to money and visa issues. but I'm coming back now for the Fall and I already have so many opportunities in line. I also didn't have to take any online classes which has actually benefited me in not losing any on-campus life. After my family members died, I started valuing the time I spent with my grandparents and the things that remind me of them. I call my grandma every time I cook one of her recipes, and I text my grandpa a picture of a pretty bird every time one comes by my room window. I got a job at the exact moment my family needed and got two scholarships just in time to be able to fully commit to the Fall semester, one that I was unsure I was gonna be able to pay for. My boyfriend, who I've been dating for almost three years, is from my city and neighborhood in Brazil, we have mutual friends, and we used to go to the same places. Yet, we met in Boston, my first day in college, and he has helped me overcome many hard times I've had since. My grandpa, who died in 2008, had two big passions in life: music and soccer. I decided to pursue music 10 years after he died and now, 13 years later, my sister is playing professional soccer. So, yes, everything does happen for a reason. I could keep on listing the many things that I already know happened for a reason, or say the many others I still don't know why happened. But now, I'm a firm believer that one day I'll find out, or even if I don't relate it to something specific, I know anything that happened to me, good or bad, has led me to the path and person I am today, and for that I'm grateful. This quote has helped me go through situations I never thought I would. There is now something deep down that keeps me going because I know that there is a reason for everything, that we don't have to understand, we only have to trust.

When people ask me why I chose music, I tend to answer "because I couldn't imagine doing anything else." I keep on thinking how people say "it is so hard to be to be an artist" but no one considers how hard it is for the artist to NOT be an artist. Music has touched my life in every single aspect. I began to sing even before I could talk, and this beautiful for of art has been there for me in moments of sadness, as a healing method, in memories, that come back or make me think of someone special, whenever I hear a certain song. I started performing on stage at the age of six. Every year, I would participate in recitals, school shows, and do a big Christmas number for my family on December 25th. However, it was all a hobby, especially because in Brazil, where I'm from and where I grew up in, there isn't a good incentive for music, even though our own music is amongst the best in the world. So, in high school, when my peers and teachers started talking about professions, and colleges, and where we would apply, and how we would prepare to get in, I was still confused. I wanted to be a musician, and yet, this check box wasn't in the options provided. After a lot of talk with my family, and a dose of courage, I decided I was not going check engineering, law, or medicine. I was going to pursue music, as profession and life choice. I then, started to prepare myself for the auditions, a process none of my friends were familiar with. After a year of lessons, masterclasses, and self-dedication, I was able to get in the best contemporary music school in the United States, Berklee College of Music. I was thrilled and proud of myself for this huge achievement. I managed to get scholarships that allowed me to move abroad to go after my dreams. At Berklee, I met my kind of people, from everywhere in the world. We shared cultures, aspirations, fears, knowledge, drive, passion. I was surrounded by what I loved the most every single day, and I had never been happier. Nevertheless, I could not stop thinking about other kids in school, other artists that, like me, did not fit into the boxes they were being made to choose. I could not stop thinking about the lack of encouragement my country gives to the arts, and to the sports, and even though I was incredibly happy to be where I was, I was also sad that it was a very rare case. So, I started doing two things. The first one was writing music with a purpose, which is to inspire others and give them the strength they need to believe in themselves, and reach their highest goals. The other thing, was to make myself and my contact available for free in many schools in Brazil, as a resource and helper for those who wanted to pursue a similar path as mine. I oversaw applications, gave students tips, had conversations with them, heard their concerns, and explained everything they wanted and needed to know. I have now four freshmen coming to Berklee next year because of my guidance, and I'm starting to feel incredibly happy again. I hope that my music, and my story, keep on inspiring the ones that came before and the ones that are coming after me, with their own dreams and passion for the arts. After all, we did not choose it, it chose us.

My name is Alice Macedo, I'm a 21-year-old Brazilian studying at Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. Ever since I was little, music has been a huge part of my life, I was singing before I could talk, I started performing on stage when I was 8, and I learned English through it. Yes, that is right. In Brazil, we speak Portuguese, the public-school system is one of the worst ones in South America, and there is no incentive from the government to include a second language in the curriculum. However, little me, first as a classic Disney fan (princesses, lion king, etc) and later as a "modern" Disney fan (Jonas Brothers, Miley Cyrus, etc) has always been curious to know the words to the songs I would scream at the top of my lungs. In 2009, my dad bought a computer and a printer for the house. I was fascinated with everything it could do, and that I could listen to my favorite songs somewhere other than the CDs and radio stations. I then discovered this lyrics’ website, that had the original song lyrics, and a translation to Portuguese right next to it. I had my dad print Disney's entire catalog of lyrics + translations and spent most of my time perfecting my ability to memorize understand the English language. Added to that, I would watch TV shows in English with Portuguese subtitles, and then interviews from my favorite artists on YouTube to work on my speaking abilities. Not too long after, I was almost fluent. I remember going to Disney World for my 15th birthday and someone asking my mom if she moved to raise me in the US, because my accent was similar to a New Yorker’s. Needless to say, I felt great about myself, and my mom, super proud. Never would I have imagined that at 18, I would be applying to study abroad in the best contemporary music school in the United States. At Berklee, I understood how big, important and special it is that I have English as a second fluent language. I attend my classes and complete my assignments confidently and I'm able to look for so many enriching opportunities. I met people from all over the world and was able to communicate and learn from them. I have one more year left in college before my future begins. I'm majoring in Music Business Management and my dream is to work with music, especially with live shows, and live the excitement that they provide me with every day. I also dream about inspiring other international students to be proud of themselves for their incredible abilities, and learn from each other, the most priceless things I have experienced in college thus far.

It was a depressive 2020 day, when I sat on my computer with my guitar and midi keyboard, and put all I was feeling into notes and words. I started with some simple chords for the intro, and then added a few embellishments such as snaps and a synth pad for the verse. I wanted to chorus to feel like a firework of liberty, with strong lyrics saying I needed to see the end of the tunnel and keep moving towards it, reverb on the drums, and many harmonies on the hook. I repeated the chorus for the bridge, with just piano and voice, for an intimate moment, and came back to the big chorus at the end. Just like that, "Light" was born.

I believe living is a type of entrepreneurship. We are our own brands. At many points in our lives, we have to sell ourselves and our abilities. In order to secure an admission to any college, one must submit a number of required documents. Some of them being grades, tests scores, portfolios, performance videos, essays, etc. In all of those, students need to sell their academic intelligence, capacity and drive, as well as their dedicated, strong and unique personality. When applying to scholarships, as I'm doing now, I have to do my best to prove to you, reader, that I deserve it. Later on in life, when interviewing for jobs, again our ability to sell our best qualities should be impeccable. In all those occasions, we have to be great entrepreneurs. So, it is safe to safe that a big part of being an entrepreneur is believing in yourself, believing in your ideas and plans, and believing that things will work out. Again, those are also necessary in life. If you don't believe in yourself, who will? If you don't think your ideas are great, someone else might have them and turn them to a billion dollar plan. And if you don't believe things are going to work out, then why start them in the first place? My dad has always been an entrepreneur, ever since he was a teenager, he always found ways to get something out of any situation, and as an adult he opened his first business. Through that, he found out that entrepreneurship is also about learning how to read, deal and treat different people. We are all different, and a great entrepreneur knows how to explore each difference and use them in their favor. After 20 + years, my dad decided to sell his business and move countries to try to provide a better life for our family. He then, built a business in the US, which allowed us to come here and study, work and live. One more time, the entrepreneurship being a huge part of my life. Now, I'm at college, studying Music Business - Management, Marketing and Entrepreneurship. I believe can contribute to the betterment of society because I can help them understand that everything they do means something, everything they do contributes to their biggest and longest business investment: their lives. This one has to be successful somehow, and I can also show people that success is different for everyone. For some people it means fancy cars and parties, while for others it means a healthy and happy family. We are all entrepreneurs. I'm interested in it because I found out that this term means much more than a major, a career, a field. I found out that I was an entrepreneur even before I knew the word and my wish is to pass it on to society, so that we can all see the power in our hands to impact other people's lives, or should I say their businesses?

What an interesting inquiry it is to define my everything. All of us share similar "everythings," such as the planet we live, the air we breathe and the huge universe, that appears to be the "everything of everything." But at the same time, we each have our own perception as to what is the biggest reason why we live a happy life, which is my personal definition of "everything". In 2020, I lived through situations that I could never have imagined going through. I lost family members to COVID, my parents lost jobs, I lost a year of college, and in the middle of all that, lost my mental health. I don't think anyone was perfectly healthy this past year. Our bodies and our minds just weren't prepared to deal with so much. I suffered a lot, so much anxiety and depression, so very lost, in the purest sense of the word. When I thought I couldn't handle it anymore, I took one last turn to the one thing that could be my last hope: music. It has always been a big part of my life, something I called upon anytime I felt really sad, or even really happy. I wanted to be a singer ever since I started talking, and after years of studying, I succeeded in getting into Berklee College of Music for my Bachelor's Degree. Music managed to save me one more time last year. I was in a very dark moment, specifically a very dark day, when I decided to sit on my computer with my midi keyboard, and try to put all I was feeling into some notes and words. I started out by saying that deep in my mind I didn't want to give up, but it was getting harder by the day. That my thoughts were getting too loud and I needed to find a way to get them out, to fight the demons that were trying to bring me down, to see the end of the tunnel and keep moving towards it. After a few hours, my song "Light" was born, and with it, so many answers. Such as the one being asked here. My everything is what music provides me with, not music itself, but the strength it gives me to be alive, to search for light and for purpose, to enjoy every minute of my time in this earth, to express my thoughts, to bring out all types of emotions in myself and others. After all, what are we doing in the "everything of everything," if not to feel everything?

How boring would the world be? How boring would the world be if we were all the same? Maybe there wouldn't be doctors, and we would not be able to survive the simplest diseases, or maybe there wouldn't be artists, and there would be no type of entertainment. What if we all chose to be lawyers? Could you imagine how complicated? All lawyers defending other lawyers and charging other lawyers. How about other personality traits, such as style? What if we all decided to wear only orange? Or only mullets? No. It's better to not even think of it. There was a time in my life that I was angry and sad about being different. I am a short curly haired brunette from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In High School, the moment in every teenage life in which they question everything, I did not seem to question why all the girls looked the same, and why all the boys liked the same looking girls. I really stood out. All of them were skinny and tall, had straight hair and were amazing at applying their makeup to their angelical faces. Don't get me wrong, they were my friends, great people, but very similar to one another. That similarity also went beyond the looks, they normally had the same type of "problems" which would include more than 5 guys hitting on them on the same night, and them having a "hard time choosing one." Meanwhile, I got no guys to even look at me at the same parties. I tried multiple things to fit in like straightening my hair every time I went out with them, photoshopping my pictures before posting them on Instagram and other stupid little changes that made a much bigger impact on my self-esteem than I could see at the time. However, even after all of this, nothing really changed, except for me. I would spend hours hating myself and hours trying to make me look like a different person, so that other people would like me. On my senior year, my parents decided to move from Brazil because of the terrible violence and lack of security we were living under. (I know, this seems like the story of adversity I should be talking about. But please, stick with me, I promise this little teenage-movie-like story has a deeper meaning to it.) When I arrived in Miami, I hated it. I missed my friends and I even missed the parties that made me feel bad about myself. But, on my first day of school, everything changed. My first friend was a curvy Serbian, my second friend was a black Spanish girl who were three types of patterns in the same outfit. The halls were filled with curls, nationalities, body sizes, colors, styles, crazy makeups, different genders and sexualities. It was a sea of diversity, and for the first time in my life I felt really pretty. I felt really good in my skin because I was no longer comparing myself to a lot of versions of the same thing. I was only comparing myself to my old self. Because in this new place, no one looked the same, and that was the coolest thing I had ever experienced. After that, my mental health changed for the better, I accepted my body, my hair, my style. I felt prettier and because I felt it, I also looked prettier. Today, I understand the importance of diversity and visibility, this story despite being very simple, and I believe, very common, has opened up my eyes and shown me the bigger picture. If we look the same, or only see, buy, create and talk about the same things we would be excluding and harming every single person that feels differently. And guess what? We all feel differently. So, this teenage-movie-like story has shown me the importance of being different, and surround myself with different people. I am more cultured, more empathic, more engaged, happier, and healthier. Now and forever I'll be a strong advocate for diversity and visibility for all people, for every culture, every color, size, sexual orientation, gender identification. I'm very glad I get to live in this world in which we are all different. Because if we were all the same, how boring would the world be?

I believe living is a type of entrepreneurship. We are our own brands. At many points in our lives, we have to sell ourselves and our abilities. In order to secure an admission to any college, one must submit a number of required documents. Some of them being grades, tests scores, portfolios, performance videos, essays, etc. In all of those, students need to sell their academic intelligence, capacity and drive, as well as their dedicated, strong and unique personality. When applying to scholarships, as I'm doing now, I have to do my best to prove to you, reader, that I deserve it. Later on in life, when interviewing for jobs, again our ability to sell our best qualities should be impeccable. In all those occasions, we have to be great entrepreneurs. So, it is safe to safe that a big part of being an entrepreneur is believing in yourself, believing in your ideas and plans, and believing that things will work out. Again, those are also necessary in life. If you don't believe in yourself, who will? If you don't think your ideas are great, someone else might have them and turn them to a billion dollar plan. And if you don't believe things are going to work out, then why start them in the first place? My dad has always been an entrepreneur, ever since he was a teenager, he always found ways to get something out of any situation, and as an adult he opened his first business. Through that, he found out that entrepreneurship is also about learning how to read, deal and treat different people. We are all different, and a great entrepreneur knows how to explore each difference and use them in their favor. After 20 + years, my dad decided to sell his business and move countries to try to provide a better life for our family. He then, built a business in the US, which allowed us to come here and study, work and live. One more time, the entrepreneurship being a huge part of my life. Now, I'm at college, studying Music Business - Management, Marketing and Entrepreneurship. I believe can contribute to the betterment of society because I can help them understand that everything they do means something, everything they do contributes to their biggest and longest business investment: their lives. This one has to be successful somehow, and I can also show people that success is different for everyone. For some people it means fancy cars and parties, while for others it means a healthy and happy family. We are all entrepreneurs. I'm interested in it because I found out that this term means much more than a major, a career, a field. I found out that I was an entrepreneur even before I knew the word and my wish is to pass it on to society, so that we can all see the power in our hands to impact other people's lives, or should I say their businesses?

Long before I wanted to build a career in the music industry, I was a music lover, and in many ways, I see the relation between music and women. They are both powerful, able to comfort anyone at all times, have a lot going on at once, but deal with it so well it sounds/looks effortless. They usually follow rules, but when they break them, it's for something even more spectacular. I believe all the qualities listed above are values women bring to their jobs, but one of the most important ones is never giving up, even though many people try to make them do it. I come from a family of hard-working women, my grandmothers were teachers who have always shown me the power of education. My mom studied a lot to "become the CEO her parents wanted her to marry" and now she encourages me to be the CEO of anything I want. I started my Bachelor's degree at Berklee College of Music in 2018, and due to a series of experiences, I decided to pursue the Music Business/Management major and a career in this field. First, I discovered the "backstage feeling." I started managing a band of friends, contacting people, locations, promoting their music, organizing shows, and when everything worked out, I watched the performance from backstage and felt ecstatic. Thus, I decided to learn more about the industry and joined the Berklee Music Business Journal as a PR Manager and Writer. Then, the Law and Management Club board, which led me to a partnership with Harvard Law, by giving pro-bono legal counsel to musicians in need, and the presidency of the Student Legal Team in a licensing platform called Raidar. The next step was a job as the Events Coordinator of the Women Musicians Network, a community of talented women with the goal of supporting one another. After that, I won the Music Business Association Award, the Berklee Music Marketing/Technology Award, entered the A&R Group and interned in four amazing companies that have guided me in the proper direction to become the skilled professional I want to be in the live music industry. I want to work on the production of live events, festivals, and shows. It's how my drive for the business started and how the music chills will still live on me. This past year, with COVID, was extremely difficult. I lost family members, a job, money, and faced mental health issues. This scholarship will allow me to continue my studies, since my family can't currently afford, and keep me motivated to enter a workforce that suffered a lot in 2020 as well, and is always suffering with the lack of women. Nevertheless, as Sylvia Rhone, an inspiring music industry executive, who I look up to and have had the pleasure to see as a keynote speaker at Berklee said: "I know that all bad-ass female executives will be able to find their places in the music ecosystem and change the world."

I believe I am a citizen of the world. I relate to so many cultures, places, languages, and even though I am very attached to things, people, and locations, I cannot imagine not exploring everywhere around me for as long as I live. My name is Alice Macedo, I'm a junior at Berklee College of Music studying Music Business/Management while working on my own music and artistry. I was born and raised in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, therefore fluent in portuguese, samba, smiles, and natural beauty landscapes. My parents have always encouraged me to learn about other cultures, to try to understand them, and even live them, if possible. I first started with english. As a musician, I began listening to songs by american artists at the age of 7. I sang the lyrics wrong and I didn't even know what they meant. After a while, when my dad got a printer, I discovered a cool new task: print the lyrics and try to translate, on my own, word by word. By the time I was 13, I was fluent. In 6th grade, I went to Paris with my family. I had never been to Europe and I was shocked with how different people can be, how different buildings, streets, foods, clothes, weather can be. It was inspiring to look at history at every corner. It seemed like my school books were brought to life. When I came back, I started taking french classes, and today, I can read and listen it without google translate. In high school, my parents, my sister and I moved to Miami, Florida. I confess that when I was told we were moving, I thought it was going to be completely different. I thought I was only going to improve my english, and instead, I also learned spanish. My passion for latin culture started before I could even taste guacamole. The dances, music genres, colors, happiness. When I started college, in Boston, I had no idea how much this would all influence my life, my relationships, my opportunities and my music. I am able to understand my american and international peers, when they complain about politics, because I too, study their countries' situations. I am able to laugh with my american and international peers, when they use slang from where they're from, because my curiosity is too large no to research every word that is new to my vocabulary. I am able to incorporate sounds from my american and international peers' heritages, because my ears are always listening. I am able to comfort my american and international peers when their teams lose and cheer with them, when they win, because sport unites us all. I am able to get a lot of people in the same room, that grew up in different places, with different habits and backgrounds, different colors, sizes, genders, and connect with all of them. In a lot of different ways, but also by one thing: travel. We all travel inside our minds when we listen to music. The kind of travel that leaves us with goosebumps, tears, and compassion. But the more we travel OUTSIDE of our minds (which means physically travel) the more we can develop the INSIDE of our minds. The more we feel, listen, share, dream. Relate to others, open up our hearts, build our knowledge, accept new ideas. Some people say that travel is the only thing that we buy that makes us richer. And, well, in that case, I want to be a millionaire.