Miracles that end in death aren't failures. They're testimonies, sharing the tale of not quitting. I had a sister who had one. Here is her story. On October 12th, 2006, Miracle was born. She was diagnosed with Trisomy 18, which is a genetic disorder. Trisomy 18 resulted in epilepsy, spinal bifida, and cerebral palsy. Thus, she was unable to walk or talk. Although she wasn't expected to live past 18 months after her birth, our parents fervently prayed, and she survived and came home. For the following nine years, our life involved a constant battle to keep Miracle alive. She was a miracle and lived up to her name.  Numerous times, she'd take visits to the hospital for various reasons, but this never swayed. She nearly died multiple times, but we kept pushing on with our faith, and she'd return home fine. Doctors would give up on her and send her home, but she held on. She could only vaguely say when Mom was around, "ma-ma-ma-ma." Despite her disability, I had my own form of communication with her and enjoyed her rolling around with her toys whenever she was out of her bed. To me, she was just another sibling. One night, when I was 11, Miracle was upstairs in my parent's room, retching and having seizures. This seizure was abnormal, as hers usually weren't violent, but she was disturbingly restless this time.  Mom stayed up all night, but so did the seizure. Miracle had to be rushed to the ER. She had a noncancerous brain tumor. As months went by, the tumor began to bleed. We were told it was indication that the tumor was dying and it started to lose mass. She returned home.  However, the medications given to Miracle caused her to experience cachexia and crippled her system to the point that she became ill again. Doctors refused to take her off the medications.  Not long after my 12th birthday, Miracle was rushed to the hospital. The following day changed my family's entire life.  She was returned home on hospice. That morning, my youngest sister, Faith, and I were woken up by Mom crying hysterically to come upstairs. I ran upstairs to a disturbing truth. Miracle wasn't going to make it. I couldn't grasp it at the moment, being a 12-year-old girl who was about to lose a sister. On June 30th, 2016, at the age of 9, Miracle passed. The passing of Miracle was troublesome for me and my family. However, her death inversely taught me not to quit. We kept her alive for as long as our faith allowed, and she became one of the very few with her specific diagnoses who lived to her age. Her story isn't one of tragedy but resilience and unwavering faith. To many others, she died early. To me, she survived and lived long. I will continue her story via Animation arts and share her testimony with others. Thank you for considering me for this scholarship.

The deadline of this scholarship will mark 8 years since Miracle's passing. She would've been 18 years old in October. This is her story. When I was 2 years old, my sister, Miracle, was born. She was diagnosed with Trisomy 18, epilepsy, and cerebral palsy. Trisomy 18 caused deformity of her legs and many developmental issues, so as a result, Miracle was unable to walk or talk. The only thing she could vaguely say whenever Mom would come into the room was "ma-ma-ma-ma." Although she wasn't expected to live past 18 months after her birth, our parents fervently prayed, and she survived and came home. For the next 9 years, our life involved a constant battle to keep Miracle alive. She was a miracle and lived up to her name. One night, when I was 11, Miracle was upstairs in my parent's room, retching and having seizures. My parents had always prayed over her, gave her medication, and the seizures would stop, and she would be fine and well. But this time, the seizures were abnormal. Hers were usually not violent, but she was disturbingly restless this time. Mom stayed up all night, and so did the seizure. Something was terribly wrong. Although I vaguely remember what happened the next night, I do remember that for the first time in two years, Miracle had to be rushed to the ER. New returned that Miracle had a tumor in the back of her head, but it was unknown whether it was cancerous. Good news came months later: the tumor was bleeding on the inside, indicating that it was dying. She returned home. However, the medications given to Miracle caused her to experience cachexia (wasting away of muscle) and crippled her system to the point that she became ill again. Doctors refused to take her off the medications. Yet another night, Miracle was in a critical state and rushed to the hospital. The following day changed my entire life. At about 7:30 in the morning, my youngest sister, Faith, and I were woken up by Mom to come upstairs quickly. Mom was crying in a way I had never seen before, so I knew something was wrong. I ran upstairs and found my dad shedding a few tears, too. Miracle wasn't going to make it. I was bewildered at the moment. I was a 12-year-old girl about to lose a sister who had been there nearly my entire life. On June 30th, 2016, at the age of 9, Miracle had finally passed. When Miracle died, our finances crashed. Her medical needs were a significant financial burden, and without the state's assistance, we struggled to keep up with our bills. This financial strain eventually led to us losing our house in 2017. Thankfully, we had generous church friends who allowed us to stay with them until we relocated to a new home. The passing of Miracle was troublesome for me and my family. Her existence greatly affected our lives, and her passing changed it even more. There are many things we are still recovering from due to the event. However, her death inversely taught me not to quit. We kept her alive for as long as our faith allowed, and she became one of the very few with Trisomy-18 who lived to her age. Her story isn't one of tragedy but resilience and unwavering faith. To many others, she died early. To me, she survived and lived long. Thank you for considering me for the scholarship. I hope this story, though sad, inspires others to never lose hope, even when things look grim.

As a child, I have used art as an outlet and comforting mechanism to overcome many obstacles in life. When I was two years old, my sister Miracle was born and diagnosed with Trisomy 18 and epilepsy at birth. Her disabilities caused a severe financial hardship on my family. Due to the instabilities, I was removed from traditional school in the 3rd grade and homeschooled for the next eight years. My mother quit her job to care for Miracle and homeschool me. During this period, I began diving deeper into the arts and writing. I began using my art and writing as not only an outlet but also to uplift others. I made homemade birthday and holiday cards for friends and family, using my original inspirational quotes and poems, and experimenting with little made-up anecdotes. At age 12, Miracle passed away. Immediately after her passing, I had a dream of her waving from the other side. This dream reassured me that she was in a better place and no longer struggling with health issues. However, I still missed her. It influenced my art to take a turn. After this experience, I wanted to share the same comfort I found with others–how to overcome grief over the death of loved ones. Meantime, my family was still having financial constraints and within a year of Miracle passing, our electricity was shut off due to lack of payment. This led my family to seek a fresh start, so my family moved to Tennessee from Delaware where we lived with acquaintances and church friends. In 2019, we let go of our Delaware house, my childhood home, and made Tennessee our new state of residence. However, my mother’s renewed job was seeing a decline in sales. The continued financial instability kept me from many opportunities in school and life, but it didn’t stop me from improving in art. I continued making cards to uplift acquaintances and expressing myself through sketches and digital paintings. I began creating life stories from my own art, adding and modifying them as I grow. I created characters to reflect some of my own life struggles, especially with Miracle. The art that I attached to this application is a reflection of a moment that occurred in 2020. I was sitting in my room, as usual. My mother came in and was showing pictures of Miracle, reminiscing on the little moments we had back then. She came to realize that it had been four years since Miracle’s passing. I embraced her, telling her I was never going to let her down. The moment may have seemed like a normal grieving instance in time, but it was that moment, I realized my mission: to comfort those who have experienced similar losses. I created the digital painting to reflect that: two birds embracing each other for comfort over a lost loved one. It takes faith and strength to endure such a common yet burdensome occurrence in life. This year, my dad was diagnosed with a heart-related illness, which has further declined my family’s financial state, thus affecting the money needed for my upcoming college career. We’ve made it through similar situations before, and standing strong in faith to overcome this obstacle as well. I plan to continue in studio arts, but eventually dive into animation. Through animation, I can tell my story and inspire others, revealing ways of overcoming similar obstacles. Being granted this scholarship will enable me to be one step further with pursuing my goal of attending college and bring my dream of comforting others, but on a much larger scale.

As a child, I have overcome many obstacles in life. When I was two years old, my sister Miracle was born and diagnosed with Trisomy 18 and epilepsy at birth. Her disabilities caused severe financial hardship for my family. I was removed from traditional school in the 3rd grade and homeschooled for the next eight years. My mother quit her job to care for Miracle and homeschool me. During this period, I discovered my love for the arts and writing. I began using my art and writing to uplift others. I made homemade birthday and holiday cards for friends and family, using my original inspirational quotes and poems. At age 12, Miracle passed away. Immediately after her passing, I had a dream of her waving from the other side. After this, I wanted to share the same peace I found with others–how to overcome grief over the death of loved ones. My family was still having financial constraints and thus, our electricity was shut off due to lack of payment. This led my family to seek a fresh start, so we moved to Tennessee from Delaware, where we lived with church acquaintances. Our church, which we had been following online, offered us a place to live. As a sign of gratitude, I began helping with maintaining the church. In 2019, we made Tennessee our new state of residence. My mom obtained her Tennessee real estate license to become a Realtor again. However, the market was slow, creating issues with selling. The continued financial instability kept me from many opportunities in school and life, but it didn’t stop me from the desire to pursue my dream. As I grew older, I realized I had more potential here than in my former home. Our church provided access to help various communities, rekindling my passion to help others. In 2021, I returned to traditional school. My church paid my tuition to attend Mount Juliet Christian Academy, where I recently graduated. This year, my dad was diagnosed with a heart-related illness, which has further declined my family’s financial state, thus affecting the money needed for my upcoming college career. We’ve made it through similar situations before, and standing strong in faith to overcome this obstacle as well. The sense of community and my faith are what I relied on to conquer my obstacles throughout the years, and continue to be my source of strength; and I look forward to giving back to my community by sharing my testimony and faith. Using my talents in art and writing, I plan to combine these in the form of animation. Through animation, I will inspire others, revealing ways of overcoming similar obstacles. Using knowledge I gain from college courses in computer science, I will expound on ways to use technology to help the community. Being granted this scholarship will enable me to be one step further in pursuing my goal of attending college and bringing my dream of community outreach, on a much larger scale, to fruition.

Hi, I am Angel Diggs, and I aspire to help others live out their dream through the ministry of music, art, and writing. To accomplish my dream, I would love the opportunity of receiving this scholarship. As this scholarship pours into me, I can pour into others through community service projects. As a child, I have overcome many obstacles in life. When I was two years old, my sister Miracle was born and diagnosed with Trisomy 18 and epilepsy at birth. Her disabilities caused severe financial hardship for my family. Due to the instabilities, I was removed from traditional school in the 3rd grade and homeschooled for the next eight years. My mother quit her job to care for Miracle and to homeschool me. During this period, I discovered my love for the arts and writing. I began using my art and writing as not only an outlet but also to uplift others. I made homemade birthday and holiday cards for friends and family, using my original inspirational quotes and poems, and experimenting with little made-up anecdotes. At age 12, Miracle passed away. Immediately after her passing, I had a dream of her waving from the other side. This dream reassured me that she was in a better place and no longer struggling with health issues. After this experience, I wanted to share the same peace I found with others–how to overcome grief over the death of loved ones. My family was still having financial constraints and within a year of Miracle's passing, our electricity was shut off due to lack of payment. This led my family to seek a fresh start, so my family moved to Tennessee from Delaware where we lived with acquaintances and church friends. Our church, which we had been following online, helped us tremendously and offered us a place to live. As a sign of gratitude, I began helping with maintaining the church. In 2018, I became actively involved with the church, Jesus is the Answer ministries’ community outreach programs. In April, I volunteered to feed the less fortunate in Nashville. In the summer of 2018, I ministered at the Boys and Girls Club through my youth group. During this same year, I started assisting with cleaning and maintaining the church building. In 2019, I ministered to children at Joseph's Storehouse. In 2020, when Nashville became devastated by tornadoes, I assisted families with finding relief by providing toiletries, food, and a community cookout. In 2022, I helped my class clean up litter at Camp Widjiwagan and during that summer, I returned with my church youth group to minister to children at the Boys and Girls Club. Later that year, I began becoming more involved with church by assisting with broadcasting church services. Today, I still perform all my church volunteer activities. Using my talents in art, writing, and computer technology, I plan to combine these in the form of animation. Through animation, I will inspire others and reveal alternative ways of overcoming similar obstacles. With the knowledge I gain from my college courses in computer science, I will also expound on ways to use technology to help the community.

My name is Angel Diggs, and I aspire to help and minister to others. I find myself to be passionate about helping and assisting others, so with every chance I get, I give back to my community. As this scholarship pours into me, I can put it into others. I have many community service experiences. Starting in 2018, my church youth ministry took us to downtown Nashville to help feed the poor at a partner ministry. The experience exposed me to people who need help and seeking help. I volunteered at Joseph's Storehouse Food Ministry in 2019, ministering to a child and eventually her mother. It seems little, but it helped both the child's and mother's outlook on life. In 2020, Middle Tennessee got devastated by tornadoes, so I helped set up tables at my mom's office so that we could feed and supply affected families. Since 2020, I began to become more immersed in community activities, such as helping my church with giveaways, which supply town residents with free food and clothing and necessities. In 2022, I helped with litter prevention and community beautification at Camp Widjiwagan, doing seemingly meager tasks that ultimately help others enjoy the campsite, but also preserve the natural environment. In addition, I am an active and committed participant in Jesus is the Answer (JITA) ministries, where I partake in community outreach through acts of service as a youth ministry member. While participating in JITA youth ministry, I have had multiple opportunities to engage with the Boys and Girls Club, where we were able to educate, help reorganize the Club, minister the Gospel and spend time with the kids. Last year, we led at least ten kids to salvation and ministered to them about the importance of loving each other, including their parents. It's these activities that make me want to influence my community even more. Because I'm incredibly involved with JITA ministries, I've been called on to do soul-winning. As part of my community involvement, I strive to win souls for Christ, which, in turn, helps people get to salvation and peace in their hearts. That is the change that is bound to happen within my local area and eventually abroad. With the help of this scholarship, I will be able to reach my dreams by attaining a college degree where I can continue doing community outreach, but on a much larger scale. I hope that through my higher education, I'll be able to give back to my community more than I have previously.

My name is Angel Diggs, and I aspire to help and minister to others. I find myself to be passionate about helping and assisting others, so with every chance I get, I give back to my community. As this scholarship pours into me, I can put it into others. I have many community service experiences. Starting in 2018, my church youth ministry took us to downtown Nashville to help feed the poor at a partner ministry. The experience exposed me to people who need help and seeking help. I volunteered at Joseph's Storehouse Food Ministry in 2019, ministering to a child and eventually her mother. It seems little, but it helped both the child's and mother's outlook on life. In 2020, Middle Tennessee got devastated by tornadoes, so I helped set up tables at my mom's office so that we could feed and supply affected families. Since 2020, I began to become more immersed in community activities, such as helping my church with giveaways, which supply town residents with free food and clothing and necessities. In 2022, I helped with litter prevention and community beautification at Camp Widjiwagan, doing seemingly meager tasks that ultimately help others enjoy the campsite, but also preserve the natural environment. In addition, I am an active and committed participant in Jesus is the Answer (JITA) ministries, where I partake in community outreach through acts of service as a youth ministry member. While participating in JITA youth ministry, I have had multiple opportunities to engage with the Boys and Girls Club, where we were able to educate, help reorganize the Club, minister the Gospel and spend time with the kids. Last year, we led at least ten kids to salvation and ministered to them about the importance of loving each other, including their parents. It's these activities that make me want to influence my community even more. Because I'm incredibly involved with JITA ministries, I've been called on to do soul-winning. As part of my community involvement, I strive to win souls for Christ, which, in turn, helps people get to salvation and peace in their hearts. That is the change that is bound to happen within my local area and eventually abroad. With the help of this scholarship, I will be able to reach my dreams by attaining a college degree where I can continue doing community outreach, but on a much larger scale. I hope that through my higher education, I'll be able to give back to my community more than I have previously.

Choosing a path isn't easy, and neither is finding your worth in a particular path, but I feel like I've found my walkway in life. Sometimes, it takes losing something to clear the dust off that path. Years ago, I had a special needs sister named Miracle. She was two years younger than me and was born with Trisomy 18 (chromosome 18 was tripled instead of being paired), which resulted in cerebral palsy, epilepsy and an inability to walk or talk. Doctors gave up on her and expected her to live no longer than 18 months. My parents, however, were fighters with an immovable faith--they prayed all night and she ended up being released from the hospital. She lived for 9 years. However, her disability still kept from me doing a lot of extracurricular activities during my childhood. I didn't mind it, though. I started being homeschooled online when I was in third grade and spending hours, writing stories and creating art. My youngest sister Faith wasn't born until I was 8, so I would share my art and stories with Miracle, even though she was unable to talk. However, she was intelligible enough to communicate with my family: she would smile or frown at my art, she could laugh if she was excited to see us, or would mumble "ma-ma-ma-ma-ma" whenever my mom would come into the room. She was more intelligent than what doctors gave her credit for. I'll never forget that night when Miracle began having unusually long and violent episodes of seizures. She eventually was rushed into the ER for the first time in two years and stayed in the hospital for about 2-3 months. I spent those months home alone, left to my own blissful, uninterrupted world of imagination. However, I missed seeing Miracle, playing with her gentle hands, and entertaining her with my stories. She was returned home after she was found with a brain tumor that was thankfully withering away, but the medications took a huge toll on her health and wasted her away, leaving her in a critical state. She lost the will to live due to the overwhelming suffering, so on June 30th, 2016, she peacefully passed away. All of this is to say that I strive to become a writer, and through my writings, I wish to comfort families who have lost loved ones and encourage those who struggle with special needs family members.

Losses occur everywhere. Everything in this world loses value, is modified, and has some mutability. Some changes result in loss, others in gain. Some losses are someone's gain, and some gains are someone's loss. From my loss, I gained an experience I'll never forget. It took me a while to realize how unstable my life was. When I was two, my sister Miracle was born deformed and diagnosed with Trisomy 18 and epilepsy. Trisomy 18 was a genetic disorder where chromosome 18 was tripled instead of being a pair, resulting in leg deformity and other issues. As a result, Miracle was unable to walk or talk. She could only vaguely say, "ma-ma-ma-ma" when Mom would come into the room. She was not expected to live past 18 months after her birth, and doctors gave up on taking care of her, but my parents fervently prayed, and she lived up to 9 years. I will never forget the night when I was 11, Miracle was upstairs in my parents' room, retching and having seizures. My parents had always prayed against this stuff, and when they prayed over her, the episodes would stop, and she would be fine and well. But this time, the seizures were abnormal. Hers were usually not violent, but she had a disturbingly restless one this time. My mom kept praying, and the episode lasted the entire night. Something was terribly wrong. I can vaguely remember what happened the next night, but Miracle had to be taken to the hospital for the first time in two years. For the next few months, on and off, I was alone at home. To me, it was somewhat freedom-- didn't have to deal with Mom fussing at me, didn't have to worry about my youngest sister, Faith, messing around with my stuff and making a bunch of noises-- it was just me and my hobbies. And online homeschooling. However, I still missed Miracle being home, as I heard she had a tumor in the back of her head, but it was unknown whether it was cancerous. Good news came months later: the tumor was bleeding on the inside, indicating that it was dying. However, the medications given to Miracle caused her to waste away and significantly weakened her system to the point that she became ill again. Doctors refused to take her off the medications. I still remember, yet another night, Miracle was in a critical state. The following day changed my entire life. At about 7:30 in the morning, Faith and I were woken up by Mom to come upstairs quickly. Mom was crying in a way I had never seen before, so I knew something must have been desperately wrong. I ran upstairs and found my dad shedding a few tears too. I remember him saying that Miracle was tired of staying and that God told my parents it was time to let her go-- she was tired of being here just to suffer. I was bewildered at the moment. I was a 12-year-old girl about to lose a sister who had been there nearly my entire life. We kept Miracle on a Pulse-Ox monitor (which measured heartbeat and oxygen level), and sporadically, the pulse would rise and drop. Once, it dropped to 13 before it rose to 118 within a minute--like a rollercoaster. My dad and I thought it meant Miracle was reconsidering staying with us. But we weren't certain. We finally went downstairs while Mom held Miracle in her arms upstairs. She called for us at 3:32 pm. On June 30th, 2016, Miracle, 9 years old, had finally left. A week later, I had a vision of Miracle rising to clouds, waving back at me from heaven, but I just missed her soft cheeks and gentle hands. I didn't know how life would turn out from then. Despite the loss, I knew it was not time for me to quit life. One thing I know in my heart is that Miracle made it to the clouds, and so can I. She's in a place where she can now run, talk, and feel no pain, and I know I can make it up there with her. I'll ""fight"" to make it to heaven by sharing with other people how they can make it up there. Take it or leave it, but there's a way to heaven and that's what I want to achieve.