Being adopted never changed my dreams, I've always had dreams growing up, whether it was being a basketball player in the NBA or a big singer on stage. Life has put me down a path where I believe my dream is to attend college. With all the plans being presented to me, I believe that my life and experiences tell me I should go to college. First, my life started as growing up in foster care, I was in multiple foster homes for the first year of my life. I finally found a wonderful home and was adopted in December of 2009. I was very young not remembering a lot of what happened but I know I was put with the right family. I have two older half-brothers whom I shared a mother with and they were also in foster care. We do not share the same foster family but stay in consistent contact. The good thing about being adopted was that I never felt alone when I was in my final home. I also had an older African American brother who was also adopted into our family. Growing up with an older brother who had a different skin color than me was unique compared to what many people go through in their lives. It was a struggle going through school watching him get commented on for his skin color and his abilities in school. I never really knew how he felt because I wasn't the same color as him. The hardship of this led to me being able to walk in someone else's shoes because I saw what he went through and I know I should never judge someone based on how they are perceived. My brother is one of the best people I could have been mentored by, the things he has been through really show toughness, and I strive to be like him. He helped me through sports in high school and my dedication to everything I love. I've been dedicated to helping people be the best that they can be. I plan to major in kinesiology at Western Illinois University with a minor in teaching. I plan to be a teacher in the strength and conditioning field to help students become successful in their athletic careers. My teacher, Mr. Adams, made an impact on me in the strength and conditioning field and I hope to do the same. It's a passion of mine to see athletes succeed and doing this to help them would be an amazing career for me. I feel as though this scholarship would benefit me in more ways than one. As a kid, I was blessed with a stay-at-home mom who took a lesser-paying job as a cook at our high school later on. I've been working hard at my part-time jobs to help pay for college, but a scholarship would help me financially to pursue my college education. I'm looking forward to challenging myself at the next academic level. I want to make a difference in my own life as well as other people's lives and going to college would do that. Please consider me for this scholarship, it would mean the world to me and I will use it to the best of my ability. Rest assured, you will be proud of giving me this incredible opportunity.