My little sister's sobriety has been one of the happiest blessings of my life. That's a sentence I thought I'd never say but it has been one of the greatest blessings. I never imagined that my little sister full of life and joy would fall into an addiction to drugs and major depression. I first noticed her being reserved and at first, we perceived it as teenage attitude. However, the aggression got worse and her light was fading. She wouldn't eat, talk, and would need someone to sleep with her. I started to get worried at that point, but we assumed it was anxiety. Till one night a sleepover with one of her friends turned into something out of a horror movie where the main character was being possessed. It was a traumatizing night and we found her stash. We were shocked and devastated. We began to help her find therapy and at first, it seemed to be a positive impact, and she began to show improvements. Until we got a call from the school saying she got high, passed out and was taken to the hospital. It was like we had gone backwards and we felt lost. I have countless memories of my mom crying to me not knowing what to do with my sister or how to help her. I encouraged her that we had to keep going and we couldn't give up. We withdrew her from school and started a new therapy. It's been hard helping her see the drugs as a bad thing and helping her cope with not being able to have them. However, we are now four months in, and she is clean and doing well. She is slowly turning back into the little sister I remembered and I cannot be happier. My sister's recovery has patched my life and my family's life. We would blame this on ourselves, and we would cry every night not knowing what to do. It impacted my performance at school, it impacted my parents' life at work, and overall, it impacted our daily life. Through her recovery I have become more calmer, less anxious, and overall, it has brought a huge sense of peace to my life. It has made me stronger, and it's helped me realize when I am going through a hardship to keep going because it will get better. Watching my sister going through this has revealed a hard truth that a lot more people are going through some kind of hardship or challenge. Being helpless and not able to be as much help as I could for her has given me this urge to be an even bigger help to those around me. With my education I want to help children with disabilities as an occupational therapist succeed in areas that are huge challenges for them such as brushing their hair, eating, putting on a shirt, using a pencil and walking. I want to be an advocate for them just like the therapists were for my little sister. I want to change a child's life just like my sister's life was changed. I want to bring peace and happiness to others just as I was given a huge sense of peace when my little sister squashed her addiction.

For many people college is seen as a time for frat parties, football games, newfound freedom, and making memories with friends. In movies college is portrayed as a wild four years or the last hurray before entering the real world. While these may be some peoples experience with college it is not what college means to me. College for me is the steppingstone of my professional career for instance, like the foundation before building a house. It's a place of hard work, determination, and education. It's a place that equips students with the knowledge to help them in their career and in real life. It's more than expensive courses and a giant building. It has challenged me to think critically, develop discipline, and expand my knowledge of the real world. It doesn't just improve one's knowledge it improves one's actions and character. Through college I hope to obtain my master's degree in occupational therapy to help children achieve the smallest things we take for granted. Such as walking, brushing our teeth, putting on a shirt, or even sitting up. My nephew has a neurological disorder and has some of these issues. However, through watching his occupational therapy sessions I have seen him accomplish so many goals. Watching my nephews progress showed me the impact that occupational therapists can have on a child's life. My dream is to work with children in a school setting and help them develop the skills to be successful in school and at home. I want to be an advocate for children who are different from others and help them gain confidence in their abilities. Going to college is more than receiving a certificate or gaining more of an opportunity for a high paying job. It's a journey that will allow me to evolve my passion for helping others into a lasting career. For me every assignment, project, and test is one step closer to changing a child's life just like my nephew's life was changed. College is going to give me all the tools to help me grow in my knowledge and accomplish my goal of becoming an occupational therapist. It's an enormous opportunity that not many people get to have, and I cherish the opportunity to be able to attend college. It might be a long journey but It's an opportunity to make a positive impact on the lives of those around me, and I can't wait for what's in store for me in the future.

I am working towards becoming a speech pathologist set in an elementary school. When my nephew was living with me and my family he had a lot of therapists come over. He had occupational therapists, physical therapists, nurses, and a speech pathologist. One day I was watching the speech therapist having a session with my nephew and she was working on his speech. He made a breakthrough that day because he said his first word. From then on I knew that’s what I wanted to do and I’ve been working on that goal since then. My nephew has a brain disorder and he’s a few years behind in almost everything. He hasn’t started walking yet and he’s almost three years old. He cannot eat by himself and hasn’t started talking yet. However, over the years of countless procedures and therapy treatments he’s starting to talk, he can stand and he’s starting to eat solid foods. It’s been so amazing to see him defying the odds and it gives me hope for his future. I want to help give hope to other families who have someone just like my nephew. I also want to be apart of those major breakthroughs just like my nephew had in saying his first word. From when I was young I knew I wanted to work in some field with children, specifically the special needs children, but a teacher or counselor just wasn’t attractive to me. Finding this career was so exciting to me because I can work with younger children who need extra help and help them achieve things that normal children are achieving. Every child should feel like they are smart and amazing. Becoming a speech pathologist is a hard road to be on because like every other career it’s expensive to work towards. I am applying to as much scholarships I can to fund for my schooling and I am working a part time job to save up. I am going to graduate with my associates degree in may of 2026 and I am transferring to Texas a&m university in San Antonio. Schooling has had me sacrificing my nights and weekends but I keep reminding myself of what I’m working towards. I have personal goals as well such as being as active a I can be and being faithful to my lord and savior. I balance my personal and educational goals which is tough but rewarding. The long nights and weekends and the struggle for money will be all worth it in the end when I achieve my dream of being a speech pathologist.

One of my most recent obstacles I had to overcome was actually at the end of last year when I was balancing school, work, and hard struggles at home. Fall semester last year was one of the hardest semesters in schools I had ever taken. I was enrolled in anatomy and physiology. I had to teach myself how to study because there was no way around passing this class without effective studying. It started off okay but then it started to get so much harder. I stayed up long nights studying and sacrificed my weekends for reviewing. None of my family went to college or took a hard course, so I had no help or guidance but I knew If I wanted to be successful I had to take initiative and go for it. Whilst battling school I was also attending work, I work as an afterschool teacher for an elementary school. In my job I’m a counselor, teacher, friend, coach and so many more titles all in one. Working with children is a handful but I love being a leader and an example for my little ones and guiding them to making the right decisions. Work last year was my escape from my family as we had been going through some major drama. My little sister was diagnosed with extreme anxiety and depression. She had been missing school and avoiding social interaction. On top of that my oldest sister had started spreading rumors about my parents and tried to turn my other family against us. It was hard because I was worrying about my classes, work, my well being, my little sisters fight with anxiety, and my moms well being dealing with all of the drama. If I had tried to handle everything on my own I would’ve crumbled so I let go and gave it all to Jesus. I gave my worries for every single thing going on in my life and the weight of it all was taken off me. I was able to navigate through those hard months and made it out on the other side. Well, coming to today in 2026 I can confidently say I got an A in anatomy and physiology, my little sister is back in school and doing so much better, although our relationship with my oldest sister is rocky she is letting my nieces come over after keeping them away from us, and my well being is healthy and happy. I could’ve have easily given up and withdrawn from classes that semester to take a break but I knew I needed to push myself. I knew that if I trusted in Jesus and stood firm I’d be successful in anything I was doing.

My biggest inspiration to pursue physical therapy education has been my personal experiences with physical therapy. My first physical therapy appointment was when I was 13 years old for a dislocated knee and since I never got it fixed, I've had 10 appointments ever since I was 13 for my knee. The office I visited was so welcoming and so dedicated to fixing the problem it made me feel so comfortable. As a soccer athlete getting back on my feet was priority and the physical therapists so focused on helping me get back on my feet too gave me hope that I could overcome my knee problem. As i was in therapy I built personal connections with my doctors, and it made the whole journey much easier and enjoyable. It inspired me one day as I was thinking what I wanted to pursue later in life and this idea came to my head. Physical therapy was something I was familiar with and as a retired soccer athlete who's been through injuries I want to help other athletes overcome those hardships. It's not just athletes who go through injuries that affect their daily lives, it's all ages as old as seventy to as young as eight. I want to help everybody around me overcome that hardship that affects their daily lives. Aswell as build those personal connections with different people and give them somebody to talk to. Traveling physical therapy has also been an interest of mine because I want to help others not just in my community but all around the world. I want to meet different people and give others hope to not give up. Learning new things is something I absolutely love. whether it's learning how to cook something new or learning a new language. The feeling of knowing something I didn't know before sends excitement down my body and makes me want to learn more. I love growing my mind and I'm aware of the many years it'll take me to become a physical therapist. I'm eighteen sitting on my laptop figuring out what it takes to become a physical therapist. A bachelor's degree, program, state license, etc. Its intimidating. However, my desire to become the best I can be and strive for what I want to be and do completely overshadows that hill. I plan on attending community college, to major in kinesiology, transferring to a physical therapy school to get my bachelor's and find a program. With a little bit of sweat, drive, passion, and determination I can become what I want to be and know I will stick with it.

I am strong, I can overcome anything, I have determination, and I can achieve it. A few months ago these would be phrases I'd never believe I'd be typing or even saying about myself. My senior year was impactful, to say the least, and was filled with joy but loads of adversities I'd never thought I could overcome. My year started with a bang, I was In a good relationship, had my friends, and had loads of exciting family events. However, on October 15th, In the morning I was leaving church and I got a message from a girl stating," I just wanted to let you know that your boyfriend has not been loyal, we've been texting since July and we've met on lots of occasions alone. Sorry, I just wanted to let you know." Lots of feelings went through my mind at that moment and I felt like my world was crashing. The betrayal and the heartbreak were tough I struggled all week until I finally decided to break up with him. Unfortunately, I didn't move on fast or move on with my life. I stayed and tried to patch things hoping we could get through it. My family judged me for staying and said I had no self-worth. I judged myself too I didn't understand why I couldn't just go I thought I was a loser, broken, and unworthy. To top off the sundae I had dislocated my knee extremely badly a week before this. The next two months were rough filled with crying, insecurity, and zero energy. I was putting 100 percent effort into fixing everything he had asked for forgiveness and I forgave. I tried everything to convince my family he still loved me such as him buying me food, buying gifts for my mom and saying they were from him. It was draining me physically and mentally. Slowly I started to lose hope and happiness. Until one day I decided I needed to grow, I decided I needed to make a change and I decided I wanted to love myself again. January 15th I completely cut him off and afterwards felt horrible. It took some time but I took it day by day and finally felt happiness without that person. I realized those months I stayed trying to fix it I was stripping time away from myself that could've been filled with joy and excitement. I felt robbed and decided I wasn't going to let this year end in turmoil. I applied to college, started working on my grades that were pretty deep in the dirt, and started focusing on my well-being. I had always seen the best in people and for that reason gave people second chances and always thought of others before myself all the time. When thinking about my future, which I had never thought about before, I decided I wanted to pursue something in which I could help others. It took some time but I finally decided I wanted to go to college and become a NICU nurse. My baby nephew is a special needs baby and his condition really inspired me to want to become a NICU nurse. The road to get to where I'm at today wasn't flat it was full of bumps. However, even though this experience was the lowest I had ever been I don't regret it. I'm glad I got cheated on because if that had never happened I wouldn't have the mindset and confidence I do now. I am strong, I am confident, I am determined, and I can achieve anything.

Since I was young my goal was always to make it to college and succeed. My goals haven't changed in all those years, and I am still driven to make it to college and succeed. In planning this goal I faced judgment and disagreement. My family fully supported the idea of getting more education but not paying for it. They left me with two options which were to pay for everything by myself and struggle or give up my biggest goal. If you knew me you already know what option I chose. I would do anything to accomplish my goal and I know with determination, and grit I can persevere. Although I had no idea how I would plan to accomplish that goal after choosing my option now I do. I am currently in my senior year of high school and am working on completing my final year in the best way possible. To go along with that I've taken college-ready courses to prepare me for my future college courses. I have also completed FAFSA and signed up for the Alamo promise to assist me with paying. Lastly, I have enrolled in classes guaranteeing me a spot at the college I plan to pursue. I have taken the steps to prepare me and guide me into college. These actions guarantee my goal of going to college to be checked off leaving a part of my goal left to be decided. My last big goal for the future would be to become a traveling physical therapist. I've done careful research to help plan out my options and steps into pursuing this career. My dream was always to travel and help others around the world. For a little background information on why I want to become a physical therapist, I am a varsity soccer player. I dislocated my knee 5 times and each time went through months of physical therapy. I am familiar with how they work and the different exercises. It's something I can see myself doing and I've always loved to help others. The steps I'm taking to pursue this career include obtaining my master's degree in physical therapy or my (MPT). I will complete college and sign up for internships along the way to gain experience. Pursuing college has been a struggle mentally because of all the steps needed to attend. Especially the pay which I will be working full time to save up for. However, the biggest hardship I've endured is the comments and backlash from my family. My family has always reminded me about college since I could spell college. They'd envision me going to a university such as UTSA or Texas AM etc. Although I want to attend a big university I cannot afford it and instead will be going to a Northwest Vista community college. I was always ashamed to say I was going to a community college because of my family's judgemental comments, but over time I've learned it doesn't matter what path I take as long as I'm trying. I will keep trying to achieve both of my goals and prove my family wrong.

In 2019 my mental health was envied by others because of my joyful spirit, and outgoing personality. However, all good things come to an end; for me, it was when the outbreak of COVID-19 happened in 2020. The outbreak of COVID-19 forced everybody into containment for long weeks. My family and I stayed in our home with no interaction with anyone other than each other. It felt like I had been imprisoned for a terrible crime I committed. Our daily lives were put to pause, no interaction with other human beings, and we felt like this would be forever. That's when I fell into depression and lost my joyful spirit. It's 2023 and ever since then my outlook on my future and my beliefs have changed dramatically. During my bad mental state, I had thought of the worst 24/7. Such as never being happy again and even worse thoughts like dying. After recovering from depression I had never wanted to be depressed again so I turned to god. I've become more religious and it's singlehandedly one of the best decisions of my life. I've gained more confidence and reassurance that I won't fall into a dark hole again. During my depression, I believed I was alone and nobody could understand how I felt. However, after coming out from it I realized that I hadn't. My best friend had also gone through stuff and is currently still. Knowing what I went through and how I felt I'm able to relate to my friend who is trying to get out of it. We talk a lot about it and I am always there to comfort her. My little sister has also been going through some problems but we've never talked seriously. Although I have recently been talking and comforting her because nobody else in my family can relate to her. Going into the aftermath of my depression has been rocky even though I got out I took some of it with me. All of my family have some anxiety in them and I never had that problem until my depression. It's as if my depression opened the anxiety door that was kept hidden away for so long. I now have bad anxiety that leads to often panic attacks and overwhelming nervousness. I tend to think about my future often and get small panic attacks thinking about what I'm gonna do. Although I'd get small attacks I have developed some options for my future career such as a physical therapist, MRI tech, and even an event coordinator. I have thought about the qualities and skills that will help me achieve anything that comes my way. My experience with mental health was the worst experience I have ever been through but I do not regret it. If I had never gone into depression I would've never turned to god and become more religious. I would've never gotten closer to my friends and family. Lastly, I would've never found out or been serious about my future career. For that, I'm thankful for my experience and will continue to work on my mental health.

Success can be defined in different scenarios such as getting a high-paying job, paying off rent, or getting into the best school in the country. Success in life is widely generalized as a monumental success in the academic field or substantial excellence in your career. My interpretation of success is a different path that brings uniqueness but great controversy. Success is feeling, knowing, and achieving happiness. I aspire to become a traveling physical therapist and travel the globe. I've always wanted to embrace and take in different cultures and environments. None of my family have ever traveled due to their idea that true success is indefinitely getting a good job and a house. These are large achievements however, I want to go above and beyond the traditional path. In my eyes, success needs to be big or go home therefore, my vision for success is traveling, helping others, and building a happy life for myself. Everyone says success is big my interpretation of big is pretty poles apart from others. This opportunity will grant me the chance to strive for my successes such as becoming a physical therapist and traveling. I can get the right schooling and get the best education to be on top. With those future successes, I plan on striving for the biggest success I want to achieve which is creating a nonprofit organization. In this organization, I and my future team will travel around the world and renovate low-income families' homes. This would be the biggest success in my life knowing I helped millions of families have the best home they can have. My smaller achievements will help build me up to take on the large success therefore, I take great consideration in my smaller achievements. For instance, acing a test, moving on to better schooling, winning a scholarship, or participating in volunteer work. I take an immense amount of consideration into these small achievements therefore, they become large achievements for me. These little things help shape and prepare us for the large successes in our lives. Success is something big and something that leaves a huge impression. Becoming a physical therapist, traveling the world, and helping families. My family has always had the tradition of pushing passions to the side and focusing on what would make us money. I am a Hispanic first-generation gen and don't come from a lot. Which is why my family eats, sleeps, and dreams about money. Even if traveling were a dream of there's they'd rather play safe and stick to the traditional routes. For a while, I had considered similar options because aren't we supposed to follow in our family's footsteps? The answer is inconclusive because everything depends on you and your family. The people who care about you will tend to feed you with their plan of success and sometimes it may be for you. However if it's not take the initiative, don't be scared, and strive for your vision of success just as I plan to do.

My creative passion is and has always been writing. My creativity with writing and the ability to make the words spill out from a page has always captivated my teachers, family, and friends. It's a form of expression I use to express and show how I or someone else feels. It also allows me to create a different world or place that is left to one's imagination. Let's dive deeper into writing and how it impacts the world every day. Writing has always been used back in the 1800s as a form of communication and later on to depict the beauty of art. It's also used in businesses to store important information like documents. Another form and the most impactful form is books and short stories. There are millions of stories and books around the world. Books of all kinds like romance, mystery, fiction, nonfiction, supernatural, thriller, horror, and my favorite mystery. Books allow you to escape the world and enter a new one. It allows you to feel scared, anxious, or happy and it lets you feed into your imagination. Books would not be possible without the authors and their detailed writing. There are kids and teens around the world who cannot afford phones like more fortunate people can and books take the place of their phones. If you had an extra 24 hours in the day, how would you spend it? This question is difficult because you can do so many things with those extra hours. If I had to answer this question I'd say enjoying time with family and friends because I don't do that often as I should. I'd also say when I'm not doing that I'd be at the gym, reading, or doing crafts. One of my favorite things to do is to do crafts. I've made paper flowers, pipe cleaner flowers, moving cards, and cool little notes. It's a passion and something that brings me joy but I only feel this small passion when I feel a certain way. Whenever I think of my family, friends, or boyfriend my craft passion spikes up like Texas weather and I start crafting. I made my mom a paper flower bouquet for mothers Day, and a cool card for my dad for fathers Day. For my boyfriend, I made a moving card and small paper flowers. Whenever I think of the ones I love my passions like crafting and writing become strong like a desire.

This K-pop group has opened doors for so many K-pop groups to have opportunities in America all while staying humble. This group shows compassion and love every day by spreading the positive message," Love yourself." My all-time favorite K-pop group is BTS. How I came across BTS is a rather odd but heartwarming story. During the outbreak of covid in 2020 I became severely depressed. Having no social interaction with anybody or my friends and feeling like my life wouldn't be the same made me depressed. Nothing made me happy, laugh, or even smile. I felt this way for 3 months until November when me and my sister decided to make fun of BTS. Before I continue a little backstory I hated, despised, and made fun of BTS in the past. I called them gay, girls, and everything they did I called cringey because everybody was doing it. Naturally, I followed along which is why me and my sister looked them up to make fun of them. While we were watching videos we came across their music video black swan it was a true work of art. It made me feel so fascinated and I wanted to learn more about them. I then watched their episode of Carpool Karaoke with James Corden and I loved it so much. Their humor and presence made me laugh and smile. Something I hadn't done in months and it brought me so much happiness. It took off from there and every day I loved them more and more. I went deeper into their music and the beautiful melodies and beats. The fascinating back story and the different stories they portrayed. Finally the dancing and expressive movements. They care so much about their fans and other people. They have over seven hundred awards and are the kings of K-pop yet they are humble, compassionate, and selfless. They inspire me to show compassion to everybody and to always stay true to myself. One of their main quotes is to always love yourself and I struggle with doing so. After a while though I started to truly love myself and embody who I was as a person. They got me out of a depression and made me laugh. They taught me how to love myself and truly learn to embrace who I am. They've taught me to give back to the community and always be thankful and humble every day. They've taught me to go after anything even if nobody believes in me or if it may seem hard. They show compassion and give back to the community every day which gave me the inspiration for my biggest goal. Which is to build my own company where I help low-income families achieve their dream homes. I used to be judgy and never really thought about anyone but myself. I was always insecure and never truly let myself be who I was. Until I came across a group of seven boys from South Korea spreading the message of compassion and love. Without knowing them and all the lessons they've taught me I would not be the person I am today. I have never met them or seen them in person yet they have made such a significant impact on my life. It truly shows who they are as humans and why I and other people around the globe love, and admire them so much.

I’ve seen hundreds of movies and flipped through lots of pages of books. Every book and film is different never the same. The lesson in each book is different and the lesson in each movie is different. Despite that each one leaves me with almost the same message that constantly swims throughout my mind. The message is to never give up and good things is sure to come your way. I recently watched the movie The Giver, and there wad a scene of a boy named Jonas walking in the snow. It was freezing and he fainted probably of hypothermia. He was carrying a child and looking for a house. He almost gave up but the memory of his loved one and the baby kept him going and soon enough he found what he was looking for. He never gave up and kept going even when it was hard, even when his toes were solid and his body stiff like a stick. I also recently finished a book the hate you give by Angie Thomas. In this book a girl witnessed her brother get shot by police for no reason. She struggled with trauma and anxiety after that kept her up for days. She pushed herself later and fought for justice which she later achieved. Although she saw and felt the worse she decided to push and she achieved. The message I’ve learned from books and movies such as this has inspired me to have high goals to strive for. I live in San Antonio Texas and I have big goals. My goal is to build my own interior design business to support low income families around the world. I have always been selfless and loved helping people. Sometimes I think about the less fortunate ones and I cannot just sit by and enjoy my life while others suffer. I have to help make a difference and influence others to also help people.I will push myself even if I face challenges I will never give up. My plan is to attend northwest vista and major in marketing and later in interior design. My education will be the foundation of building my business and it’s extremely important if I want to achieve my goal. Books and movies have given me the dedication to go above and beyond. To strive for something that is way out of my comfort zone. I want to get comfortable getting out of my comfort zone. The inspiration I took in from the hours I’ve spent in books and movies have driven me to a brighter path. I will work hard and never give up.

I am 17 years old I love doing crafts, painting and drawing. I have played soccer since I was 5 years old and I currently play varisty soccer at my high school. I have dislocated my knee four times and recently dislocated it which severely stretched my ligament and took me out of my senior year in soccer. I am interested in attending Northwest Vista and majoring in marketing. After 2 years in Northwest Vista, I would like to transfer to the University of Texas at San Antonio to major in interior design. I have volunteered at the Texas diaper bank where I and other volunteers pack diapers into bags to be given away to struggling parents. I am a selfless person who loves helping my community and would like to further help my community in my future career. My future goal is to become an international interior designer and renovate homes for low-income families. I remember seeing a video about a poor family in Mexico struggling to live. They had barely any food, no furniture and they lived in a home that no family of seven should live through. I want to help other families like them and give them a comfortable home to love and be proud of. I want to create my own business and this scholarship will help me get the preparations to complete my future goal. Such as marketing classes and interior design classes. I love to travel and have always wanted to do it and see landscapes, cultures, and different architecture. I am the type of person to be doing something fun and during it feel bad for the people who don't get the same opportunities as me. I grew up in a nice household in a comfy home and I had a good childhood. I want to help and give kids a good childhood like I had and give them a comfy place to live. A problem I have combatted is money and since nobody in my family has gone to college I will be a first-generation student. I am proud to be one and I want to succeed for my family. I want them to be proud of me and I want to make their lives easier by applying for every scholarship I am compatible with. Earning this scholarship will help me put my best foot forward and give me a good start to work towards my goals. I am a determined individual who will work towards my goals, I am disciplined to never give up even when faced with tough challenges, I am selfless and I always think about others before myself.

I am a determined, kind person who loves to give and help other people. I've played soccer since I was 5 years old and have made varisty soccer for my school sophomore, junior, and senior year. I am very organized, and detail-orientated with everything I do. Although I did recently dislocate my knee and tore my MCL ligament. I've also volunteered 12 hours to my community and have donated to small donation centers and my local church. My selfless character and volunteering have inspired me to help other people. My long-term goal would be to become an international interior designer and event manager. I have always loved interior designing and have had an interest in event management. I know it's something I'll be amazing at and my next goal will help me impact my local community. I want to create my own business and help low-income families who struggle to enjoy their lives. I want to help renovate and design better homes for them and supply them with food, water, clothes, and a nice home they feel comfortable in. I recently came up with this goal when I came across this video of a man walking the streets and he came across a family. They were dirty, tired, and very skinny. It was a single mother with seven kids and two of them were deaf. She later described that she had trouble feeding her children and how she hadn't eaten in days. Her home was like an abandoned house it was small and dirty. It made me feel so heartbroken seeing the gloomy looks of the kids. My heart warmed later on seeing the man providing new clothes, food, and new everything. The look on the kid's faces and the tears of the mother were enough to convince me to make a change and help people. I'm hoping to get big and spread the work of helping the community around the world. I am going to attend Northwest Vista and take marketing and public relations classes to develop the knowledge to make it far. After Northwest Vista, I am transferring to the University Of Texas at San Antonio to major in interior design. Once I've finished school I am going to work toward building my business. I believe I can get there with enough determination and knowledge. I have always loved helping other people and I know I will make a positive impact on my local community.

I'm the type of person to see a homeless person and give them my food. I'm the type of person to feed a stray cat or dog. I'm the type of person to cry when someone else is crying. I believe I am the definition of selfless. I always put my friends before me and my family. If my friend is hungry I give them my food or I try and buy them some. If I see a homeless person I beg my mom to give them some money and if she refuses I have to look away because I cannot look at them begging for money. I love to give my friends, teammates and family baskets. I don't want anything in return I just love to see their surprised face when I give them a basket. I love giving people presents and food. I remember back in July when we were in Florida to go to Universal Studios and Disney it was raining. We were inside Universal Studios and it was pouring so hard and for so long. I was wearing a poncho and my sister didn't have one. I felt bad and would rather get soaked than her so I took mine off and gave her my poncho. I have also completed 12 hours of community service and have donated to my local church and other small charities. I always help my mom clean and if my sisters ask me for anything I always try my best to help them. My friend Emily has been dealing with anxiety and family issues. Her parents are divorced and she is constantly criticized every time she does something. She's also been dealing with alcohol and drug intake. Before she talked to me about her feelings she said she felt s alone. I couldn't bear to bear her sobbing and crying that she was a failure. I told her to just talk to me and I'm here to listen and provide support. For a few days, she called me every night sobbing and I always made sure to let her know how much I love and care for her. She knows I care about her and I think she's starting to feel better and staying more positive I'm so grateful that she's starting to be more happy. I will never stop being selfless I love to help my friends and family feel good.

I'm a determined, strong, compassionate soccer athlete who has big dreams. I'm a normal athlete who struggles with physical setbacks such as my knee. A few days ago I dislocated my knee and stretched out my MCL ligament. It's been hard these past few days just coping with the fact that I might not play my senior year. I trained every day in the summer and stayed after school to train. I pushed myself this year and stayed more determined. It was like all my hard work was for nothing and I felt defeated. I haven't given up I am going to get back and try to make it in a game or two. I'm staying positive and keeping a good mindset. Having this time off has given me time to think and reflect on my future career. I recently came across a video of a family living in poor conditions. They had no water, food, old clothes and a dirty house. It made me upset and disheartening to see the mother with her seven children skinny and gloomy. A man in the video later helped provide the family with food, water, and clothes. The smiles on the kids' faces and the mother's tears of joy warmed my heart. It made me want to help them and people just like them. Therefore I concluded I would start my own business as an international interior designer that helps low-income families around the world. I want to provide food, water, clothes and most importantly a home where they can feel comfortable and safe. I want to take the stress off of families and make them happy. I have always loved interior designing and traveling. I thought," Why not put them together and do two things I love at the same time." Which is how I decided to be an international interior designer. I then thought," Why not do what I love and help people at the same time?" Which influenced me to create my business and help low-income families. I have a lot of free time due to being injured therefore I'm utilizing my free time by applying for any scholarship that comes my way. To achieve my career goals I need to have a good education and knowledge to lead me down the right path. To gain this knowledge scholarships are going to be a huge factor. I don't come from a lot but I'm determined to go to school and any scholarship will help me achieve this. I will be the first gen student aiming to create my own business and be a successful interior designer. I know I will face challenges but I'm determined, strong, selfless, and I will never give up.

I never really acknowledge myself because I like to stay humble but this recent realization made me realize how selfless and compassionate I am. It was a Tuesday morning and I was on TikTok. I came across a video of a man coming across a family in Mexico. It was a single mother with seven kids and two of them were blind. They were dirty and living in what looked like an abandoned house. The walls were dirty, the floors were dirty, mattresses on the floor, and no running water. My heart hurt so much from that but later on in the video, the man bought new furniture, food, water, and clothes. It felt nice to watch the mother and children smile and cry with joy. I wanted to do something like that and I concluded that I wanted to start my own business to help low-income families. My goal is to start my own business as an interior designer and renovate low-income family homes around the world. I want to travel around the world and help different families with supplies, clothing, and most importantly the house. I live in a one-story home with my parents and two siblings. Although it isn't a huge home it has running water, space, and everything me and my sisters love. Knowing families are living so much harder than I do bothers me and wants me to make a change. I took a step back and acknowledged how Kind, compassionate, and humble I am. I am proud of myself because I have gone through things in the past. I've gone through depression and it left me with anxiety. Depression killed me I felt alone, sad and honestly dead. I felt nothing and often wanted to just be gone from this world. Then COVID ended and I let myself feel again by hanging out with my friends and changing my mindset. Feeling stressed is a major contributor to depression and I do not want families to become depressed or even stressed. If I can help them in any way I will and I'm going to. I am determined, strong, compassionate, kind, humble, and above all selfless. I'm the type of person to feed any stray cat, I'm the type of person to give money to the homeless, and I'm the type of person to put others above herself. I can't wait to start working towards my goals and accomplish them.

I have volunteered at the food bank sorting cans and at the diaper bank where I sorted baby essentials. I've also volunteered at an eclipse event where I handed out food. My volunteer experience has reminded me of how much I love to help people. Ever since I was a little girl I loved helping people whether that be helping my mom clean or giving a homeless man on the street $10. I love the feeling of making someone's day and helping them out when they are struggling or stressed. I came across volunteering in the astronomy club and thought how much I wanted to do that. I volunteered but it isn't enough I want to do more and I want to do bigger things. Volunteering got me thinking about the families living in poor conditions and can't get themselves out. I felt uncomfortable with the thought of doing nothing and just laying in my warm, comfy bed while people out there were sleeping on the floor. I then decided that my goal is to become an international interior designer and have my own business where I help low-income families and make their lives easier. I want to help people from around the world who are less fortunate and can't live a normal life. I want to provide them with food, water, and clothes, and most importantly I want to provide a home where they feel comfortable and stress-free. My biggest core value has always been kindness and I am living up to my core belief. However, volunteering has added core values I didn't know I would have which is humility, I became more humble. Empathy, I've developed strong empathy for anyone and everything. Leadership, I've decided to take a stand and lead instead of waiting on people to start first. Community, the last but most important treating others with respect because we are all human. I have always been a kind and selfless person but volunteering even for a few hours has influenced almost everything I set out to do and how I act. I've been influenced to start a business to help people and I've been influenced to act better than I've been acting. I am a better person from all the experience and truly believe everybody should volunteer even just for two hours. I know I'm a good person but I'm an ever better person and will continue to volunteer.

My future plan is big and is sure to make a positive impact on the world. A few days ago I came across a video on the social media platform TikTok. It was a man walking the streets of Mexico, and he came across a family consisting of one mother and seven kids. The mother begins to explain how two of her children were deaf and she looked unbelievably stressed. She then took the man on a tour of her home and it was like walking into an abandoned house. Her walls were dirty, mattress on the floor, no water, dirt resting on the floor, and no food. She exclaims how she hasn't eaten in two days and was struggling to feed her children. The children had messy hair, dirty clothes and tiny arms and legs. The heartbreak I encountered in that video was beyond any I've encountered. However, my heart started to warm because towards the end the man bought $400 worth of food, new clothes, new shoes, new mattresses and running water. I loved seeing the smiles on the children's faces and especially the tears of joy from the mother. I loved the feeling I got and I wanted to keep giving myself and other people that feeling so I decided I wanted to help people. I plan to start my own interior designing business to help renovate and improve low-income families' homes. I want to become an international interior designer and help people who live in poor living conditions. I want to give them food, clothes, and most importantly a home they feel comfortable in. Before I came up with this idea my initial plan was to be a regular interior designer and help renovate simple homes for people. I was also thinking about traveling because I have always wanted to travel. Then I saw that video and knew exactly what I would be doing. I'll do what I want to do which is travel the world but also while helping families out. I am the type of person if I'm doing something fun I feel upset or sad because I think about the less fortunate ones and how fortunate I am to be doing something. I am the type of person to see a homeless person on the street and feel heartbroken to the point I can't even look at them. I am the type of person who doesn't hesitate to buy someone food or feed a stray cat. I don't have a ton of money but I have enough and with that, I'm going to work hard and be determined to see my vision through. I had a roof over my head, food, clothes, and overall an amazing childhood. I want to help be a part of an amazing childhood a kid could have and I know I will be.

I had always been known as the fat one in my family. The child nobody could pick up to throw in the pool, the child that hated shopping because she didn't fit into the clothes, and the child that wasn't allowed to eat ice cream with the rest of the kids. I didn't realize how differently I was being treated till I was about 14 years old and I had then decided to change. I wanted to feel good about myself and feel comfortable so I decided to get fit. I worked out like a professional athlete I ran a lot, I lifted weights and I ate under 2,000 calories. A month passed and there was no change I had looked the same and especially felt the same. My siblings told me to lose weight and my grandparents kept commenting on how big I was. They didn't realize how hard I was trying, and how I only thought about losing weight. I couldn't even go to a restaurant and just enjoy my food. I worried about the calories and getting big. I'd wake up and judge myself like a modeling judge. I wasn't happy during this time and I almost gave up on everything. I then wondered and thought," Am I doing this for myself or for everyone who has criticized me?" I realized that I was doing everything for my family's approval I wasn't doing this for myself. I changed my mindset right then and there and the next day I decided to change for myself, not others. I ate well, I was disciplined and lifted, and I never gave up. 4 months later I was 20lbs down and I loved the way I looked. I felt confident and I was proud that I accomplished and stayed determined. Most importantly I was proud that I did it for myself. My family commented on my thin physique and drowned me with compliments and glory. " Honey you look amazing!" and," You look so beautiful." A few examples of some Comments I never got when I was at a heavier weight. Sometimes the hardest and most hurtful struggles all start with your family. I managed to overcome their hurtful comments and I powered through my biggest struggle. I used determination, discipline, and positivity. I am at my most confident, I am happy and I am determined to keep working harder in everything I do.

“ what are you gonna do after high school?” My mom asked that and it lingered in my mind for awhile because I knew college was something I wanted to do but I wasn’t sure if I’d have enough money to go. My dad didn’t attend college, my mom dropped out so the college idea was something I questioned. Ever since I was in middle school I always wanted to go so I decided I would attend college. I had a realization a few days later and it changed basically my whole life. I was on the social media platform tik tok and came across a video of a family in mexico. They were dirty, sad, and hungry. Their home was falling apart, they had no electricity, no food, no water and their furniture was torn. I felt so heartbroken for them and I had a sudden feeling to do something to help people like them. Which is why I will be majoring in international interior design and business/marketing and public relations. At first I wanted to be an interior designer that designed and planned for other peoples homes and buildings. That was the plan until I had my realization and I thought,” why not do what I love and help people at the same time.” I then came up with my game plan, which was to open my own business where I help renovate low income families living in poor living conditions and help take stress of their backs. By renovating their homes and providing them with the necessities. I want to help make a change and travel internationally to help these people. I’ve always wanted to travel the world and see the expressive culture, and beautiful landscapes. I can do that and also help people as I travel. When I’m doing something fun and unique I always think about the less fortunate people and by having my own business, being able to travel, and helping people I wont worry too much. This scholarship will help me put my best foot forward and give me a head start to accomplish my goals. To even begin this plan I need education and experience. To get these things I need to go to school and challenge myself. I am very dedicated in seeing this through I wont stop pushing and challenging myself even when I hit bumpy roads. Having this scholarship will help me out in getting the best possible education I can.

I think we need to work harder to understand more of the universe. The universe is humongous it's filled with vast and mysterious, filled with countless galaxies, stars, and planets. We need to wonder more to learn more about the universe. We are extremely small and we live on a small planet. Doesn't the huge universe make you question the universe? It makes me question because we live to work and make money and die. Do other planets do what we do? Are we alone? These questions need answering and it can only do that by working to understand it. We are also very limited as a species I believe we can advance more technologically and mentally. We need to devote more understanding of the universe to be able to advance in the future. We need more insight on not just the space but on us so we and our planet can grow. We need to unravel the mysteries of our existence and gain a deeper understanding of the world around us. It'll help us comprehend the fundamental laws and principles that govern the cosmos from the birth of our star to the birth of the universe around us. To better understand the universe we need to conduct more research and experiments using advanced telescopes and space probes to explore distance and regions. Collaborating with different scientists from different fields to gain diverse perspectives is another great idea. By doing so we can develop not only ideas but refine theories and models that explain the workings of the universe such as the Big Bang theory and the theory of relativity. By pushing the boundaries of our knowledge we can continue to unlock the secrets of the cosmos. We can also conduct more space missions and explorations to gather more data and observations. However, to do so we need to up our technology game so we need to devote some time to that before we start exploring further. We would need to invest in technological growth like telescopes and detectors. We also need to be optimistic and have an open mind to the thousands of theories and possibilities we come up with. I believe we aren't doing enough to better understand our universe and it's a shame because we could grow as a species. It's important to discover more about the universe because there are so many mysteries we need to solve and our universe is huge. By collaborating, investing, and staying determined we are sure to unfold the hidden doors in the cosmos.

I made the decision to become vegan because I wanted to align my lifestyle with my certain values of health and compassion. I love animals and have always had compassion for them. Knowing that what I was eating was a baby chicken or a poor cow makes me uncomfortable. I'm not going to lie the meat is delicious but I simply couldn't bring myself to consume any animal anymore. Especially when I learned about the environmental impact of animal agriculture and animal mistreatment, it became clear to me that switching to a plant-based diet was the right thing to do. Animal agriculture is a major contributor to deforestation and water pollution. By choosing veganism, I can directly fight against climate change and help protect the planet and future generations. Another important aspect of veganism for me is animal welfare. I cannot bear the thought of animals being raised for food. They live on farms their whole life and get slaughtered at the end for our enjoyment. As well as the poor conditions they live in is simply cruel and inhumane. By adopting the vegan lifestyle I am actively choosing not to support industries that profit from animal suffering. Instead, I choose plant-based alternatives which are healthier and just as tasty. Speaking of tasty plant-based options they offer numerous health benefits. They provide all the necessary nutrients to help reduce the risk of chronic diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, and certain types of cancer. Plant-based foods are rich in fiber and other vitamins which can support everyone's overall health and well-being. My future plan for advertising and growing veganism, in the long run, is to educate random people on the topic. By sharing the information about the benefits of veganism including its positive impact on the environment, animal welfare, and personal well-being we can inspire more people to make the switch. Promoting delicious and accessible plant-based options in schools, restaurants, and communities can help grow the veganism movement by making it appealing and convenient. Despite my strong opinions about veganism, I am in no way shape or form going to hold people who aren't vegan accountable. My move is to educate and hopefully inspire people to make the switch. I will not judge or harass anybody because that's the reason some people aren't vegan. Some people see vegans as annoying because they are always talking about going vegan which could be why vegans are low in numbers. To put it all together veganism is important to me because of animal agriculture and my well-being. Hopefully, in the future, the veganism movement will become more widely known and helps our future.

I'm 17 years old I play soccer I love to read, write, draw, and most importantly I love architecture. I love to admire the different styles and formats of buildings, the colors and the dimensions. Ever since I was 10 years old I've watched shows about flipping homes, home renovations, and building people's dream homes. What I loved most about the shows was that all the houses were different and they all had some unique factor or even just simple. I kind of always wanted to be an architect of some kind back then but never gave it much thought till recently when I was thinking about what I was gonna pursue. I then decided I wanted to be an architect designer. I did some research on the career and knew for sure I wanted to be an architect designer. I'm very creative and would love to design and plan amazing buildings or homes. I didn't even realize until today reading this scholarship that as I was researching the career I thought," Maybe I shouldn't do this job because nobody will take me seriously.." When I thought nobody would take me seriously I was implying that because I'm a girl and people would rather talk to a guy because he's a guy. If you ask which gender is the architect 80% of people will say men because society has ruled that it's a man's job. Therefore women don't even attempt to pursue this career because 72% of architects are males while only 28% are females. Entering a male-dominated field is going to be challenging with people's opinions and other things such as the wage gap, mistreatment and even serious things like sexual harassment. Despite that, I love architecture too much to completely forget about it just because it's male-dominated. I'm determined to pursue this career and prove people wrong. I have the ambition and the strive I want to bring awareness to my family and friends to go for anything even if people tell you that you can't do it or society expects you to fail to prove them wrong. Hopefully, in the future I'll be able to bring more awareness and have an even bigger impact on future women archeticts. I plan to enter the architecture field study hard, go above and beyond and be successful. I firmly believe there should be more women in male-dominated careers and vice versa.

Pursuing architecture is more than the money I'd make or the praise for being an architect. I am pursuing architecture because it's been something I've wanted to do ever since I was young. When I was 10 years old I was incredibly obsessed with home renovation and remodeling shows. Especially the dream home shows with all different types of homes. The design and model of the homes interested me even at 10 years old. I always wanted to do something like that because I enjoyed watching the progression and the outcome. Not just the outside captivated me but also the inside and the objects inside the home. This is where my love of interior design comes in as well. I'm a very creative individual my family tells me every day and the thought of designing a home both outside and inside makes me excited because I have so many ideas and my mind keeps going and going. I know these are right for me because it's not something that I'll hate doing It'll be something I love to do which doesn't make me perfect for it but a good choice. It's not just homes that inspire me to want to pursue architecture. It's also the beautiful buildings around the world and the different architecture that makes you go," Wow." Seeing the different architecture is one of the main reasons I want to travel the world. The different buildings tall, small, white, and colorful all interest me. My favorite architecture is Japanese because of the detail that goes into every one. I'm not one that goes for boring and simple. I love the uniqueness of the different buildings and it's something I'd want to do. I'm going to be honest I wasn't one hundred percent sure I'd want to pursue architecture because I was thinking about others' opinions and doing what others told me to do. My mom wanted me to be an ultrasound technician while my dad wanted me to do physical therapy. They weren't bad options but I imagined myself pursuing each one and they both didn't make me excited or happy. I then thought about being an architect designer and an interior designer. I imagined myself designing and rebuilding things and noticed I was very interested in doing that. It would also be a career that I'd get to do the things Ive always wanted to do like travel.

Having bad mental health destroys you if you're not strong enough to overcome it. Which is why it's so important to me to be good mentally. It's also because I've dealt with bad mental health in the past and it almost overtook me. During COVID, my anxiety increased from being alone and feeling lonely 24/7. I wouldn't laugh, eat, or even smile. I lost 20lbs in 2 weeks and I'd sleep most of the day. I'd have panic attacks every day and dread waking up from sleeping because I didn't want to feel. I remember the feeling of being lonely, sad, unhappy, and so tired. Luckily I managed to overcome it by letting myself feel and thinking positive. I found a certain band group that gave me something to laugh about and reunited with friends once covid died down. Even though my mental health had gotten better my anxiety didn't leave me and for a while, I struggled with maintaining a positive mindset. I never wanted to feel like how I felt during covid so I found ways to maintain a positive mindset. I remind myself every day is a fresh start and that whatever I did wrong another day shouldn't matter. Whenever I randomly feel unhappy or nervous I think of the good to come like Halloween, Christmas, and the future. For me keeping myself busy and being productive like cleaning also helps to maintain a good mindset. Although sometimes I don't want to be working I just want to relax so I've found other ways to keep me busy like drawing, reading, and my favorite window shopping. Quality time is another thing I do it can be with anyone my family, my friends, or my boyfriend. Making happy memories and spending time with the people I love keeps me going. Finally the most important thing I do to have good mental health is to do what makes me happy and cut out any negativity in my life. Mental health is the structure of a happy life. Having poor mental health stops you from succeeding and living. My mental health isn't perfect but it is at a good point right now, especially with all the support. I am getting things done, enjoying the fun moments, and looking forward to the future. My mental health is extremely important to me and even though it's hard I will stop at nothing to have a good mental wellness.

My dream self would be traveling the world and seeing the different architecture, the landscapes, tasting the food, and exploring the world with her love by her side.

My biggest motivation to become successful has to be my mom. She grew up in a poor household and got pregnant when she was 15. My mom completed high school and did two jobs all while taking care of my older sister. My grandma did all she could to help my mom but ultimately the responsibility fell on my mom. My mom lived in downtown San Antonio at the time and would have to walk to work. She couldn't afford to buy herself food so she'd have to eat leftovers from people's plates at her work. Any money she did make would go to her daughter because although she didn't have loads of money she wanted to make her happy. My mom did attempt to go to college after high school but it was nearly impossible for her to balance work, her child, and school all at the same time with barely any support. Therefore she ended up dropping out of college cause she couldn't afford it anymore. My mom struggled for a while until she met my dad who helped her get out of student debt. My dad wasn't any wealthier than my mom they both struggled but my dad was in a better position than my mom and he helped her get a job at USAA. She got out of student debt and eventually got her apartment with my dad and not soon after my second older sister was born. My parents both worked hard for 2 years and finally got their own house in 2006 and 2 months later I was born. My parents both worked hard to be happy and stable and that's what I think of when I hear the word successful. This is what motivates me to be successful because I have 100% support from my family while my mom had 0. I don't have a child like my mom did when she was my age. Therefore I believe I can be successful because my mom was at the bottom and managed to be successful. Being successful means being happy and stable so to do that I need to be successful academically. I want to pursue interior design so to do that I have to attend college and get what I need done. I want to be able to travel the world and explore everything. This is why pursuing education is so important to me because its my dream to travel the world.

Some people would answer this by choosing the cool book, or the horror book that gave them nightmares. Maybe the book that was written so beautifully, or the romance readers who love a happy ending. However, the book that I believe everyone in the world should read is the bridge to Teraibithia. Bridge to Teraibithia was my first heartbreak story and almost made me tear up. It all starts with a boy named Jess befriending his neighbor Leslie. They became friends in their class and had a hang-out spot they called Teribithia. This book takes a drastic turn and makes one of the characters feel alone, empty and unloved. This book includes a kid going through a loss and the long grief that comes after. A kid losing the one person that made them feel loved, supported, and above all noticed. How does a kid go through that? The love and support of family would help the grieving but that's the one thing the character didn't have. They went through the devastation process and the heartbreak of the loss. Then the anger process mad at themselves, at the world, and at the person who lies beneath the earth. I read this book at a young age and it taught me to be appreciative and grateful I have the support of my loved ones. This book by Katherine Paterson is beautifully written and a childhood classic. I truly believe everyone in the world should give this a read it's not a romance or action-packing book but sometimes the ones that aren't are the best.