Covid 19 has bought about a lot of confusion anger and unknowns, but it has also bought about some wonderful things within my life. When Covid 19 first hit, I had just decided I was going to go back to school and finish what I started and what I truly love, and that's learning about the field I have always wanted to go into, nursing. Covid 19 gave me time to sit back and reflect, I had to reflect on my past, and really sit down and think about what I want for my present and future. I feel as though before covid I was always on the go, trying to keep myself occupied and ignoring the problems I was having at hand. Covid gave me time to work on myself. I worked on myself mentally, emotionally, and physically, and I have to say it was one of the best things that could have happened. Working on myself will never end but it has gotten so much better. I had to dig deep and realize that I had to make sure I was happy and healthy because I ignored what I needed for so long. Covid 19 also bought about new relationships for me and it was one of the best things that happened to me and now I'm happily engaged to a wonderful person, but this amazing person I haven't seen in 4 months due to covid because they had to go through extensive surgery and would not allow anyone in the hospital, so with that situation Covid held me back from being with my the person I love, and I couldn't be there for the difficult times, but I also see it as covid gave us the biggest test of our relationship and it has been so strong. Covid hasn't been easy for anyone and the fact that it has been a year later and we are still in this situation is mind-blowing, but the one thing I learned from all of this is, I am much stronger than I ever thought I was. I had days where my mental health was so bad I didn't know if I could go on. There were days that being stuck in the house drove me crazy that I sat and cried and paced the house. There were days I just slept so I can just make it through the next day without having to deal with the current day. I thank covid for giving me all these battles because it didn't beat me, I'm still here working to pay for school, I'm still here living life with an amazing person, and I'm still here excited about what the future holds for me and my future career. Covid tough me to love, love, and be resilient, nothing knocks me down unless I refuse to get back up.

I have recently gone through a lot of changes in my life. I am planning to move to a different state and begin my studies for nursing school. I should introduce myself so you learn a bit about me. My name is Amani and I am a young black lesbian who loves who she has become and will be. It took me a while to get to this point but I'm glad I have. Unfortunately, loving who I am does not come easy for certain people in my life, specifically my parents. I was born and raised in New Orleans, La and I wanted to come back home to visit my parents before I moved thousands of miles away to study nursing, but I was rejected by my parents and the only way to be able to come home was to not be who I am, and I just couldn't do that. I was finally happy with who I was and who I was with that I couldn't lie to myself just to appease my parents. So I was heartbroken I wouldn't be able to come home and have a place to stay and see the rest of my family. Lucky for me I have a wonderful aunt who not only accepted me but opened her home to me with open arms. I hadn't seen my aunt in 3 years so I didn't know how it would be to be in a home with her and my cousins; there are 9 of them total, but they made me feel so loved and welcomed, and most of all accepted that I ended up staying longer than I had originally planned. I feel that when I tell them how much this meant to they would just say it's what family does, but it was so much more for me than just family being family. They don't know it but they pulled me out of a dark place, they stopped me from doing things I'm glad I didn't do because I was in a place of depression, and extreme anxiety of not feeling loved and not having the comfort I longed for. They gave me hope on days they didn't even know that I had given up. They picked me up when they didn't even know I was at my lowest on some days. They let me know that being who I was is okay and I don't have to continue to please others just because that is what they want. They have shown me what unconditional love is within a family, and they have really saved me from myself at a time I needed it most. Being kind to me doesn't even begin to describe what they have done to me, they have lifted me and I will forever be grateful for that.

Truly loving yourself is a journey, some people reach it sooner than others, and then there are some people who are always on the journey. I have struggled to love myself since the time I realized that I was different. I was constantly trying to please others, mainly my parents by living a life they saw fit for me and that they found to be the right life to live. At a certain point in my life, I realized I was ready to be my true self and really live in my truth, but unfortunately, things did turn. I met someone that I wasn't sure I wanted to be with but I cared about, but I still wanted to find myself, but I was forced to get married and my journey to discovery got cut short. I was unhappy and scared. Not until I realized that I needed to be happy that I got a divorce and came out as my true self, a young black lesbian woman, who is proud of who she is. Although I was so happy to finally come out and be my true self, I lost a lot. I lost family and support. I felt alone, I felt scared, I felt lost. I fell into a dark place where I had to really fight to get out of. It was hard but I was able to pick myself up. Now today I'm out and I'm truly proud and loving who I am. Now that I am mentally healthy I am taking the next step to continue my studies in nursing. I want to continue on to get my Doctorate and open my own practice that caters to both LGBTQ+ youth and adults. I know going to the doctor for people in the LGBTQ+ community can be a bit nerve-racking. I want everyone to have a safe place to get care, where they know that they will feel welcomed and respected. I not only want to support kids and adults within my practice but also outside of my practice. I want to go out into the communities and support young adults throughout their journeys. But I also want to go out and fight for a community that is beautiful and loving and to show others that we are all people who love people, who we love might be different but love is love, and love is beautiful and nobody should feel ashamed and alone because of who they love. If people as a whole can come together to show love to all, it would be a much better world. I am but one small person in this big world but I really hope to leave huge imprints on the world.

Hi my name is Amani and I recently received some of the best news I have gotten in the last year, and that is I have gotten accepted into Nursing School. Nursing school has always been a dream of mines since I was a very young child. I have always wanted to step out in my community and help others in any way that I possibly can. Although I have gotten into nursing school the journey to finally go back to school wasn't as smooth. I had started nursing school back in 2015 and some personal events within my family and marriage had truly impacted my drive and mental health to where I had to take a break from school and really get myself together so that I can not only focus on myself but focus on what was truly important and to achieve the goal's I had set for myself. My goal has always been to go to nursing school and to get my Doctorate. I want to eventually open my own practice to where I can cater to my community. In medicine, although it is unfortunate, the care that an African American receives from other African Americans in the medical field is different than if they were to receive that care from another race. I want to be that comforting person to my community, that when a black person steps into my office they feel comfort and bot fear that they won't be treated properly or taken seriously simply because of the color of their skin. Being in the medical field as an African American can be hard, to begin with. Yes, we are in the year 2021 but equality is still not seen in a lot of aspects throughout life. Going into a field such as medicine will not be the easiest ride, but I am determined to go out there and succeed and show that although things can be tough and sometimes unfair, giving up and standing down is not an option. I may be but a small person in this big world, but I plan to make a huge impact on my community and any person in the black community who wants to dream big. My dream is to help others, and although I have helped others through my community work throughout the years, now is my time to go back to school and help others through my education.

Medicine has always been a passion of mine, and I am sure a lot of people say similar things, but it is very true. As a young girl, I remember my first-grade class had a show and tell and everyone bought in a variety of things such as toys, animals, or pictures, but not me. I had a mother who worked in the hospital as a NICU nurse and I found that so amazing, I wanted to know and learn everything about being a nurse. So for my show and tell I bought in a preemie diaper, clothes, and other things used in the NICU because that's what I truly loved and wanted to learn about as a young child and I wanted others to learn about it also. My love for learning about the body, and how things work has stuck with me as a young adult. My goals exceed just going to nursing school. I will be starting school in April, and if I can pay for it I will be working towards my BSN. Once I complete my BSN my next goal is to complete my Master's Degree or Doctorate. I want to be able to not only be successful but I want to achieve the dream I have always had of being able to go out in the world and make a difference in my community. As a black individual in America, it is hard, we are looked at differently and are not always given the same respect in the medical field, but I am ready to go out into the world and succeed as a black medical professional like all the others before. I don't want to just graduate from Nursing school and work in a hospital, I want to go out in the world and help my community. I want to be able to open my own practice and cater to my community and their needs. I have not had the support lately when it comes to certain things in my life and I had to step back and realize that I have to stay focused on my goals no matter the obstacles and negativity around me. I talked with myself and said this is your time to make a change and succeed. I don't want to succeed to prove the negative people wrong I want to succeed because that is what I want and what I have worked hard for. I have not only prepared myself academically to succeed in nursing school, but I have prepared myself mentally to take on the hard work and challenges that are going to come with being in Nursing School. I am more than just another black female trying to succeed in a world where everything is against me. My name is Amani, I am an intelligent black, gay female, who plans to make a change in the world and for the community that I belong to I will succeed and I will be and I will do amazing things in the future. The future is bright and I look forward to looking back at all my hard work, and to my future self...Hi your name is Dr. Bontemps and you made it through, now go change the world.

Hi, my name is Amani Bontemps, I am a returning college student who had to stop schooling for multiple reasons. Throughout my time in high school, college, and my professional work life I have volunteered in numerous settings. I have volunteered in a Children's Hospital, which I truly loved because my passion is with children. I have also volunteered with AA groups planning activities and workshops. I also did small volunteer work in nursing homes, and a very special project called Sole for shoes where shoes are donated to 3rd world countries. Through my schooling, I was very active in sports my main sport being soccer where I was able to travel and meet new people from around the country. Along with soccer I also played Tennis, AAU basketball, and ran Track and Feild where I had the opportunity to participate in the Junior Olympics. All the things I have able been able to participate in throughout my life have always made me happy and I am so grateful to have those opportunities, but my main passion is Nursing. Unfortunately paying for nursing school is something I am unable to do. I have recently gotten divorced and am starting life over again after putting others before my needs and making sure financially they were okay, but that has put me in an unfortunate position, and I no longer have the support of my parents to help me with school due to personal situations. This scholarship will not only help me achieve my dreams, but will also help me accomplish my final goal of becoming a Nurse Practioner, and concentrate in pediatrics of oncology. I want to change the world with my profession and this scholarship would help me and I would be so grateful.