I want to be present and actively involved in everything that I sign up for. This is not a goal that is easily achieved. Mental health plays an incredible toll on how people react to every type of situation. I struggled with mental health during my senior year of high school and my sophomore of college. My dips in mental health came from the overwhelming pressure and stress of people pulling me from all directions. In high school I was jumping between school, work, sports, and clubs every day of the year. It was a constant pull of my time, and I didn't know how to say no to people older than me. My coaches wouldn't allow me to take days off or go on vacation if it meant not being at a game or practice. I couldn't catch a break and began to spiral. In this spiral I made an out-of-pocket decision to join the wrestling team. When I joined this team, I couldn't really place why I did it. Wrestling brought incredible physical challenges that forced me to be in the best shape of my life. This physical aspect of the sport was so tiring that I could finally get away from my stress. I could let it all out on other people by throwing them and outplaying them on the mat. I finally had a way to focus on something else other than the thousands of thoughts racing in my head. It was just me, and my opponent. During my sophomore year of college my patience was stretched thin. I was falling back into the never-ending doom of assignments, work, and sports. I had a friend group that was falling apart more and more every week. I started to hate going out with friends, I hated anything that took time away from the things I needed to do. I became a person that I couldn't even recognize. One day, I made sure that it changed. I began saying no to people instead of going to an event and hating it. I chose healthier food options and focused on getting my runs and workouts done for the sports I am involved in. I stopped agreeing to go out on the weekends because I had never liked it. I started valuing my own mental health over other people's opinion of me, and I thank myself every day for it. In college I have seen that the biggest challenge is the peer pressure of the people around you. People who see you succeed get jealous and try to throw you off your designated path of success. When I started to realize that this was the case my mental health finally was where I wanted it. I no longer cared what other people thought about my actions, I was participating in events and playing sports that I wanted to. I began hanging out with a different crowd of people who supported my goals and actions. I started going to the gym with friends and we cheered each other on and remembered each other's progress. I became excited to wake up in the mornings to get my day started. Good mental and physical health brings out the best possible version of you.

From the moment I swam through schools of fish in the Riviera Mayas, to my dad and I collecting cicada shells as I grew up, I knew science was my future. It was never a choice, but a drive, a passion to consistently strive for knowledge about our ecosystems and the organisms within them. My home was the stream that my parents and I caught crayfish in for fun, the field of ferns that always had me leaving with bugs covering my skin, and the gardens my mother and I planted together. I was captivated by the intricate world that existed all around me waiting to be discovered. My degree is going to be a bachelor's in general biology. I'm pursuing this career path because learning about animals, plants, ecosystems, and insects brings me genuine joy. I love the outdoors, and the intricate processes involved in life, and biology gives me the language to understand it. My curiosity craves learning more, whether its observing an organism under a microscope or tracing population patterns in nature. With a biology degree I hope to work either in biological research or in the medical field. I want to be a part of something more involved. Whether that's diagnosing diseases for people having trouble with their health or protecting threatened ecosystems. I am choosing this career field because I want the work that I perform to either benefit the planet or the people living in it. This scholarship will help in accomplishing my goals by decreasing the stress of the looming student loans hanging over my head. The burden of student loans can be overwhelming, especially when pursuing a field where public service comes before profit. Some days I wonder if the cost of college is worth it. Receiving this scholarship would ease the financial hardship and allow me to focus more on my education, research, and field experiences. The interest rates are incredibly high and it's hard enough to pay the interest off of a loan. Let alone the actual loan. The money provided by this scholarship would go directly towards my growing student loans. This scholarship has already reminded me of the passion I have towards the sciences and why I started this journey. The prompt alone allowed me to remember that I'm going to college to achieve my goals in a field that will make the world better, and I can't wait to be a part of it.

A rugby family is built upon trust, hard work, and support. We share our bruises and run alongside each on and off the field. These moments create a bond genuine to a team. Joining rugby my sophomore year of college has introduced me to lifelong friends and memories I will never forget. Trust comes from my teammates showing each other that they will give it their all going in for a tackle. It comes from the constant hand offs and switch plays that we perform. Trust also expresses itself when we share vulnerable emotions and honest feelings with each other. A rugby family shows up to practice and doesn't give up on commitment. We all put in the hard work during and after practice. Completing our weekly runs, workouts, and study hours shows our dedication to the sport. A rugby family is passionate about their health, and they care about mine. The support a team shares for each other is the most important aspect of any sports team. However, my team doesn't actually make me feel this way. Most of the girls on the team are very outgoing. They love to party and stay up drinking throughout the night, sometimes the night before our weekend tournaments. I feel a lot of pressure to adhere to their fun. I frequently dread the night outs and the mandatory team hangouts the night after a tournament. I'm often called boring for not smoking/drinking with them. Some belch loudly and others are not the best at hearing the word "no." They have meaning to things that are supposed to be fun, but I just haven't quite understood it yet. For example, everyone on the team needs to carry around a pacifier on their keychain. If caught without it, they are forced to drink from a very old rotted out boot. So, as everyone else does, I carry around a pacifier on my keychain. This creates interesting conversations with my parents and family members and the group of boys at planet fitness who returned my keys to me. Maybe that's the fun in the pacifier. It creates awkward encounters that become good stories. Stories are told quite often when we all hangout. Stories about sex and drugs and all things in the book. I find myself outside of the inner circle prying for words that I cannot seem to reach. Maybe I was meant to only listen. Maybe I am boring. I'm not a huge fan of parties or drinking. I like reading, painting, and running through the woods with friends. With joining rugby, I've realized that it's okay to be boring. I strive for competition and continuously improving on myself. Rugby is my outlet, my stress relief. It helps me focus better on my schoolwork and create a healthier body. I have enjoyed every second of the physical tournaments that we have played in. The early mornings are filled with birds chirping and exhausted shivering, followed by long car rides of careless singing. I love the adrenaline before a kick, and the chase to the tri zone. I crave the rivalry between teams and the exhaustion in between halves. The soreness the following days proves that I played my hardest and gave it my all. The bruises show me that it's okay to get hurt. I love rugby, and maybe I haven't found a family from it, but it has helped me find myself.

Indoor plants cannot survive without water. Well, most of them can’t. Even with this knowledge acquired in my 17 year old brain, I still didn’t want to water my plants. I didn’t understand why it was such a hassle to me. As the days went by so did their colors. The pleasant aromas and soft hues began to fade around me. However, I just couldn’t bring myself to pour water into the drying dirt of their soon to be grave. I saw their wilted leaves and the subtle brown spots beginning to grow on them and yet I still couldn’t bring myself to get them water. I watched as they peered through the windows to watch the passing showers in hollow grief and jealousy. Sometimes hours would pass by as I stayed nose deep into a book. The sudden realization that I still had not given them water would itch at my neck. Once again, I didn’t want to move. I didn’t want to get up. “One more chapter,” I’d say to myself. The pages of the book would breeze by and that “one chapter” becomes two or maybe even three. My eyes could skim the pages for hours until I felt thirsty. I would get up. Why? I wasn’t a selfish being, but when It comes to plants I was. I drank the glass of water in front of them blissfully. Not thinking of my ignorant behavior as they were dying all around me. When the last sip trickled down my throat everything had changed. I wanted to be a better caregiver for them. I filled my cup back up to the brim and gave each plant the perfect amount of water. The plants didn’t change their appearance right away, but I changed the way I thought about them. Every day before I sat down on the couch I gave every plant a pleasant surprise of water. Day by day their colors turned back to the sweet hues that I remembered when I first bought them. The browns faded (or got cut off), and greens emerged. I couldn’t see it but, they also gave off a surplus of oxygen for my kind actions. Seeing the way the plants were affected by a simple thing, changed my state of mind. I wanted the plants to flourish like no other, and they did. I could finally say that I had given them their colors and their size. The plants needed me and in some ways I needed them. I needed them to show me how my actions could affect something so simple. From now on I will always help out if needed. The impact may be much greater then I could ever realize. Some people don’t ask for help in the form of words, so to notice it and help without them asking could be greatly appreciated. Sometimes people just need someone to talk to, whether it’s about work or a difficulty. In these instances I like to think I’m their “water” and can help them grow. In consideration, I will continue to water the plants, and help those who need it.

The underlying amount of questions we have about our Earth is unfathomable. Not only our Earth, but ourselves. The way the human body interacts with the natural and technical aspects of our world today greatly interests me. I want to understand and learn more about myself and those surrounding me. I yearn for the knowledge of cells, molecular biology, histology, horticulture and, computer sciences. A career in STEM will help me pursue the person I want to be. I will meet hundreds of other people sharing similar if not the same interests. I look forward to learning about other people as individuals and how they view the world. I’m also looking for a job in STEM because Science and Mathematics are my strongest courses. I’m going into my senior year taking AP calculus and I’m more than excited. I’m also taking AP bio, small animal science, and physics. I’ve always had a love for the sciences. I enjoy learning about technology as well due to its ever changing placement in society. At this rate we will always have technology in our lives. Therefore it is important to understand it and work alongside of it. Challenges will be found around many corners in not only my life, but thousands of other teenagers. It’s difficult to choose a career in high school. Opinions change. Our brains are still growing and adapting and will continue to for multiple years. We are easily influenced by the ideas of others and still have trouble making up our minds. The first big step is the worst obstacle. The first step to adulthood. In my eyes that is realization. Many of my friends and even myself do not want to talk about the future. We are scared of what is to come, and sad to let go of what we’ve had for so long. Once we do let ourselves talk about it we will be ready. More than a decade of our life has been dedicated to graduating high school. Graduating the place we are comfortable with and moving on to bigger schools or jobs. However, once we all take that first step we will be in the right direction. Another obstacle is knowing who the right crowd of people to communicate and hangout with is. The people you hangout with do reflect on your personality and your goals. Finding those people, even if it takes time, matters a lot in the long run. Overall, it’s important to chase your strengths to get to your dreams.