Without Christ in my life, I would not be where I am now and I would not have the same motivations or even ambitions for college that I do. When I was in high school, I went through a period of severe depression because of various circumstances in my life, and also the sin I was actively pursuing. I reached a point where I felt like there was no point in my life, no point in waking up each morning, and I wanted to take my own life. I felt so much despair and anguish that I had no hope, even though I was a Christian and was still actively involved in my church. Instead of calling on Jesus and living my life for Him, I was extremely focused on myself, and that was the source of many of my problems. Thankfully, God turned everything around, and I can only attribute my current circumstances and all my joy to Him. I gradually realized that life isn't worth living unless you are living for God, and then it is worth everything. My purpose in life is not to live for myself, but to glorify God in everything, and to make Him known. As God worked in my heart and changed my desires, I experienced a period of joy and peace like I'd never known before, only because I had the joy of the Lord, and God was growing me immensely and working in my life. It was such a stark contrast to my previous experience that I knew it was supernatural, and not related to anything I had done. Since then, Christ has completely changed my goals and ambitions for my life. My original plan was to go into sales or marketing and attend a secular university, but instead God placed Biblical Counseling and a strong desire for ministry in my heart, and now I'm orienting my plans around that instead of my old ambitions. I'm currently attending Bible College to receive training for Biblical Counseling, and I have a very intense desire to use that to help others, especially young adults and teens. There are so many young people facing trials and dark situations in their lives, and they need God to change things around. My heart goes out to all the teens who have experienced similar situations as I have, or even worse or different ones, and I want them to know what I found out: that cliche as it may sound, God really is the solution for everything and He will completely change your life. We don't have to be bound by sin and despair, but instead we can experience peace, joy, and freedom, which is found in Christ. Now I'm attending college to get the training and education I need to better counsel others and share this truth with those who need to hear it. Currently, I am working my way through college, and I'm unsure how I'll pay for my next year at school. I'm depending on scholarships and God's provision to get me through. This summer I've chosen to step out in faith and volunteer at a Christian camp, which is an amazing opportunity to make a difference in the lives of kids, but won't allow me to earn any money towards college. The Jim Maxwell Memorial Scholarship opportunity is meaningful to me because it will provide room and board for a semester, and every bit helps me reach my goal of education to further God's glory.

Eating healthy is a must, and makes me feel better. Junk food is fun for a time, but at the end of several days of eating badly, I start to feel bloated, low energy, and heavy. I love to run and do athletic things, but I don't feel like doing it when I've been binging on food I love. My natural sweet tooth has been a great trial for me, and diet is an area where I've needed to strengthen my self-control. When I have shown restraint, however, I've seen great results. Last year I went on Keto for several months, and I loved how I looked and felt on that diet. I lost several pounds, looked vibrant, and felt full of energy. My face went from the sallow, pale look of one who has not gotten enough nutrition, to plump and rosy. I stopped wearing makeup because I felt so confident. In addition, I started exercising regularly and felt stronger. I'm also more alert and clear-headed when I'm living in a healthy way, and it has a definite impact on almost all areas of my life. Since then I've relapsed quite a bit, and I've never gone back on Keto, but I do have a much stronger appreciation for taking care for your self, and I make a conscious effort to do so. I try to have at least one vegetable a day, some meat, and to restrain from overeating. Treats are fine, as long as I don't overindulge myself. I'm entering college in the fall, and although I wouldn't call it a fear of mine, the Freshman Fifteen is definitely a concern. I know that if I eat what I want to naturally, my fitness, motivation, and mental health will tank. I am determined to eat well at college and to thrive. To do well at school, I need to indulge in fruits and veggies instead of Cheetos and Snickers. Some personal goals I have are three balanced meals a day (no snacks or only healthy ones), exercising every night, and making a point of setting good habits to carry me through. I have a vision of a healthy me, feeling great and confident about myself, energetic, working hard at school and doing well because I'm alert and focused, growing consistently stronger, and feeling happy. It won't be easy to make this happen and will require real self-discipline on my part, but I know it's worth it, and I'm willing to do what it takes to make this dream of wellness come to reality.

Eating healthy is a must, and makes me feel better. Junk food is fun for a time, but at the end of several days of eating badly, I start to feel bloated, low energy, and heavy. I love to run and do athletic things, but I don't feel like doing it when I've been binging on food I love. My natural sweet tooth has been a great trial for me, and diet is an area where I've needed to strengthen my self-control. When I have shown restraint, however, I've seen great results. Last year I went on Keto for several months, and I loved how I looked and felt on that diet. I lost several pounds, looked vibrant, and felt full of energy. My face went from the sallow, pale look of one who has not gotten enough nutrition, to plump and rosy. I stopped wearing makeup because I felt so confident. In addition, I started exercising regularly and felt stronger. I'm also more alert and clear-headed when I'm living in a healthy way, and it has a definite impact on almost all areas of my life. Since then I've relapsed quite a bit, and I've never gone back on Keto, but I do have a much stronger appreciation for taking care for your self, and I make a conscious effort to do so. I try to have at least one vegetable a day, some meat, and to restrain from overeating. Treats are fine, as long as I don't overindulge myself. I'm entering college in the fall, and although I wouldn't call it a fear of mine, the Freshman Fifteen is definitely a concern. I know that if I eat what I want to naturally, my fitness, motivation, and mental health will tank. I am determined to eat well at college and to thrive. To do well at school, I need to indulge in fruits and veggies instead of Cheetos and Snickers. Some personal goals I have are three balanced meals a day (no snacks or only healthy ones), exercising every night, and making a point of setting good habits to carry me through. I have a vision of a healthy me, feeling great and confident about myself, energetic, working hard at school and doing well because I'm alert and focused, growing consistently stronger, and feeling happy. It won't be easy to make this happen and will require real self-discipline on my part, but I know it's worth it, and I'm willing to do what it takes to make this dream of wellness come to reality.

My goal is to get through college completely debt-free! And to do this I'm going to need to save money wherever ever I can, and win as many scholarships as possible. I'm planning on taking a gap year before college to work full time and save money, and then work full time throughout college as well. This scholarship can help me with various experiences I come across in my journey, and can help me achieve my goal!