Leadership often emerges not in moments of comfort but in times of uncertainty and challenge. One such moment occurred during my junior year of high school when I led a group science project focused on developing a sustainable solution to reduce plastic pollution in our local waterways. The experience tested my ability to lead, adapt, and unite a diverse group toward a common goal, ultimately shaping my perspective on leadership and its potential to create lasting change. The project was part of our school’s annual Science & Sustainability Fair. Our objective was ambitious: design a cost-effective, eco-friendly filtration system that could be implemented in storm drains to capture microplastics before they entered the local river system. With limited resources, a tight six-week timeline, and a team of five students with varying levels of commitment and scientific knowledge, the obstacles were immediate. The first challenge was internal. Some team members felt overwhelmed and doubted whether the project was realistic. Rather than assert control, I chose a collaborative leadership style. I began by organizing a brainstorming session where every idea was welcomed, no matter how far-fetched. This created a safe space for creativity and boosted team morale. I delegated tasks based on individual strengths—some focused on research, others on materials and prototype design, and I coordinated the entire process while also contributing to the technical aspects. Midway through the project, our initial prototype failed. The mesh material we used either clogged too easily or let microplastics slip through. Frustration mounted. I encouraged the team to view this as part of the innovation process rather than a setback. We regrouped, analyzed our failure, and conducted further research. I facilitated contact with a local environmental engineer who provided invaluable feedback and introduced us to biodegradable filters used in similar applications. We revised our design using more porous, layered biodegradable materials, retested it, and found a measurable improvement in microplastic capture during simulated water flow tests. Not only did our project place first in the Science & Sustainability Fair, but it also gained interest from a local environmental nonprofit, which invited us to present our findings to city council members considering green infrastructure upgrades. The impact of our work extended beyond the classroom. It sparked conversations in our community about sustainable innovation and civic responsibility. But for me, the most profound effect was internal. I learned that effective leadership is less about commanding and more about listening, inspiring, and adapting to others. It’s about being resilient in the face of failure and bringing out the best in others, especially when the path forward is unclear. As I look ahead to a career in environmental science and policy, I plan to apply these leadership skills to tackle real-world ecological challenges. I envision working with diverse teams—scientists, lawmakers, and communities—to develop sustainable solutions that protect our planet. By fostering collaboration, embracing setbacks as learning opportunities, and championing inclusive innovation, I hope to lead initiatives that not only solve problems but also empower others to make a difference.

Mental health has been one of the most defining aspects of my journey, shaping not only my goals but also the way I connect with others and perceive the world. My experiences navigating mental health challenges have taught me lessons in empathy, resilience, and leadership—lessons that fuel my ambition to create mental health programs for teenagers and college students. I often struggled silently, feeling isolated and misunderstood. It wasn’t until high school, when I reached out for help for the first time, that I realized how widespread yet hidden these struggles were. Seeking therapy was transformative; it offered me the vocabulary to describe my experiences and the tools to manage them. However, it also opened my eyes to the deep gaps in mental health resources for young people. Many of my peers lacked access to affordable services or a safe space to discuss their struggles. This realization sparked the foundation of my goals: to destigmatize mental health issues and make support systems more accessible for young people. I dream of starting nonprofit mental health programs specifically tailored for teens and college students—places where mental wellness is treated as an essential part of life, not a taboo subject. These programs would offer free counseling, peer support networks, wellness workshops, and crisis intervention resources, ensuring that no young person feels like they have to navigate their challenges alone. Mental health has also profoundly shaped my relationships. Experiencing my struggles gave me a profound sense of empathy. I learned that sometimes, the people who seem the happiest on the outside are fighting invisible battles. This awareness has made me a better friend, sibling, and leader. I strive to listen more deeply, validate others’ feelings without judgment, and create spaces where people feel seen and supported. Relationships built on authenticity and compassion have become my cornerstone, both personally and in any leadership role I pursue. Moreover, my mental health journey reshaped my understanding of the world. It taught me that vulnerability is not a weakness, but a strength. In a society that often glorifies perfection, I believe that acknowledging our struggles is one of the bravest things we can do. This belief has given me a unique lens through which I view societal issues: whether it’s education, healthcare, or criminal justice, mental health is an often-overlooked but critical component. By addressing it head-on, we can create more equitable, humane systems. My challenges have instilled in me not just empathy, but a relentless motivation to drive change. I know what it feels like to be in the dark, and I am determined to build programs that serve as beacons of light for others. I plan to major in psychology and public health, combining academic knowledge with lived experience to design initiatives that are both evidence-based and deeply human-centered. Long-term, I envision founding a national nonprofit that partners with schools, universities, and local governments to ensure mental health resources are as fundamental as academic support. In sharing my story, I hope not only to advocate for myself but also to amplify the voices of countless others who are fighting battles we may never see. Mental health is not just a personal issue; it is a public one, and it requires collective action, compassion, and courage. Receiving this scholarship would not only help me continue my education, it would also bring me one step closer to realizing a vision where every teen and college student has the mental health support they deserve. I am committed to turning my experiences into a catalyst for positive change. With resilience as my foundation and empathy as my guide, I am ready to make a lasting difference.

Anxiety has been a consistent presence in my life, often making even the simplest tasks feel overwhelming. For years, I grappled with the persistent feeling of impending doom, never truly understanding how to cope. It wasn’t until I took a step back and began acknowledging my struggles that I realized how much my anxiety had shaped me, not just as a person, but as someone with a deep desire to help others facing similar challenges. Growing up, anxiety made social situations and academic pressures seem like insurmountable mountains. It wasn't just the nerves before a test or public speaking; it was the constant inner dialogue that kept me up at night, wondering what could go wrong. The difficulty in finding a balance between academic success and personal well-being led to isolation, making me feel like I was navigating the world on my own. Despite my achievements, anxiety became a barrier that clouded every milestone with self-doubt. However, these struggles also gave me insight into the importance of mental health awareness. Over time, I began to find ways to manage my anxiety through therapy, mindfulness practices, and seeking a support system that understood me. I learned to embrace vulnerability and realized that anxiety didn’t define me. Instead, it fueled my desire to help others who felt the same way. My experience with anxiety has ignited a passion to start programs that raise awareness and provide support for those affected. I envision creating community-based initiatives that focus on mental wellness, especially in college environments. These programs would offer peer counseling, stress management workshops, and spaces where individuals can connect without fear of judgment. By normalizing conversations about mental health, we can build an environment where people with anxiety feel empowered to seek help and share their stories. In addition to community initiatives, I also hope to provide educational resources that focus on the intersection of mental health and personal growth. Anxiety can sometimes make us feel stagnant, like we’re caught in an endless cycle of worry. I want to help others see that with the proper support and coping strategies, they can break free from this cycle and unlock their full potential. By sharing my own journey, I aim to inspire others to take charge of their mental health, because I believe that our struggles can often be the source of our greatest strength. Pursuing a college degree is essential to my journey, as it provides the knowledge and opportunities needed to make a meaningful impact on others. A degree will equip me with the skills to create effective and sustainable mental health programs. More importantly, it will give me a platform to advocate for those who feel invisible in the face of mental health struggles. Through education, I’ll be able to not only understand the theories and practices that can help individuals with anxiety, but also contribute to the growing conversation around mental wellness in society. Ultimately, the experiences that have shaped me—my battles with anxiety—are the same ones that fuel my determination to create a more compassionate, understanding world. Pursuing a degree is not just a personal goal; it’s a step toward becoming a catalyst for change, one that I hope will help others navigate their struggles and emerge stronger, just as I did.

My story is one of resilience and hope, shaped by the trials and challenges of growing up in a world that often seemed too harsh for me to navigate. I was raised in a community where many youth faced adversity, including homelessness, with few resources to help them. I became aware at a young age that while life may be difficult, the key to overcoming it lies in one’s ability to dream and act toward those dreams. Growing up, I faced my battles, but I always knew that my future held something greater. Through my experiences, I learned that dreams are not just aspirations, but powerful forces that shape the course of our lives. I’ve always been passionate about the idea of empowerment – the belief that every individual has the potential to break free from their circumstances. This belief drives me to pursue two primary goals in life: to help end youth homelessness and to transform the education system into one that fosters creativity, active engagement, and innovation. Youth homelessness is one of the most pressing issues in our society. I have witnessed firsthand the devastating effects it has on young people, from their mental health to their education and future opportunities. My dream is to create a safe space for homeless youth where they are not only provided with shelter but also the tools they need to rebuild their lives. I want to work with local organizations to develop comprehensive programs that provide not just a roof over their heads, but mentorship, skills training, and educational resources. These programs will empower them to dream again and, more importantly, to see that their dreams are within reach. The second part of my dream is to transform the learning system. Traditional education often stifles creativity and fails to engage students in meaningful ways. We need a shift to an active learning system, where students are not just passive recipients of information, but active participants in their learning journey. I envision a future where schools are more like dynamic labs where students experiment, explore, and engage with the material in a hands-on way. I plan to advocate for educational reforms that encourage movement, interaction, and the application of knowledge in real-world scenarios. Education should be an adventure, not a chore. When students are encouraged to explore and create, they not only learn more, but they also develop the skills necessary for future innovation. Fulfilling these dreams is important because it’s about more than just creating change—it’s about giving people the tools to dream and transform their own lives. Youth homelessness is not just an issue of housing. Still, there are opportunities, and the current educational system is not preparing our youth for the dynamic world they are going to inherit. I want to be a part of the solution by creating spaces where young people, regardless of their background, can find stability, confidence, and hope for a better future. Education and empowerment are the cornerstones of this change, and they are the keys to a brighter tomorrow. Through this scholarship, I aim to further my education so I can acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to make these dreams a reality. The road ahead won't be easy, but I'm committed to the journey. The lives of young people are worth every effort, and I believe that by helping them build a future, we make a better world for all of us.

Growing up in a single-parent household, life has often felt like a series of challenges and obstacles that I had to face head-on. My mother worked tirelessly to provide for me and my siblings, but there were times when the struggle was overwhelming. We learned to make do with what we had, and I quickly realized that perseverance was not just a virtue but a necessity. Despite the hardships, I knew that education was my key to breaking the cycle of hardship. This scholarship would allow me to pursue my dreams and provide a foundation for making a meaningful difference in the world. My upbringing has profoundly shaped my perspective on life. Living in a household where resources were often stretched thin taught me the value of hard work, resilience, and ingenuity. My mother’s unwavering dedication to our family, despite facing her challenges, has been my greatest inspiration. She showed me that no matter how difficult life may seem, there is always a way to push forward and thrive. It is this determination that I carry with me every day, driving me to pursue higher education and ultimately make an impact in the world. Receiving this scholarship is vital for me because it will enable me to pursue my academic and professional aspirations without the financial stress. The financial strain of tuition, textbooks, and living expenses often weighs heavily on me, and this scholarship would alleviate that pressure, allowing me to focus on my studies and extracurricular activities. More importantly, it would enable me to take full advantage of the opportunities that come with higher education, like internships, research, and networking, which are crucial to reaching my full potential. But beyond my ambitions, I am motivated by a deeper purpose: to inspire others, especially those from similar backgrounds, to pursue their dreams regardless of their background. Growing up, I didn’t have many role models who looked like me in positions of power or influence. It was easy to feel like success was reserved for others, but I refuse to accept that narrative. I want to be an example for those who feel overlooked or excluded, showing them that their circumstances do not define their future. If I can make it, then so can they. The opportunity this scholarship provides goes beyond just affording my education—it is an investment in my future as someone who will use her knowledge and experiences to give back to others. I want to be a source of inspiration for young people, particularly those from single-parent households, underserved communities, or challenging backgrounds, proving to them that success is not determined by where you start but by how you choose to rise above adversity. I am committed to making a difference, not just in my own life but in the lives of others. This scholarship will give me the tools and resources I need to make that difference, and I promise to use it to fuel my passion for social change and uplift those who may not believe in themselves yet. I hope to show the world that, no matter the hardships we face, it is always possible to rise, thrive, and make a lasting impact.

Nothing makes you more aware of your surroundings than becoming mediator, a messenger between two warring households. This is what it feels like being the child of low-income divorced parents. Managing relationships between parents my became a chore, but it taught me how to communicate in the presence of complicated dynamics. Constantly traveling between households, especially when both of my parents moved so often, taught me the value of impermanence. Learning to let go of my surroundings and finding kindness and community in a new setting has been especially valuable as I've gone to college. With my communication skills and community-oriented mindset, I plan to use my past experiences to build a more empathetic and open-minded society. With my current fields of study being anthropology and art, my anthropological skills will give me the research tools necessary to understand the disconnect present in the world, especially concerning issues like health discrimination, global warming, and the expanding wealth gap. In relation to this, my artistic skills and knowledge will give me the ability to communicate these issues through curating existing artworks and making my own art pieces. I am actively engaged in this pursuit through my educational involvement and have committing myself to two majors, art and anthropology, that I think will further my goals. As I practice expanding my artistic skills through classes and in my free time, I have also began exploring opportunities to strengthen my curation skills. I plan to utilize my summer by applying for internships at museums where I can strengthen my understanding of art history, curating, and archival studies. Through these efforts and my continuous self-improvement and involvement in my community, I know that the empathetic communities that I wish to form are just within reach.

I believe the old saying "as above, so below" applies to all aspects of life. As humanity explores more of the universe, we discover more similarities between our world and the known universe every day. The similar appearance of the cosmic web to brain cells, mitosis and the death of stars, and double helix nebula compared to DNA are all eerily similar and lead us to wonder how related our world is to that of space and why. Understanding the nature of our universe is so important because it takes humanity a few steps closer to understanding what we are.  Humanity has only recently understood the importance of energy, but religions and spiritual practices have been teaching about energy for millennia. By understanding how energy flows throughout the universe, we can see how that energy flows through us. We could apply spiritual and scientific practices to comprehend how the vibrations of everything around and within us, including our food, music, thoughts, speech, and environment, affect our capabilities. Though the idea of vibrations is often dismissed as a mystical pseudoscience, the power of the mind is something that cannot be denied. The idea of manifestation, the law of attraction, and the law of assumption are other things that are criticized, yet their roots lie in their communication with the universe. The idea of manifestation is refuted, while things like the placebo effect are widely accepted as mere feats of human imagination. It is critical to approach the human mind with a scientific and spiritual perspective, just like the question of the universe, because you cannot fully explain it without recognizing both. By using this lens to understand the universe, we can understand how its communication with us may influence creation in practices like manifestation.  The theme of energy does not only apply to its effect on humans directly but how we interact with our world. In the last few hundred years, humans have emphasized the importance of utilizing energy to organize our daily lives. Almost everything we do in the modern era requires some form of energy, from cooking and growing food, transportation, medical needs, entertainment, and supplying the world with clothes. With this level of energy dependence and the rising need to develop sustainable sources of it, humanity must understand the universal energy systems that can be harnessed. To employ this, I think it would be valuable to consider the movement of energy of things we don’t usually believe we can harness, like sound, vibration, and electromagnetism across space.  Understanding the nature of the universe is intrinsic to mankind's future ventures. Now that humanity is discovering that laws like gravity may not have the same application throughout the known universe, and the four fundamental forces we know now may be incorrect, this will impact how we conduct our science. If we continue to develop more in-depth ideas about the laws of our universe, we may be able to alter or adapt to them to make survival and space exploration more probable. To do this, people must continue to gather as much information about the known universe as possible. We can gather more information with telescopes like the James Webb hurtling through the stars. It is necessary to send more observational technology in all directions of the universe to continue to amass data.

Being a double minority from a single-parent, low-income household, means that I have been able to witness firsthand how unfair society is to certain groups of people. This coincides with seeing how easily many of the issues in low-income and minority communities are constantly ignored and led me to want to pursue a career that will address these issues. For the next four years I plan to double major in anthropology and art, a combination that I know will allow me to connect and strengthen two of my greatest skillsets in a way that can help others. I have always had a passion for creativity and have used art as a way to connect with others. Similarly, my desire to learn about history and culture has always been what has connected me to other people. I feel that by continuing to learn through the lens of an anthropologist, which will allow me to observe not just how but why certain disparities occur, I can understand how to help many communities. My ability to pursue art will allow me to hone my skills in a way that will allow me to effectively communicate messages in a way that can reach many people at once. Issues like global warming, income inequality, mental health, and stigmatization under the law are issues that have voices that can be amplified when addressed and spread through an artistic language that everyone can understand. While I want to use art to address anthropological issues that affect the global community, I also want to engage in research related to cultural deterioration and sustainable environmental practices. Anthropologists, because of their research, are constantly gaining more information on more sustainable practices in industries like farming that can better preserve the quality of the land and improve wildlife. Incorporating practices like these into the agricultural industry, as well as modified versions into urban areas can create more eco-friendly mechanisms that serve the environment instead of destroying it. These changes as well as those like increasing use of technology like AI to regain the knowledge of dead and dying cultures is something that I want to advocate for. In the first semester of my higher education, I have learned a great deal about anthropology and art that lets me know that I am on the right path. The staff who have a special passion for what they teach have encouraged my ideas and introduced me to opportunities that will allow me to pursue my plans. Amassing as much as I can to put towards my education so that I can stay in such a place that fuels my passions is just as important as the end goal since no journey is completed alone. With this scholarship I hope to pursue a dream that will unlock the gates that will allow others to pursue theirs.

Growing up in an urban area, I found it familiar to see litter rolling in the streets and fume clouds above the highway. Everyone else did because no one cared enough to talk about it. I find that this experience is what pushed me towards a career path that focuses on people's interactions with the environment. All of the solutions in the world can exist for climate change but never take place because people don't care, which I will seek to fix in my studies. My desire to help the environment in a way that is focused on people's interaction with it has led to a passion for anthropology. I envision positively impacting my future profession by introducing anthropologists to people of different disciplines to solve more issues. Anthropologists usually work in research and give what they know to those who need the research to invent new technology. The world would benefit from more communication between people who specialize in understanding what people need and those who know how to create solutions. I also think the anthropology field could benefit from more technology. With technology like AI becoming more popular, anthropologists can use it to trace past civilizations and recover the knowledge of cultures lost to modernization. It can also be used to imagine ways to incorporate environmentally safe practices into modern life. Overall, my past experiences and hopes for the future excite me to pursue a career in anthropology. One of the significant problems I plan to address with my knowledge is global warming. Despite its severity, a substantial component of the lack of change regarding global warming is the lack of public empathy. Although the issue gets coverage when laws that would affect climate change are debated and in the heat of natural disasters, there is a lack of knowledge about its unseen effects and the solutions that people could work towards as a society. Using my environmental anthropologist skillset, I can better understand the relationship between people and their environment and innovate efficient solutions to issues by helping people understand and care about their local environment. My passion for communicating with others about issues that affect global communities has led me to pursue a second major in art. Through my art I hope to encourage discussions about connectivity and environmental awareness, as well as personal wellness. Mental health was something that I struggled with in the past, but it has continued to inspire my art. By sharing my experiences, I will create a platform for people who have faced similar struggles. I plan to be a part of these discussions and encourage people to open up so that we can continue erasing stigmas about mental health and the generational trauma that often surrounds many mental health issues. Though much of my art has been inspired by my mental struggle, the hardships I've witnessed within my community, like the unfair treatment of African American women within the healthcare system and the unequal opportunities presented in underprivileged communities, is something that is often expressed in my works and something that I hope to bring attention to improve my community. Overall, my desire to help others has led me to pursue multiple passions that I know will benefit my community and many others in the long run.

Although people in my family have histories of anxiety and panic attacks, it didn't make it any easier to confront my own problems. Unfortunately, I adopted the habit of keeping my mental health to myself and struggled with anxiety throughout my childhood. The nervousness I experienced when talking to others, even those close to me, led me to miss many opportunities because I was too afraid to speak and hindered me from having strong bonds with others. This led me to be closed off about other mental health issues that I developed later, like the depression I struggled with throughout middle and high school. Once I realized how bad it had become, I had to rework my entire thought process—refuting the negative, habitual thought pattern that became dominant with more positive thoughts. This experience, however awful, taught me the importance of using your thoughts in a way that will benefit you. As I entered a more positive mental state, everything about my life seemed to improve because the way I viewed the world changed. Maintaining positive thoughts and habits improved my view of myself as well. I became more confident in my abilities and willed myself to chase opportunities I'd previously been too afraid to. Even though my mental health struggles had such a negative impact on me I think that they have, in some ways, caused me to become a better friend. Because I suffered so long in silence with my mental health, I find myself being more observant of those around me. My observation comes from the fact that there can be subtle signs of internal conflict that aren't so obvious. By doing this I hope that even if my friends don't know how to address their issues, I can be there for them if they need me. I think in many ways this has also allowed me to release the judgmental attitude that I held onto in the past. I realize now that we have no clue what people are dealing with in their everyday lives. Because of this, I now believe that it is important to give grace to others when they may need it and forgive them for how they may act when they aren't at their best. I also hope to encourage discussions about wellness through my art and writing. As previously mentioned, mental health was something that I struggled with in the past, but it has continued to inspire my art and writing. By sharing my experiences through my creative outlets, I plan to create a platform for people who have faced similar struggles. I plan to be a part of these discussions and encourage people to open up so that we can continue erasing stigmas about mental health and the generational trauma that often surrounds many mental health issues. Though much of my art has been inspired by my mental struggle, the hardships I've witnessed within my community, like the unfair treatment of African American women within the healthcare system and the unequal opportunities presented in underprivileged communities, is something that is often expressed in my works and something that I hope to bring attention to improve my community.

Like most people in my generation, I found that the media was an unavoidable part of my childhood. I was quickly introduced to every major world problem through the news and even shows I enjoyed, like "Planet Earth," which displayed global habitat destruction. My sensitivity as a child played a part in how much I care about these issues now and how I try to serve my community. Since I started high school, I've become a youth mentor at Phoenix Academy. Though a significant part of my role is helping the children at the academy, I have also taken it upon myself to introduce them to the importance of maintaining nature, whether in local forests or the backyard. Mental wellness has become an essential issue for me in recent years as it is something that I used to struggle with. Since overcoming the anxiety that I developed as a child, I have become a youth mentor to make children aware of their mental health at a young age so that it becomes easier to manage. Though I am now some distance away from home and am no longer able to serve as a youth mentor at home, I am glad to continue being a guide for young children in the local community that I have found myself in. The encouraging attitude of the university towards community service makes it easy for me to engage in community service. I also hope to create safe spaces for my peers that allow for a breath of fresh air away from the bustle of college. Within these spaces, we could build an understanding community that can lean on each other in times of distress. I hope to continue embodying my care towards my community through my passions. It is my goal to encourage discussions about wellness through my art and writing. As previously mentioned, mental health was something that I struggled with in the past, but it has continued to inspire my art and writing. By sharing my experiences, I will create a platform for people who have faced similar struggles. I plan to be a part of these discussions and encourage people to open up so that we can continue erasing stigmas about mental health and the generational trauma that often surrounds many mental health issues. Though much of my art has been inspired by my mental struggle, the hardships I've witnessed within my community, like the unfair treatment of African American women within the healthcare system and the unequal opportunities presented in underprivileged communities, is something that is often expressed in my works and something that I hope to bring attention to improve my community.

My mother has always been a supporting pillar in my life, and it was no different when it came time for me to pursue my college education. From the beginning she helped me tour schools that I was interested in. When I finally decided on my dream school she made sure we both had all of the information necessary to make the application process easier. We toured the school often and were always involved in scholarship events that the school was hosting. Since then we have been completing scholarships and searching for resources together. Another person that I have often leaned on is my step-mother. She has also been a great resource in finding scholarship opportunities and preparing me for college. Since she has had experience in many different educational environments, I have been able to lean on her to understand the right steps that I need to be taking while in school to make the most out of my experience. Although gaining financial resources through my mother has been key to my success, my step-mothers guidance on how to navigate academically and socially through school has been key in maintaining academic success. Together we have found ways to continue striving excellence by searching for internships and job opportunities in my field of interest so that I can continue to explore career opportunities. My grandmother is another integral part of my life, especially now that I have entered my secondary education. I have been able to utilize my grandmother's well connections and resources to find scholarships in places me, my mother, nor my stepmother would've thought to look. She has been a source of emotional support and has aided me in acquiring my needs for school. She helped me get my family involved in my efforts to raise money towards pursuing my education. Overall, these three women have been my role models and have pushed me to new heights to achieve and exceed my educational goals. Currently, we still work together to acquire scholarships to put towards my next three years of school, as well as my potential grad school costs. I constantly seek and receive advice that helps me utilize the resources available to me while I'm in school. The emotional support that I receive has been essential. Without the stability that these women provide me it would be difficult to continuously reach the standard of excellence that I hold for myself regarding my education. This is the very standard that I hope to maintain and exceed as I continue to ascertain knowledge.

In order to help BIPOC women it is necessary to engage with and understand our communities. As an anthropologist I will have an understanding of how to participate and observe communities in a way that addresses systemic problems and finds ways to fix them. With my anthropology degree and my understanding of the black community due to the fact that I grew up in it I will have an advantage in the issues I research which will allow me to have a greater understanding of issues. What I'm concerned with the most is the mental health challenges that black women face and how our voices are discounted in the political and medical arena. I will likely do research on these topics through a combination of participant observation and surveys. By engaging closely with my community and collecting data on the issues I can display the problems in a way that can be presented to the public and the institutions that contribute to detrimental practices to BIPOC women to bring about change. By bringing information to the general public, especially to people who are affected by these issues, it should create a general consensus that change is a necessity. If this happens, then the information being presented to contributing institutions should make efforts of transformation easier. Because of my interest in the environment and its effect on wellness, I also consider the environmental impact on BIPOC communities and their culture, especially those in the Caribbean. With more communities destroyed by natural disasters each year, it is vital to be able to recover what is lost during those horrible times. By using emerging technology like AI, I believe that it is possible to rebuild and replicate the heritage of destroyed communities and begin imagining new ways to rebuild them that allow people to interact better with their environment. Using technology to rebuild communities is something that I want to research and believe that it will introduce innovation and cultural preservation, ultimately improving the conditions and well-being of communities worldwide. As an anthropologist I will get the opportunity to interact with people in many different fields. Through these interactions I hope to get a better understanding of how everyone can contribute to activism. For example, healthcare workers will always be able to ensure that BIPOC women are getting the help that they need, but career philanthropists and influencers will always be able to draw more attention to the issue. I hope that as an anthropologist I will be able to bring these aspects together to raise awareness.

In a world that is exceedingly divided and distracted it should be a priority to find ways to bring people together. In a world where many discussions are shallow and superficial, encouraging deep conversation, not just talking, is crucial. Having these sincere, community building conversations can be encouraged by art, which is why I want to pursue it. I have always felt a magnetic pull towards anything that allows me to be creative, especially visual arts. The ability of visual works to create thought provoking pieces that encourage meaningful conversations that challenge our current ways of thinking encourages personal and community growth. Not only this, but it speaks to the experiences of people that can give them an outlet among others who may find the same meaning in their favorite works. This ability to bring people together and lead them to think differently is why I want to pursue fine arts. One of my favorite sayings about art is that it should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable. I hope to abide by this saying by addressing issues that I feel passionately about, like social injustice, loss of cultural heritage, and global warming. These are things that I feel can be expressed through many mediums and can help advance the discussion and activism towards these issues. With these topics specifically I hope to involve everyone in issues that are often gatekept or sidelined by officials who don't want to discuss them in order to evoke change. I also hope to encourage conversations about mental health, something that I have struggled with in the past. With so many people still unaware of their familial trauma and unhealed childhood wounds I hope that it is a topic that can be more openly discussed in the future with the encouragement of the arts. I hope to encourage such revelations through art that is engaging. Though I still have a lot to learn and am still exploring my art style, I know that a unique and meaningful style is a key detail in drawing people closer. I also know that accessibility is key to encouraging discussion. Although I hope to become a fine artist, I am also aware of how exclusive the art community can be. I hope to encourage conversation by making my art as accessible as possible so that people from many places with differing experiences can contribute their distinctive insight. By doing this I hope to not only encourage conversation between people but increase my contact with those who have had experiences that I may not be familiar with. In doing this I hope to improve my art by understanding and being able to accurately portray circumstances that I have never been in, if only to help others feel recognized.

In a world that is exceedingly divided and distracted it should be a priority to find ways to bring people together. In a world where many discussions are shallow and superficial encouraging deep conversation, not just talking, is crucial. Having these sincere, community building conversations can be encouraged by art and writing, which is what I want to pursue. I have always felt a magnetic pull towards anything that allows me to be creative, especially visual arts and literature. The ability of visual and written works to create thought provoking pieces that encourage meaningful conversations that challenge our current ways of thinking encourages personal and community growth. Not only this, but it speaks to the experiences of people that can give them an outlet among others who may find the same meaning in their favorite works. This ability to bring people together and lead them to think differently is why I want to pursue fine arts and creative writing. Issues that I feel passionately about, like social injustice and global warming, are things that I feel can be expressed through both mediums and can help advance the discussion and activism towards both. The classes at my university have already allowed me to continue to pursue my dream, as well as the experienced faculty that I have come into contact with. To accomplish my goal of becoming a renowned author and artist, I have also challenged myself with writing and drawing every day to improve my skill, even if only for a short time. Through my talents, practice, and education I hope to advance to help global communities through my art and writing.

I am not someone who's been involved in athletics all my life. I hadn't played softball for nearly as long as many of the girls on my team, but because of this I think that the lessons I learned were starker. Because I only started playing in high school and had been playing with girls who'd been playing since they were young, I learned quickly not to fall into comparison traps. This has helped me as I've begun college because of the competitiveness and talent that every student seems to have. With each student having a different load that they are able to with schoolwork, outside jobs, clubs, hobbies, and a social life I have been able to understand what works best for me, so I don't overwork myself instead of trying to keep up with others. Another lesson that I had to learn quickly was the importance of communication. There was never of shortage of communication within the infield and outfield and between the two, which I was able to witness both sides of since I played both. I have carried this lesson with me into college by remembering to communicate with all facets of the universe. I have found the importance in communicating with other students, as well as faculty who know many things that I don't, and counselors who better understand the inner workings of the school. Outside of communicating about my needs I also learned the importance of feedback. Relying on people who have more experience, then and now had been an important part of my growth. Considering that I had to learn to play with those with more experience than me, consistency was a key component of my learning. Being able to compete on anywhere near the same level as my teammates took a level of consistency that I never experienced before. Every skill I needed to learn took extensive practice and attention to learn and maintain. Now that I am in college my schedule and courses are something that I have had to adjust to. I have quickly realized that being consistent in my work and studies is the only way for me to perform my best. While these skills have been very useful, playing sports also taught me the importance of emotional detachment. When you make a mistake during a game or even practice it is incredibly easy to fall into the habit of beating yourself up over a mistake, which only leads to more mistakes. I learned that it is best to let things go and focus on the present moment. This has helped me now by encouraging me to let go of past moments where I didn't perform the best or I wasn't as productive as I wanted to be so that I can do my best now.

My top three Billie Eilish songs are "Your Power", "TV", and "goodbye". All of these songs have a slow, melancholic sound that I enjoy in most of the music that I listen to, but the lyrics are what truly makes these songs stand out to me. "Your Power" is my favorite Billie song because of the story it tells about how people in positions of power abuse their authority. This song tells a story that many people, especially women, have become familiar with through personal experience or through others. The message is even more powerful because it talks about the dilemma from the position of the abuser and the abused so that the listener can come to understand the fragility that exists on both sides. It talks about this while directly telling the audience, "Try not to abuse your power" to acknowledge the power that all people have and that they need to use it correctly. Another one of my favorite songs is "TV" because of the conversational aspect that it has. While "TV" tells a story similar to the way that "Your Power" does, "TV" feels more random in what it discusses, making the song feel more natural. This randomness serves the overall purpose of the song by addressing Billie's insecurities, self-destruction, and the complexities of the world around her. One aspect in particular that I love about the song is during the outro when she repeats "maybe I'm the problem." Despite the fact that the crowd joins her in this part of the song, the distance and the echo still give it the feeling of loneliness. I believe this is meant to mimic feeling alone in a room no matter who is around you. Her naturalness in her observations and portrayal of these aspects throughout the song is why I think this song is so well composed and why I resonate with it so deeply. Although it is one of her lesser-known songs, "goodbye" is also one of my favorites. Those who know it sometimes consider it a simple mashup of all of the songs from "WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO?", but it is so much more than that. Her choice to include pieces of every song is a reflection on her growth. As the name and somber instrumental suggests though, it is also a difficult release. Every lyric that she chose from each song was intention. Starting off with "please don't leave me" and continuing with lyrics with feelings of desperation until the final lyric "I'm the bad guy." This combination of lyrics tells the story of someone who is desperately trying to hold on to something they don't want to let go of. The feeling that the song creates and the fact that she was able to use snippets from her other songs to create something new makes this one of my favorites.

Mental wellness has become an essential issue for me in recent years as it is something that I used to struggle with. Since overcoming the anxiety that I developed as a child, I have become a youth mentor to make children aware of their mental health at a young age so that it becomes easier to manage. Though I will be some distance away from my home and will no longer be able to be a youth mentor for my organization, I hope to continue being a guide for young children in whichever community I make myself at home in while in college. I also hope to create safe spaces for my peers that allow for a breath of fresh air away from the bustle of college. Within these spaces, we could build an understanding community that can lean on each other in times of distress. My ability to overcome obstacles and use what I've learned to help others while adjusting to the environment I'm in is what makes me capable of being a leader. While in college I plan to study anthropology. This is typically known as the study of culture, but because of my interest in the environment and its effect on wellness, I also consider the environmental impact on communities and their culture. With more communities destroyed by natural disasters each year, it is vital to be able to recover what is lost during those horrible times. By using emerging technology like AI, I believe that it is possible to rebuild and replicate the heritage of destroyed communities and begin imagining new ways to rebuild them that allow people to interact better with their environment. Using technology to rebuild communities is something that I want to research and believe that it will introduce innovation and cultural preservation, ultimately improving the conditions and well-being of communities worldwide. My ability to plan for future events and how I may help community also makes me a leader. As a self-taught artist, I aspire to tell stories through my art that others can connect to. Much of my current art and the art I plan to make in the future revolves around mental health issues that I've struggled with in the past, like anxiety and depression. The artwork I plan to make now has themes related to generational trauma, something that all communities suffer from. I hope to create a platform to discuss mental health and inform others about it by addressing these issues in my artwork. My ability to understand the needs of my community and create a healthy space where such topics can be discussed is one of my favorite qualities of leadership, as I believe it is the foundation for improvement.

The staple pop sound and upbeat tone of Charli XCX is something that I enjoy. However, the introspective lyrics and the slower melody of "I might say something stupid" had led to it being my favorite song on "brat". The fact that she still keeps the autotune in her voice but shifts the music into a minor key ensures that it still has her sound with a different feeling. The song is also the shortest on the album, which reinforces the idea that goes along with it; that she is having a short battle with herself about her place in the world. The lack of a clear rhyme scheme paints a vivid picture that she is somewhere she doesn't belong and is suddenly questioning herself, like all of her thoughts are suddenly rushing out. The way she executes the song has led to it being my favorite as much as my ability to relate to it has. I feel like this song perfectly captures moments of anxiety that I've dealt with in the past. The sense of isolation, self-doubt, and not being enough is something that resonates with me. Her ability to show these emotions, although short and simple, pairs well with her repetition of the phrase "I go so cold". This combination of straightforwardness and metaphor allows me to truly feel what she does and resurfaces memories where I've felt the same. Overall, her ability to tell a clear story that draws emotion out of me is why "I might say something stupid" is my favorite song.

Just because it's the most obvious pick doesn't mean it isn't the best. Simone Biles, the queen of gymnastics, is my favorite athlete to cheer for on team USA because of the hurdles that she faces and how she continues to raise the bar. As the oldest gymnast on team USA, currently over 10 years older than the youngest member, she was expected to retire years ago. However, she hasn't let her age stop her from competing or being the best. She is currently the world's most decorated gymnast, with skills named after her in multiple events that tally up to five total skills stamped with her name. She continues to strive for greatness as she prepares to get another skill named after her in this year's Olympics. I enjoy cheering her on for her commitment to taking care of herself as much as she does her routines. When she withdrew from a gold medal event in the 2020 Olympics, she received a grand amount of criticism and backlash, which she probably expected. Despite what she knew would likely happen when she stepped down, she made sure to prioritize her health over any award she could have received. This ability to advocate for her health has not only made me respect her as a gymnast, but as a person who is worthy to be a role model for the current generations.

Growing up in an urban area, I found it familiar to see litter rolling in the streets and fume clouds above the highway. Everyone else did because no one cared enough to talk about it. I find that this experience is what pushed me towards a career path that focuses on people's interactions with the environment. All of the solutions in the world can exist for climate change but never take place because people don't care, which I will seek to fix in my studies. Currently, I use AI tools to compress the research I find about people's current interactions with the environment and how they can be improved. I envision positively impacting my future profession by introducing anthropologists to people of different disciplines to solve more issues. Anthropologists usually work in research and give what they know to those who need the research to invent new technology. The world would benefit from more communication between people who specialize in understanding what people need and those who know how to create solutions. I also think the anthropology field could benefit from more technology. With technology like AI becoming more popular, anthropologists can use it to trace past civilizations and recreate cultures lost to modernization. It can also be used to imagine ways to incorporate environmentally safe practices into modern life. Overall, my past experiences and hopes for the future excite me to pursue a career in anthropology. Outside of my interest in anthropology, I am also interested in the arts. As a self-taught artist, I aspire to tell stories through my art that others can connect to. Much of my current art and the art I plan to make in the future revolves around mental health issues that I've struggled with in the past, like anxiety and depression. The artwork I plan to make now has themes related to generational trauma, something that all communities suffer from. I hope to create a platform to discuss mental health and inform others about it by addressing these issues in my artwork. I use technology to help me in this scenario through the use of AI. Though I generally disagree with using AI as an art form, as it discredits artists who have to do physical work, I recognize its uses as a reference to help artists improve their works. Using AI to ideate for works like concept art that I do for characters and paintings makes my creative process smoother. By taking aspects that I like and recreating it my way instead of claiming the work that the AI created, AI has become something I find beneficial to artists and not just a cold copy of our skills.

Growing up in an urban area, I found it familiar to see litter rolling in the streets and fume clouds above the highway. Everyone else did because no one cared enough to talk about it. I find that this experience is what pushed me towards a career path that focuses on people's interactions with the environment. All of the solutions in the world can exist for climate change but never take place because people don't care, which I will seek to fix in my studies. This scholarship can help me pursue these goals by making it easier for me to engage in an environment that encourages exploration through the university of my choice and ensuring that I can spend more time doing research than I do paying off debt. I have always been interested in global warming, so environmental anthropology was an easy choice. By pursuing this career path, I will be able to investigate humanity's interactions with nature and seek solutions that will allow more people to contribute to environmental safety. My deep interest in history has also led to my interest in anthropology, as it will allow me to look at history, past and present, through a new lens. My deep analytical and critical thinking skills would make me an excellent fit for a career in anthropology. When considering careers in the past that would allow me to engage in environmental research, I often considered biology or ecological science, but I frequently thought through a more human-focused perspective instead of one based on hard science. My already strong observation skills of people and their involvement can only be strengthened by my field of study and will aid me in my future goals. I envision positively impacting my future profession by introducing anthropologists to people of different disciplines to solve more issues. Anthropologists usually work in research and give what they know to those who need the research to invent new technology. The world would benefit from more communication between people who specialize in understanding what people need and those who know how to create solutions. I also think the anthropology field could benefit from more technology. With technology like AI becoming more popular, anthropologists can use it to trace past civilizations and recreate cultures lost to modernization. It can also be used to imagine ways to incorporate environmentally safe practices into modern life. Overall, my past experiences and hopes for the future excite me to pursue a career in anthropology.

I loved academics as a child. Even more so, I loved how fast I could finish more work so that I had time to draw. I've loved art for a long time, and in the beginning the ability it gave me to see myself as someone amazing is what drew me to it. I loved shows like 'Winx Club' and the animated 'Batman' series that had unique and stylized character designs. The ability to create characters that I could see myself in as much as I could see them in these amazing worlds kept me intrigued in art for a long time. My current interest in art has stemmed from the same place that allows me to see myself in my art. My love of art no longer stems from escapism or a need to see myself somewhere else, but a desire to invite other people in. There are many themes in society that I believe are essential to discuss in order to advance society. Issues of mental health, familial trauma, and power imbalances in the world are important to me because I've observed many times over the course of my life despite how little I've lived. My love of art comes from expressing these issues in ways that are not just beautiful but encourage people to dissect their own lives and discern how these topics may play a part in them. Though I love classical works and their traditional approaches to art, modern artists are some of my greatest inspirations. One of my favorite artists is Patrick Ganas. Although he is a digital artist, a medium that I don't enjoy working with very much, his art style is something that I study to improve my work. As a character designer, his ability to create distinctive characters that are expressive and can tell their own stories in one picture is something that I find impressive. His cartoonish designs often look like something out of a video game, featuring a variety of shapes and textures with distinctive planes that make the characters easy to process. These features make him one of my favorites and someone that pushes me to try new things within the mediums that I work with. Another one of my favorite artists is the sculptor Ann Carrington is known for her creative approaches to her craft. Instead of using traditional mediums like clay or metal she uses miscellaneous items in a methodical way to create beautiful works. Her use of buttons, utensils, and even cans to create work has encouraged me to expand my creativity and explore unconventional artistic methods.

Considering how much gaming technology has changed in the last 20 years alone, I take pride in the fact that my first memories of gaming involve a little blue Wii. It was my family's first console when I was a child, and has been with us since. Since it's been with us, it has provided a way for a low-income family who may not always have the time or means to plan for ways to spend time together to be still able to bond. Even though my family has separated, video games are still a staple in how we enjoy each other's company. Video games have been a way for me to connect with my family and the world around me. I've played games since I was young, but I didn't start watching gameplay until 2020 when it felt like the world shut down, and I was more disconnected than ever. With a PlayStation 4 sitting broken in my living room, one of my primary sources of connection and joy seemingly evaporated. It was when I found gameplay videos of some of my now favorite streamers that I was once again able to feel connected. I could still enjoy games that I knew I would have enjoyed playing, and I knew that I would have been too scared to play myself. Aside from connecting me with some of the games I lost, video games have also allowed me to connect with a highly creative community. Some of my favorite games have so much lore embedded into their stories, like "Little Nightmares" and "Poppy Playtime." it allows the fanbase to speculate on the backstory and continuation of the game. Though I've heard that these stories are "just games," it has allowed me to engage in conversations and expand my creativity as a storyteller. In many ways, video games have allowed me to think further outside the box when writing my stories. Video games are undoubtedly one of the most visually appealing sources of media at present. The ability to create realistic or stylized cartoon-style games has made the visuals diverse and engaging. This ability to view many different styles has challenged me as an artist to experiment with the art of various designs and techniques to get distinctive effects. It has also challenged me to see my art from a different perspective. Since games are especially great at using visuals to aid their stories, I have learned from this and allowed every aspect of my creation to feed into a larger story. Video games have allowed me to feel a greater sense of connection and creativity.

Most of my childhood memories of entering a new situation involve trying to find someone familiar. I hated being around people I didn't know and was dubbed "shy." It wasn't until I reached high school that I realized my frequent nervousness hindered my everyday life and kept me from pursuing my goals. Throughout middle and high school, there were clubs I wanted to join but never could because I was scared to talk to teachers I didn't know and peers I thought were friendly but never spoke to because I was afraid of what they would think of me. I grew distant from friends because I didn't want to seem like a burden for talking too much. Though my anxiety caused me to miss a lot of opportunities during my academic career, I was able to learn a lot from it. My anxiety often caused me to overanalyze people's behavior, which led me into a spiral of doubt. Since confronting and correcting my anxiety, I have been able to heighten my observation skills and use them to benefit me. I am still able to analyze those around me. Still, instead of getting nervous and reading too much into people's behavior, I can use it to maneuver easily in social situations. Overcoming my anxiety has also taught me to be more aware of my thoughts. When trying to erase thought cycles that would cause me to spiral, it became easier to recognize and alter thought patterns to work in my favor. Changing thought patterns has helped me not only overcome my anxiety but also turn situations into those that would benefit me. Instead of seeing a situation as unfavorable, I can direct my mind to something that is going well or that I could use to become more confident and comfortable. From this experience, I also learned that you have to continue to grow as a person. While recovering, there were periods where I considered my mental state better, but I still had recurring periods where I felt like a failure. It allowed me to realize that while you are improving, improvement is never indeed done. This realization encouraged me to live from moment to moment. The source of anxiety, for me at least, is a constant persistence in either past or future situations that, regardless of their standing in time, do not exist. Allowing myself to be present and not worry about how I will be perceived at any given moment has allowed me to be more confident and enjoy each moment more. Over time, I know that this view may also change, but change is something I've found myself more willing to accept.

Growing up in an urban area, I found it familiar to see litter rolling in the streets and fume clouds above the highway. Everyone else did because no one cared enough to talk about it. I find that this experience is what pushed me towards a career path that focuses on people's interactions with the environment. All of the solutions in the world can exist for climate change but never take place because people don't care, which I will seek to fix in my studies. Though many of my goals are academic and require me to engage in traditional academia, I also find that using my creativity is an excellent avenue for serving those around me. As a self-taught artist, I aspire to tell stories through my art that others can connect to. Much of my current art and the art I plan to make in the future revolves around mental health issues that I've struggled with in the past, like anxiety and depression. Creating art has allowed me to encourage discussions with those around me about issues that are usually considered taboo. Using this artwork has allowed those in my community to change negative stigmas surrounding mental health actively. The artwork I plan to make now has themes related to generational trauma, something that all communities suffer from. I hope to create a platform to discuss mental health and inform others about it by addressing these issues in my artwork. Though much of my art has been inspired by my mental struggle, the hardships I've witnessed within my community, like the unfair treatment of African American women within the healthcare system and the unequal opportunities presented in underprivileged communities, is something that is often expressed in my works and something that I hope to bring attention to improve my community. My goal of helping my community is not something I will see in the distant future. Since I started high school, I've become a youth mentor at Phoenix Academy. Though a significant part of my role is helping the children at the academy, I have also taken it upon myself to introduce them to the importance of maintaining nature, whether in local forests or the backyard. Since I struggled with mental health so young, I have also tried to teach the children that I engage with about mental health in a way that is easy to understand. Earning this scholarship wouldn't be starting a new path but expanding an existing road toward helping communities.

Mental wellness has become an essential issue for me in recent years as it is something that I used to struggle with. Though overcoming the anxiety that I developed as a child is a great accomplishment, becoming a youth mentor to make children aware of their mental health at a young age so that it becomes easier to maintain is what I consider my most outstanding achievement. Though I will be some distance away from my home and will no longer be able to be a youth mentor for my organization, I hope to continue being a guide for young children in whichever community I make myself at home in while in college. I also hope to create safe spaces for my peers that allow for a breath of fresh air away from the bustle of college. Within these spaces, we could build an understanding community that can lean on each other in distress. Though a significant part of my role is helping the children at the academy learn about mental health, I have also taken it upon myself to introduce them to the importance of maintaining nature, whether in local forests or the backyard. Having the opportunity to teach others about issues I feel are detrimental to the world in a way that can expand the worldview of others and encourage them to create change, even in small ways, has taught me how much I enjoy and need to be a part of conversations that create change. One of the significant problems I plan to address in the future with my knowledge is global warming. Despite its severity, a substantial component of the lack of change regarding global warming is the lack of public empathy. Although the issue gets coverage when laws that would affect climate change are debated and in the heat of natural disasters, there is a lack of knowledge about its unseen effects and the solutions that people could work towards as a society. Using the skillset I plan to gain as an anthropologist; I can better understand the relationship between people and their environment and innovate efficient solutions to issues. I also want to use various methods to communicate these issues to a broad audience. As a self-taught artist, I aspire to tell stories through my art that others can connect to. Much of my current art and the art I plan to make in the future revolves around mental health issues that I've struggled with in the past, like anxiety and depression. The artwork I plan to make now has themes related to generational trauma, something that all communities suffer from. I hope to create a platform to discuss mental health and inform others about it by addressing these issues in my artwork.

Like most people in my generation, I found that the media was an unavoidable part of my childhood. I was quickly introduced to every major world problem through the news and even shows I enjoyed, like "Planet Earth," which displayed global habitat destruction. My sensitivity as a child played a part in how much I care about these issues now and how I try to serve my community. Since I started high school, I've become a youth mentor at Phoenix Academy. Though a significant part of my role is helping the children at the academy, I have also taken it upon myself to introduce them to the importance of maintaining nature, whether in local forests or the backyard. Regarding my educational goals, I plan to study anthropology. This scholarship will make it easier for me to engage in my field of study and focus on researching the problems I wish to help solve. Though I have considered other science fields like engineering and chemical engineering, anthropology allows for necessary research regarding science and the public's reaction and relationship with the subject. These skills will allow me to connect the public with issues they generally feel disconnected from, making them empathize with the problem while connecting them with the facts to bring more significant change. I can further my education by specializing in environmental anthropology to broaden my understanding of the issues I wish to solve. I hope to research how emerging technology can rebuild all aspects of communities using AI, including infrastructure, how languages sound, and artifacts that may have been destroyed. An essential part of being an anthropologist in the modern world is being able to use technology to solve contemporary problems, a concept that is slowly being introduced that I wish to push further within the community. Using modern technology will aid declining cultures and make people more open as they are exposed to more diverse people. Though this scholarship will help expand my anthropologist skillset, it will also help develop my art skills. As a self-taught artist, I aspire to tell stories through my art that others can connect to. Not only can I spread my opinions of global issues through research, but through art as well. I would also make art that revolves around mental health issues that I've struggled with in the past, like anxiety and depression. The artwork I plan to make now has themes related to generational trauma, something that all communities suffer from. I hope to create a platform to discuss mental health and inform others about it by addressing these issues in my artwork. Overall, this scholarship will help me expand my education and contribute to how I can impact the world.

Most of my childhood memories of entering a new situation involve trying to find someone familiar. I hated being around people I didn't know and was dubbed "shy." It wasn't until I reached high school that I realized my frequent nervousness hindered my everyday life and kept me from pursuing my goals. Throughout middle and high school, there were clubs I wanted to join but never could because I was scared to talk to teachers I didn't know and peers I thought were friendly but never spoke to because I was afraid of what they would think of me. I grew distant from friends because I didn't want to seem like a burden for talking too much. Unfortunately, I adopted the habit of keeping my mental health to myself and struggled with anxiety for some time without speaking up. This led me to be closed off about other mental health issues that I developed later, like the depression I struggled with throughout middle and high school. My thoughts were often stuck in a negative spiral that didn't stop but restarted with each new day. Once I realized how bad it had become, I had to rework my entire thought process—refuting the negative, habitual thought pattern that became dominant with more positive thoughts. This experience, however awful, taught me the importance of using your thoughts in a way that will benefit you. As I entered a more positive mental state, everything about my life seemed to improve because I changed how I viewed the world. Maintaining positive thoughts and habits improved my view of myself as well. I became more confident in my abilities and willed myself to chase opportunities I'd previously been too afraid to. Changing thought patterns has helped me not only overcome my anxiety but also turn situations into those that would benefit me. Instead of seeing a situation as unfavorable, I can direct my mind to something that is going well or that I could use to become more confident and comfortable. As a youth mentor, I have worked with younger children to implement healthy mental health habits in younger generations. This duty allows me to help others while reflecting on my well-being and giving advice I wish I could have heard. A piece of advice I feel has helped me and those I have taught is simply this: do it scared. There is no easy way to overcome a fear or do something that gets you outside your comfort zone. Often, when I was struggling with my mental health, I didn't say anything because I feared that no one would understand, even though I knew that those I loved would be there for me. When my negative thoughts became my default way of thinking, breaking the pattern was challenging because even though it was detrimental, it was comfortable. The fear I had because I didn't know how to break the pattern or what I would become when I did hold me back until I did it while scared. Though overcoming adversity can be a scary thing, it is in our nature as people to overcome it.

Mental wellness has become an essential issue for me in recent years as it is something that I used to struggle with. Since overcoming the anxiety that I developed as a child, I have become a youth mentor to make children aware of their mental health at a young age so that it becomes easier to manage. Though I will be some distance away from my home and will no longer be able to be a youth mentor for my organization, I hope to continue being a guide for young children in whichever community I make myself at home in while in college. I also hope to create safe spaces for my peers that allow for a breath of fresh air away from the bustle of college. Within these spaces, we could build an understanding community that can lean on each other in distress. I also hope to encourage discussions about wellness through my art and writing. As previously mentioned, mental health was something that I struggled with in the past, but it has continued to inspire my art and writing. By sharing my experiences, I will create a platform for people who have faced similar struggles. I plan to be a part of these discussions and encourage people to open up so that we can continue erasing stigmas about mental health and the generational trauma that often surrounds many mental health issues. Though much of my art has been inspired by my mental struggle, the hardships I've witnessed within my community, like the unfair treatment of African American women within the healthcare system and the unequal opportunities presented in underprivileged communities, is something that is often expressed in my works and something that I hope to bring attention to improve my community. Though personal wellness is essential, health on a global scale affects us all. With the effects of climate change rapidly increasing, people can interact safely with the environment less and less. In the future, I plan to engage in research that involves observing people's interactions with the environment and finding solutions to encourage people to be more environmentally aware. I believe that by cultivating positive relationships with the environment and inspiring people to take better care of their environment, they will find more joy and beauty in the world around them, both in their interactions and improvements with it. Because of my interest in the environment and its effect on wellness, I also consider the environmental impact on communities and their culture. With more communities destroyed by natural disasters each year, it is vital to be able to recover what is lost during those horrible times. By using emerging technology like AI, it is possible to rebuild and replicate the heritage of destroyed communities and begin imagining new ways to rebuild them that allow people to interact better with their environment. Using technology to rebuild communities will introduce innovation and cultural preservation, ultimately improving the conditions and well-being of communities worldwide.

What I remember most about my childhood was my parents telling me how smart I was, my teachers telling me how smart I was, and how good it felt to have everyone tell me how smart I was. From the time I was enrolled in school, the basis of my identity, what everyone told me, was that I was smart. My other talents, like my love for art and writing, were barely acknowledged as long as I was at the top of my class. When my grades started slipping, the one thing I recognized about myself was no longer there. Since the core of who I thought I was was now gone, my mental health began to slip. I stopped caring as much about what I did outside of school, now believing I was a failure because I wasn't meeting my parents' expectations. For a few years, I only knew how to navigate the situation by trying to improve my grades and restore who I thought I was, which only resulted in a cycle of negative thoughts about myself. That led me into a depression that I didn't know how to talk about because I felt like I couldn't. I never had a problem being the intelligent kid everyone expected before, so it shouldn't be a problem now. This thought process kept me from telling anyone in my family. For a long time, my only support system was my peers, who were also considered gifted and understood the academic pressure of the title. It wasn't until high school that I realized the problem wasn't my lack of academic excellence but my perception of my identity. It wasn't a single moment that motivated me to be a better person, but a series of moments. As a community youth mentor, I often worked with children. In my weekly interactions with young students,, it became clear how easily happiness and fairness, especially to oneself, could be circulated. It was when I started teaching about mental health that I realized I had to be a true example to the children. It took me some time to admit that I'm more than temporary grades and more than my interests. As I saw my value, I also grew to know the value in others. Where my original perception of someone was purely based on their intelligence, I began to see people as more than how they were ranked in school. I allowed myself to be kinder and received more positive output from places I previously considered cold and exhausting. While recovering from such a bad mental state, I realized the importance of the mind. Though we often hear phrases like "mind over matter" and "life is what you make it," as my thoughts became more positive, I truly understood the power of what you say and think. It took me a while to fully convert my thoughts of insecurity to more positive things, but as I did, I learned that changing my perception of myself and the world around me changed everything that happened around me. I realized that if you seek the good in the world and the opportunities that it may hold, they will often find you. From this experience, I also learned that you have to continue to grow as a person. While recovering, there were periods where I considered my mental state better, but I still had recurring periods where I felt like a failure. It allowed me to realize that while you are improving, improvement is never indeed done.

Like most people in my generation, I found that the media was an unavoidable part of my childhood. I was quickly introduced to every major world problem through the news and even shows I enjoyed, like "Planet Earth," which displayed global habitat destruction. My sensitivity as a child played a part in how much I care about these issues now and how I try to serve my community. Since I started high school, I've become a youth mentor at Phoenix Academy. Though a significant part of my role is helping the children at the academy, I have also taken it upon myself to introduce them to the importance of maintaining nature, whether in local forests or the backyard. Regarding my STEM educational goals, I plan to study anthropology. While studying, I plan to engage in community service and study abroad programs that will allow me to understand better the subject and how anthropology can be used to achieve my goals. Though I have considered other science fields like engineering and chemical engineering, anthropology allows for necessary research regarding science and the public's reaction and relationship with the subject. These skills will allow me to connect the public with issues they generally feel disconnected from, making them empathize with the problem while connecting them with the facts to bring more significant change. I can further my education by specializing in environmental anthropology to broaden my understanding of the issues I wish to solve. One of the significant problems I plan to address with my knowledge is global warming. Despite its severity, a substantial component of the lack of change regarding global warming is the lack of public empathy. Although the issue gets coverage when laws that would affect climate change are debated and in the heat of natural disasters, there is a lack of knowledge about its unseen effects and the solutions that people could work towards as a society. Using my environmental anthropologist skillset, I can better understand the relationship between people and their environment and curate a more empathetic response to the environment by the public to encourage widepread efforts to create change. Climate change affects the natural and social environments in areas facing the most severe threats. Every day, communities are destroyed by natural disasters that have solutions in the science community. Both these cultures and cultures being destroyed by rapid modernization can be preserved. Though these issues may sound different, they can both be slowed by emerging technology that can rebuild all aspects of communities using AI, including infrastructure, how languages sound, and artifacts that may have been destroyed. An essential part of being an anthropologist in the modern world is being able to use technology to solve contemporary problems, a concept that is slowly being introduced that I wish to push further within the community. Using modern technology will aid declining cultures and make people more open as they are exposed to more diverse people. Through these projects, the world can become a better-connected place that is more concerned with the well-being of one another and is more educated in different cultures. My goals within STEM are not just to better my local community but to enhance people's connections and love for their fellow man worldwide.

Like most people in my generation, I found that the media was an unavoidable part of my childhood. I was quickly introduced to every major world problem through the news and even shows I enjoyed, like "Planet Earth," which displayed global habitat destruction. My sensitivity as a child played a part in how much I care about these issues now and how I try to serve my community. Since I started high school, I've become a youth mentor at Phoenix Academy. Though a significant part of my role is helping the children at the academy with academics, and through my lessons about mental health, I have also taken it upon myself to introduce them to the importance of maintaining nature, whether in local forests or the backyard. Regarding my educational goals, I plan to study anthropology. While studying, I plan to engage in community service and study abroad programs that will allow me to understand better the subject and how anthropology can be used to achieve my goals. Though I have considered other science fields like engineering and chemical engineering, anthropology allows for necessary research regarding science and the public's reaction and relationship with the subject. These skills will allow me to connect the public with issues they generally feel disconnected from, making them empathize with the problem while connecting them with the facts to bring more significant change. I can further my education by specializing in environmental anthropology to broaden my understanding of the issues I wish to solve. One of the significant problems I plan to address with my knowledge is global warming. Despite its severity, a substantial component of the lack of change regarding global warming is the lack of public empathy. Although the issue gets coverage when laws that would affect climate change are debated and in the heat of natural disasters, there is a lack of knowledge about its unseen effects and the solutions that people could work towards as a society. Using my environmental anthropologist skillset, I can better understand the relationship between people and their environment and innovate efficient solutions to issues. Because I have had the opportunity to serve the youth of my community, I find myself moved to consider how future generations and communities in worse climate conditions will be affected by global warming. With more communities destroyed by natural disasters each year, it is vital to be able to recover what is lost during those horrible times. By using emerging technology like AI, it is possible to rebuild and replicate the heritage of destroyed communities and begin imagining new ways to rebuild them that allow people to interact better with their environment. Using technology to rebuild communities will introduce innovation and cultural preservation, ultimately improving the conditions and well-being of communities worldwide. Overall, I hope to continue to involve myself in improving communal wellness in my local area and worldwide, whether through helping my peers in university, addressing global problems through research, or helping suffering communities with advanced technology.

Every iteration of Spider-Man is excellent in its own right, but Tom Holland's Spider-Man is my favorite for his ability to deal with the struggles constantly thrown his way. Each Spider-Man struggles with the balance of personal hero life more than the typical heroes in the Marvel universe. Still, the magnitude of Tom Holland's Spider-Man's challenges and how he handles them makes this version of Spider-Man the most entertaining. For example, each Spider-Man struggles with protecting their love interest, whether it is Mary Jane or Gwen Stacy. Andrew Garfield loses his love interest to Green Goblin. While Tom Holland's love interest doesn't die, he makes a difficult decision that erases everyone he loves from his life and every opportunity he has ever had to protect her and the rest of the world. The role of another superhero mentor, an aspect that the other cinematic versions of Spider-Man didn't have, also adds to his compelling character. Though the other Spider-Man characters have to learn to be superheroes on their own is impressive, Tom Holland's Spider-Man having someone to learn from, someone he lets down, and someone he eventually loses adds to the character's struggle and allows the audience to sympathize more with his loss. Another aspect I enjoy about Tom Holland's Spider-Man is the evolution of his suits, an iconic transformation that every Spider-Man has to go through and one that I feel represents his journey well. He starts with the homemade Spider-Man suit, made up of a hoodie and a pair of goggles, before being given a suit better suited to him by Iron Man, which shows his evolution as a hero. He loses the suit in "Spider-Man: Homecoming" but realizes that the suit doesn't make him a hero and continues to fight regardless of who's on his side, which displays his true heroism. Of course, he gets a more high-tech suit with modifications that I enjoy every time I see it, one that serves as a reminder of his now-deceased mentor. With the destruction of this suit and the creation of his own, we see him become more himself and let go of the burden he feels after losing Iron Man. The pattern is consistent, though, and though the suit isn't destroyed, he can no longer wear it because it no longer recognizes him, a reminder of the sacrifice he made in the last movie to let everyone forget about him to save them. The constant changes in the suit and Tom Holland's phenomenal acting in portraying these changes make him my favorite.

Many of the challenges I faced were internal rather than external. Since I've struggled with poor mental health, I know very well how it can impact my personal and academic life. While I struggled, I noticed a decline in my academic performance, and it became harder to care about my grades when I found it hard to even care for myself. My thoughts were filled with doubts about every aspect of my life, including my social life. Due to the feeling of isolation that often works hand-in-hand with poor mental health, I felt like I had to overcome this issue on my own. Though overcoming it on my own was a struggle, the control I gained from it is something I have cultivated and has helped me even today. I had to overcome my mental health struggles by completely rewiring my thoughts. This process often felt long and tedious, but I learned that how I viewed the world was affected by experiences, and I became more thankful and purposeful in my daily life so that I could make the most of every day. Though my issues were mental, my family's finances played a large part in my struggles. Because my parents were divorced and both were low-income, there was no unified household that could group funds and decide what worked best for everyone. Instead, my parents had to sacrifice what we wanted for what we needed, which couldn't be provided without the assistance of the other household. This aspect of my life also affected my mental health and my lack of ability to speak up about it. Because I saw both of my parents working so hard to take care of me, I felt like I owed them a reprieve, that being me not adding any additional issues to their lives. As I have grown, my improved mental health has reinvigorated my passions. Though I know I can go far as long as I continue to cultivate them, the small private school I wish to attend that will provide an environment for me to grow is expensive. I know that with this scholarship, I will come closer to being able to make a difference with my passions. My deep interest in environmental anthropology will help me tackle one of the most critical issues of my generation: global warming. With my academic training, I can conduct research and create platforms to help discuss such a pivotal issue. I am also deeply passionate about the arts and writing, something I will also be able to cultivate during my time at the university. Through my works I will address the concerns that I believe should be addressed, like mental health, global warming, family trauma, and more topics that I believe should be discussed in society. As I continue to grow, more barriers will arise, but I will do everything I can to learn from them and go even farther than infinity.

Many of the challenges I faced were internal rather than external. Since I've struggled with poor mental health, I know very well how it can impact my personal and academic life. While I struggled, I noticed a decline in my academic performance as I struggled to focus in class, and it became harder to care about my grades when I found it hard to even take care of myself. My thoughts were filled with doubts about every aspect of my life, including my social life. Most of the time, I couldn't handle being around my friends for more than an hour before becoming irritated or choosing not to hang out because everything felt exhausting. Since then, my mental health has dramatically improved, and I've learned how to stop myself from slipping back into bad mental health habits. I've learned that an essential part of making my mental health a priority is doing regular mental health checks. Most people often allow their thoughts to remain on autopilot, bringing up reoccurring thought patterns that may not be healthy. I've learned to stay conscious of my thoughts a lot of the time to correct them and make better and healthier thought patterns a part of my routine. To make my mental health a priority, I also prioritize what's going on in my daily life. While balancing school, extracurriculars, community service, and the voices of everyone who seems to have an opinion on the future of my education, I've learned to hold certain things to a higher degree of importance than others, especially regarding other's opinions. This allows me to protect my piece of mind by putting what I know I need to prioritize in front of what other people think is best for me. Outside of sorting through everyday life, my improved mental health reinvigorated my passions. My struggles with mental health made it difficult to continue the things that I loved to do, but as it improved, I began to enhance my skills in art and writing once again. By continuing to strengthen my skills, I realized that it was not just a hobby that I found relaxing but a way that allowed me to tell stories and communicate the issues that I've seen as the most important in the world. As I continue engaging in them, I have dabbled in various writing styles and art mediums that I feel will allow me to communicate better with others. I have begun developing books and art collections. I know that as my skills improve and I continue to work, I can communicate my messages. The most important to me are mental health and global warming. I am working to create broader platforms for these issues to be discussed through my creativity so that it can bring about more change. As I continue to grow, more barriers will arise, but I will do everything I can to learn from them and go even farther than infinity.

I currently have an immediate family member who deals with mental illness. We first have to understand mental illness comes in many forms. In my space, I have dealt with a person who deals with active symptoms of delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech, trouble with thinking, and lack of motivation when on specific medication. At first, I was very judgmental and frustrated because I did not understand what was happening. I had to take a step back and reevaluate my position. They were reaching out for help in the best way they knew how, and I had to come to terms with how many other people in the world are reaching out for help and being pushed away only because they are misunderstood and cannot control the chemical imbalance in their brains. It is essential to provide an open, nonjudgmental space with no distractions. Let them lead the discussion at their own pace. Don’t pressure them to tell you anything they aren’t ready to discuss. Talking can take a lot of trust and courage. You might be the first person they have been able to talk to about this. Try not to make assumptions about what is wrong or jump in too quickly with your diagnosis or solutions. Try to keep your language neutral. Give the person time to answer, and try not to grill them with too many questions. JUST LISTEN. Discuss ways of de-stressing or practicing self-care and ask if they find anything helpful. Exercising, having a healthy diet, and getting a good night's sleep can help protect mental health and sustain wellbeing. Have them play games, listen to soft jazz or classical music, or walk in nature. Try not to take control and allow them to make decisions. Also, seek holistic medicine as a natural precaution so the person is not consistently bogged down with meds. Please understand this is a draining situation. You will have your limits on the support you can provide. And it's essential to take care of yourself, too. Give yourself time to rest and process what they have told you or what’s happened. Try to help them create a support network of other friends, relatives, and mental health professionals who can help them, too. I am currently a youth mentor, and we make it our mission to discuss mental awareness with the youth in our programs. I wish to start (if my college has not done so) a mental awareness group for students where we meet once a week with a professor in place to discuss ways students have dealt with mental health, require help, want to be a support shoulder for other students and provide activities such as but not limited to yoga, sound bath, Reiki, team-building games and journaling to assist students on their mental awareness journey. This type of forum will prepare students for the real world and extend help to others as they travel the world on their journeys.

Because I have always had a passion for art and humanitarianism, I plan to use both in the future to raise awareness of global warming and cultural deterioration. Though I possess a variety of knowledge of history already, I plan to go to school to study anthropology to understand humanity's interaction with the world better. Through my understanding of the world, art, and culture, I will use art to communicate with people. I will also create platforms where researchers and artists can unite to bring awareness to issues they are passionate about. Through my art, I hope to make the general public, who seems detached from the issue of global warming, care more about it so that they take action in their communities. When it comes to the problem of cultural deterioration, I hope to address it through my art so that not only the public is aware, but researchers and other anthropologists begin to take into account how fast modernization is erasing cultures so that they can try to preserve them. Along with the fact that many cultures are being erased, some are continually being held hostage by former colonial powers who refuse to return countless artifacts that they received from conquest. I plan to create a space where these powers can be confronted and urged to return the items of people's culture since artifacts and art play an essential role in tradition, history, and beliefs. Outside of addressing global issues, I also wish to create a space where people can discuss more personal matters. Since my art often depicts topics that I have dealt with, like depression and family trauma, my work will create spaces where such issues can be discussed. The discussions surrounding my art will allow generational matters to be addressed in ways that will enable communities to grow. It will also invite people who have a minimal understanding of the topic but will introduce them to people who are willing to teach. I try to help my community in more localized ways, such as through community service. My favorite way to do this is within my school. Through one of the school's clubs, Sister in Action, we often do small acts of love to help the girls in the school. We frequently make and post notes around the school to encourage them throughout the day. We have also hosted meditations and meetings that discuss topics like money to encourage thoughtful choices and empowerment.

My name is Aryell, and I am a student scholar. I have been on the Principal List since elementary school. I pride myself on working in my community with non-profit organizations as a youth mentor and a proud mental health advocate. I plan to positively impact the world by continuing my mentor journey. I am a youth mentor at two local organizations in my community. I have held the prestigious position of mentor of the year for two years, along with other accolades. During my four years of college, I plan to travel through our "Countries In Need" program over the summers and assist with STEM projects. These projects will help to build systems to filter clean water, build prosthetic legs for a village with deformity, build control cars for physically challenged kids, and provide learning systems for students without wi-fi access. During college, I plan to start a mental health awareness group that includes yoga, meditation, sound bowls, Reiki balance, journaling, vision boards, poetry slams, mental health speakers, and community outreach. I plan to extend our program to public schools in the area to teach kids positive ways to deal with life circumstances. I would also like the students to visit the campus to gain a better insight into college life and participate in fun educational activities. We must intertwine the entire community into one family to impact the world. We must bridge the educational system as a whole. Even in preschool, we must see ourselves as middle or high schoolers, and elementary or middle school students must see themselves in college. My program would provide a chance to reach back and provide positive resources. To make an impact on the world, we must pay it forward. To pay it forward, one must have an unselfish spirit, the heart to embrace change, and the patience to see it through. After graduating, I plan to open a non-profit organization in an underserved community. I plan to create a STEM division and partner with the local college, propose a sports program to prevent youth from mischief on the streets, take financial and real estate classes, and eat mental and emotional balance. Youth will be able to graduate with a certificate. They will participate in a ceremony to graduate from their life course. We will also participate in large fundraisers and partner with community organizations to send our youth out of the country to assist other deserving communities. I hope to open a few businesses and hire alumni who graduated from the non-profit organization program to assist them in enhancing their careers. I cannot do this alone, so I plan to make an impact with like-minded people who wish to change the world one community at a time.

This scholarship support would be meaningful because I watched my mom struggle to provide us with a good life. Coming from a single-parent household, I have had to watch my mom uproot us from a comfortable life due to tragic events and start life all over again from scratch for the second time around. It was as if the devil did not want her to be great, for he knew she was special. My mom had been homeless once before with my older sister before I was even thought about. She got her life together and became a patient care tech for a major hospital, earning ranks and making a good life for herself. We did not have the world, but we had each other and were happy. But once again, overnight life struck my mom once again, and as hard as she tried to keep up with life, it decided to pull her back once again, causing us to lose everything we had overnight. Having to move from place to place in the blink of an eye, watching my mom's spirit dwindle right before my eyes (even though she kept on a good poker face), and hearing her cry at night when she thought we were sleeping broke my heart. But, oh, look at god. He came back and replaced everything the devil thought he had stolen. My mom was placed in a career she didn't deserve, but god. She was blessed with a real estate agent who put her in a first-time homeowners program, and she could go back to school through her job to advance her career. It is one thing to be a proud parent, but oh, to be a proud daughter. To watch your mom become a superhero right before your eyes. This scholarship would mean the world to me to remove some slack from my mom's back. She has been through enough and is working tirelessly around the clock, searching for scholarships on my behalf. Her dream is to start a non-profit organization for underprivileged youth in Atlanta. She has accepted a mentor in the non-profit sector to assist her, and she has instilled in me that giving back is the only way to be truly happy. Reach back and lift. She told me that once I start my career path, start a scholarship fund, and join the college abroad program, I will travel to different countries to help those in need. She encourages me to maintain my status as a mentor and one day take over her nonprofit or open my own to help those in need because someone will always be in need. This experience taught me never to give up on my ambitions and dreams. My mom taught me that perseverance wins the race. Like the turtle and the hare, sometimes taking your time in life gives you the best rewards. My mom is not only a single mom; she is a Supermom. I also volunteer as a youth mentor at Phoneix Academy and Step Up In Georgia. I take on the responsibility of feeding positivity into students who went through the same trauma I dealt with—those with parents who are dealing with trying times and transitioning to provide a positive outcome for the betterment of the family. We encourage parents and youth through classes, workshops, and community partner resources. There is no project too heavy for us to carry. We ensure that we love all the families from the beginning, continue to mentor them through their graduation and bring them back into society on a positive note.

My name is Aryell, and I am a student scholar. I have been on the Principal List since elementary school. I pride myself on working in my community with non-profit organizations as a youth mentor and a proud mental health advocate. I plan to positively impact the world by continuing my mentor journey. I am a youth mentor at two local organizations in my community. I have held the prestigious position of mentor of the year for two years, along with other accolades. During my four years of college, I plan to travel through our "Countries In Need" program over the summers and assist with STEM projects. These projects will help to build systems to filter clean water, build prosthetic legs for a village with deformity, build control cars for physically challenged kids, and provide learning systems for students without wi-fi access. During college, I plan to start a mental health awareness group that includes yoga, meditation, sound bowls, Reiki balance, journaling, vision boards, poetry slams, mental health speakers, and community outreach. I plan to extend our program to public schools in the area to teach kids positive ways to deal with life circumstances. I would also like the students to visit the campus to gain a better insight into college life and participate in fun educational activities. We must intertwine the entire community into one family to impact the world. We must bridge the educational system as a whole. Even in preschool, we must see ourselves as middle or high schoolers, and elementary or middle school students must see themselves in college. My program would provide a chance to reach back and provide positive resources. To make an impact on the world, we must pay it forward. To pay it forward, one must have an unselfish spirit, the heart to embrace change, and the patience to see it through. After graduating, I plan to open a non-profit organization in an underserved community. I plan to create a STEM division and partner with the local college, propose a sports program to prevent youth from mischief on the streets, take financial and real estate classes, and eat mental and emotional balance. Youth will be able to graduate with a certificate. They will participate in a ceremony to graduate from their life course. We will also participate in large fundraisers and partner with community organizations to send our youth out of the country to assist other deserving communities. I hope to open a few businesses and hire alumni who graduated from the non-profit organization program to assist them in enhancing their careers. I cannot do this alone, so I plan to make an impact with like-minded people who wish to change the world one community at a time.

Higher education is not just a way to increase my knowledge but to learn better ways of impacting my world. Growing up in a low-income area, it wasn't uncommon to see people with untapped potential who didn't have the means to pursue a higher education. Being surrounded by some of the most intelligent people I knew who had never pursued higher education, I deduced that acquiring the street smarts of those around me and traditional classroom learning would be the best way for me to develop ways to benefit my community. Environmentalism has always interested me. Growing up, I loved shows like "Planet Earth" that displayed the beauty of the natural world and informed the audience of the dangers it faced due to climate change. I explored career options like biology and ecology in hopes that I would be able to find solutions to environmental problems. Instead, I found that a career in anthropology, where I get to explore the relationship between humanity and the environment rather than solely focusing on scientific solutions, would better suit me. By pursuing an anthropology career, I hope to engage in research that will allow me to pinpoint the source of humanity's apathy towards nature and encourage the public to care more about the environment. By doing this, I also hope to introduce elements that allow more people to interact with and care for nature, especially in crowded urban areas like mine. Introducing community gardens to low-income areas within food deserts similar to my home would encourage environmental care and allow communities to find ways to sustain themselves. Though I am very passionate about anthropology, I wish to bring more art and science professionals into my future research. Through this, I hope to bring people of different disciplines together to solve the problem. I believe that by creating a community of scientists who understand global warming, researchers like anthropologists who understand the human element, and artists who know how to communicate with people, we can create a large community of activists willing to fight against the climate crisis. This will also allow me to bring new technology into anthropology, which appears to be lagging compared to other fields. Though it requires more interactive studies with people, new technologies can be used to visualize lost cultures and teach about them. Through my career, I hope to create a more connected world with the confidence to care for itself.

My environment played a critical role in how I want to impact the world in the future. Growing up in a low-income area, it wasn't uncommon for mental health to be neglected because people didn't have the time or were unaware that there was a problem because specific issues have become so normalized. As a youth mentor, I have worked with younger children to implement healthy mental health habits in younger generations. My passion for the arts is something that I hope can continue mental health conversations. As a self-taught artist, I aspire to tell stories through my works that can connect with others. Much of my current art and the art I plan to make in the future revolves around mental health issues that I've struggled with in the past, like anxiety and depression. The artwork I plan to make now has themes related to generational trauma, something that all communities suffer from. I hope to create a platform to discuss mental health and inform others about it by addressing these issues in my artwork. Though my anxiety and depression are issues of the past I have had to become aware of how moving to a new environment may affect my mental health. In college I expect the move to affect my psyche in some way, but hope that I can use the methods I've discovered to aid me in maintaining good mental health. Though I am passionate about the arts, environmentalism has always interested me. Growing up, I loved shows like "Planet Earth" that displayed the beauty of the natural world and informed the audience of the dangers it faced due to climate change. I explored career options like biology and ecology in hopes that I would be able to find solutions to environmental problems. Instead, I found that a career in anthropology, where I get to explore the relationship between humanity and the environment rather than solely focusing on scientific solutions, would better suit me. By pursuing an anthropology career, I hope to engage in research that will allow me to pinpoint the source of humanity's apathy towards nature and encourage the public to care more about the environment. By doing this, I also hope to introduce elements that will allow more people to interact with and care for nature, especially in crowded urban areas like mine. Introducing community gardens to low-income areas within food deserts similar to my home would encourage environmental care and allow communities to find ways to sustain themselves. Like my use of art to communicate issues about mental health, I wish to do the same with the environment. Through this, I hope to bring people of different disciplines together to solve the problem. I believe that by creating a community of scientists who understand global warming, researchers like anthropologists who understand the human element, and artists who know how to communicate with people, we can create a large community of activists willing to fight against the climate crisis. This will also allow me to bring new technology into anthropology, which appears to be lagging compared to other fields. Though it requires more interactive studies with people, new technologies can be used to visualize lost cultures and teach about them. Through my career, I hope to create a more connected world that has the confidence to take care of itself.

Higher education is not just a way to increase my knowledge but to learn better ways of impacting my world. Growing up in a low-income area, it wasn't uncommon for mental health to be neglected because people didn't have the time or were unaware that there was a problem because specific issues have become so normalized. As a youth mentor, I have worked with younger children to implement healthy mental health habits in younger generations. My passion for the arts is something that I hope can continue mental health conversations. As a self-taught artist, I aspire to tell stories through my works that can connect with others. Much of my current art and the art I plan to make in the future revolves around mental health issues that I've struggled with in the past, like anxiety and depression. The artwork I plan to make now has themes related to generational trauma, something that all communities suffer from. I hope to create a platform to discuss mental health and inform others about it by addressing these issues in my artwork. Continuing to pursue the arts in the school I choose to attend will help me better communicate my message. Though I am passionate about the arts, environmentalism has always interested me. Growing up, I loved shows like "Planet Earth" that displayed the beauty of the natural world and informed the audience of the dangers it faced due to climate change. I explored career options like biology and ecology in hopes that I would be able to find solutions to environmental problems. Instead, I found that a career in anthropology, where I get to explore the relationship between humanity and the environment rather than solely focusing on scientific solutions, would better suit me. By pursuing an anthropology career, I hope to engage in research that will allow me to pinpoint the source of humanity's apathy towards nature and encourage the public to care more about the environment. By doing this, I also hope to introduce elements that allow more people to interact with and care for nature, especially in crowded urban areas like mine. Introducing community gardens to low-income areas within food deserts similar to my home would encourage environmental care and allow communities to find ways to sustain themselves. Like my use of art to communicate issues about mental health, I wish to do the same with the environment. Through this, I hope to bring people of different disciplines together to solve the problem. I believe that by creating a community of scientists who understand global warming, researchers like anthropologists who understand the human element, and artists who know how to communicate with people, we can create a large community of activists willing to fight against the climate crisis. This will also allow me to bring new technology into anthropology, which appears to be lagging compared to other fields. Though it requires more interactive studies with people, new technologies can be used to visualize lost cultures and teach about them. Through my career, I hope to create a more connected world with the confidence to care for itself.

My name is Aryell, and I am a student scholar. I have been on the Principal List since elementary school. I pride myself on working in my community with non-profit organizations as a youth mentor and a proud mental health advocate. I plan to positively impact the world by continuing my mentor journey. I am a youth mentor at two local organizations in my community. I have held the prestigious position of mentor of the year for two years, along with other accolades. During my four years of college, I plan to travel through our "Countries In Need" program over the summers and assist with STEM projects. These projects will help to build systems to filter clean water, build prosthetic legs for a village with deformity, build control cars for physically challenged kids, and provide learning systems for students without wi-fi access. During college, I plan to start a mental health awareness group that includes yoga, meditation, sound bowls, Reiki balance, journaling, vision boards, poetry slams, mental health speakers, and community outreach. I want to extend our program to public schools in the area to teach kids positive ways to deal with life circumstances. I would also like the students to visit the campus to gain a better insight into college life and participate in fun educational activities. We must intertwine the entire community into one family to impact the world. We must bridge the educational system as a whole. Even in preschool, we must see ourselves as middle or high schoolers, and elementary or middle school students must see themselves in college. My program would provide a chance to reach back and provide positive resources. To make an impact on the world, we must pay it forward. To pay it forward, one must have an unselfish spirit, the heart to embrace change, and the patience to see it through. After graduating, I plan to open a non-profit organization in an underserved community. I plan to create a STEM division and partner with the local college, propose a sports program to prevent youth from mischief on the streets, take financial and real estate classes, and eat mental and emotional balance. Youth will be able to graduate with a certificate. They will participate in a ceremony to graduate from their life course. We will also participate in large fundraisers and partner with community organizations to send our youth out of the country to assist other deserving communities. I hope to open a few businesses and hire alumni who graduated from the non-profit organization program to assist them in enhancing their careers. I cannot do this alone, so I plan to make an impact with like-minded people who wish to change the world one community at a time.

Math is essential in all STEM fields because of the vast amount of calculations that people in these fields must do. However, Calculus provides the backbone for most of these fields, as it is the primary tool to predict change. Calculus would be necessary to those in the math field because it's the basis of their jobs. Though it may seem like a mass of calculations, calculus is used to find solutions to complex solutions that can be applied to everyday life, like Newton's method. Calculus is likely one of the most essential skills for an engineer. Engineers are quite literally responsible for the backbone of society. Our infrastructure and energy sources depend on their calculations, which primarily come from the basic principles of calculus. They need this to calculate the rate of change and changes in motion. The basics of areas, volumes, and the limits of an object are necessary for them to understand to create functional systems. Calculus also applies to other fields like physics regarding waves and heat, which engineers must realize, especially civil engineers, to model structures that can withstand various environments. Though calculus isn't the first thing that comes to mind when people think of technology, it's as essential in studies like computer science as it is in math and engineering. Calculus is used to construct the framework of computer programs. Many creations that make computers so engaging, like visuals and simulations, are created with the help of calculus. Many of today's most helpful problem solvers were created similarly. Many problem-solving applications and statistics solvers use calculus principles. The use of this kind of math allows for computers to be more easily maintained. The operation power, ease of programming, and lack of complex maintenance are all thanks to the use of calculus to create a standard of great functionality. Science is a field that closely monitors change on every level, which is why calculus is so essential in this field. One of the most exciting ways that calculus is used in science is undoubtedly its use is through space exploration. The proper calculations are needed to measure how astronomical objects and spaceships will move or how they will need to move in the future. It can account for forces like gravity and air resistance, which is necessary for preserving the technology and people involved in such expeditions. A little closer to home, meteorologists require calculus to calculate changes in the weather. They are able to determine wind patterns, temperatures, and speeds that are necessary for those engaging in everyday travel, as well as those conducting more dangerous travels like on the seas or through the air. Overall, Calculus is an important component in all STEM fields that will continue to aid professionals throughout the ages.

Though drastically different, two of my favorite books have taught me many valuable lessons. The first is George Orewll's "1984." The first time I read this book, it immediately became one of my favorites since it depicts so much of what is happening in society today. The novel's setting is a dystopian society where people mindlessly believe what the government feeds them. Information is constantly erased and replaced with events that never happened. Society is split into castes where those loyal to the deceptive government are rewarded. The middle class is made to feel like they're a part of some great cause, while people experiencing poverty are too distracted with trying to survive to try and create real change. The similarities I could see between this dystopian society and my own taught me to observe the world more closely and consider the motives of those responsible for the state of the world. Though today's world is not a complete dystopia as depicted in the book, society closely mirrors its themes. In the age of technology, people's opinions are easily formed and reformed by the abundance of information and the simplicity with which it can be manufactured. The world is experiencing socioeconomic gaps like never before, with the wealthiest people holding most of the world's wealth and using it to change its rules to their advantage. All of this goes unchecked because the rest of society is either complacent with the world they've created or fighting to survive. This has shaped my goal as an aspiring anthropologist to conduct research in the future that will allow me to observe how the public can become more involved in making significant changes regarding global issues, especially climate change and socioeconomic disparities. This has also inspired and challenged my art and writing skills by encouraging me to address these issues in my works so that these topics can reach more people and become more openly discussed. My other favorite book, Queen of Shadows, from the Throne of Glass series, is a fantasy that follows the main character, Aelin. Throughout the book, she struggles to run from her past and accept who she is. She hopes all she did wrong can be erased if she continues running from it. Being a part of her journey from trying to suppress herself to being unabashed inspired me to embrace myself. Watching her struggle against herself mentally was something that I could resonate with since I struggled with my mental health in the past, and it allowed me to continue facing and reforming parts of myself that no longer served me so that I could let them go. The most important way this book shaped my goals was by allowing me to change them. By learning that it was okay to let go of who I thought I was, I could embrace new parts of myself and develop new goals. I rejected the parts of myself that wished to please others and embraced the things I love, like anthropology, writing, and art. "1984" and "Queen of Shadows" have allowed me to embrace myself and the world with fresh eyes. I will use the lessons I learned from both to shape the world around me in a way that only I can.

I usually describe most slice-of-life anime as dull and repetitive. Despite this, "A Silent Voice" is one of my favorite movies and one that I would gladly watch for the rest of my life. I can form deep connections with the characters and easily resonate with their struggles, made easy by the beautiful visuals that portray their inner workings. Throughout the film, we witness how the main character, Shoya, struggles with anxiety, an issue I've struggled with in the past. Though he remains comfortable in his shell at the movie's beginning, we see him develop into someone more willing to express himself. Through this transformation, we also see him try to make up for the ills that he committed against the other main character, Shouko. Even as he has setbacks like people from his past bringing up the terrible things he did to others and his wavering perceptions of himself, he continues to find ways to move forward. My ability to resonate with this kind of perseverance against oneself to achieve personal growth makes this movie unique to me. The second main character, Shouko, breaks and heals my heart the most. Because of her deafness, she struggles to communicate and find acceptance with her peers in her childhood and as a young adult. Her struggle to communicate leads her into a depression, never shown on camera and not seen until the moment she tries to commit suicide. Her arc touches me so profoundly because I have known others and have personally struggled with my mental health in the past. To have the pain of not being able to communicate expressed through a character who, because of her disability, has difficulty expressing herself, though it is unlike my problem, makes the character relatable and easy to empathize with. The story's two characters, who struggle in different ways, accept each other throughout despite how they may have hurt each other in the past. Watching Shoyo help Shouko understand that she has a meaningful place in the world after growing up from being her childhood tormenter who made her feel like she didn't was a beautiful way for the writers to show the change in both characters. Shoyo's development into a confident young man who could forgive himself enough to look others in the eye and Shouko's growing self-worth despite her perceived flaws touched my heart. A proper applause for this fantastic film isn't complete without a nod to the visuals. The animation itself is crisp and beautiful, with vibrant colors and beautifully built characters that give us a sense of their individuality. The placement of each character in a scene is well thought out and portrays specific emotions as scenes change. The unordinary choices used, like having X's over characters' faces to show Shoyo's anxiety and how they peel away when he becomes comfortable with someone, help to enhance the story. The use of different shots to show parallels and foreshadowing is something I appreciate, as I notice something new every time I rewatch the movie. Overall, the movie's message about mental health and its ability to portray it through its characters and visuals have quickly made it my favorite film and something I'd be willing to enjoy for the rest of my life. If you ever need something to watch, I recommend "A Silent Voice" to anyone willing to be enthralled by a beautiful, heart-wrenching story.

When you've dealt with a problem before, it's more straightforward to understand their weight. Growing up in a low-income area, it wasn't uncommon for mental health to be neglected because people didn't have the time or were unaware that there was a problem because specific issues have become so normalized. The more I think about this, the more I realize why mental health is essential in the community. With everyone taking such poor care of their mental health, it isn't a wonder why so many in poor-income areas struggle to thrive. Though our struggles can help us build mental fortitude, they can also cause us to shut others out and repeat cycles of trauma. This only serves to rebuild the roadblocks in formal generations and further divide communities. Mental health is vital to building a trusting community that can nourish itself. Unfortunately, I adopted the habit of keeping my mental health to myself and struggled with anxiety throughout my childhood. The nervousness I experienced when talking to others, even those close to me, led me to miss many opportunities because I was too afraid to speak. This led me to be closed off about other mental health issues that I developed later, like the depression I struggled with throughout middle and high school. Once I realized how bad it had become, I had to rework my entire thought process—refuting the negative, habitual thought pattern that became dominant with more positive thoughts. This experience, however awful, taught me the importance of using your thoughts in a way that will benefit you. As I entered a more positive mental state, everything about my life seemed to improve because the way I viewed the world changed. Maintaining positive thoughts and habits improved my view of myself as well. I became more confident in my abilities and willed myself to chase opportunities I'd previously been too afraid to. The best way to stay engaged in a problem is by helping others with it. As a youth mentor, I have worked with younger children to implement healthy mental health habits in younger generations. This duty allows me to help others while reflecting on my well-being. Another way I seek to maintain my mental wellness is by expressing what has hurt me in the past so that I can let it go. As a self-taught artist, I aspire to tell stories through my art that others can connect to. Much of my current art and the art I plan to make in the future revolves around mental health issues that I've struggled with in the past, like anxiety and depression. The artwork I plan to make now has themes related to generational trauma, something that all communities suffer from. I hope to create a platform to discuss mental health and inform others about it by addressing these issues in my artwork.

My environment played a critical role in how I want to impact the world in the future. Growing up in a low-income area, it wasn't uncommon for mental health to be neglected because people didn't have the time or were unaware that there was a problem because specific issues have become so normalized. Unfortunately, I adopted the habit of keeping my mental health to myself and struggled with anxiety throughout my childhood. I didn't realize how bad it was until high school. The nervousness I experienced when talking to others, even those close to me, led me to miss many opportunities because I was too afraid to speak. This led me to be closed off about other mental health issues that I developed later, like the depression I struggled with throughout middle and high school. Once I realized how bad it had become, I had to rework my entire thought process. Refuting the negative, habitual thought pattern that became dominant with more positive thoughts was a conscious effort and sometimes a struggle. Despite this, I have better mental health habits and continue to work to help others. As a youth mentor, I have worked with younger children to implement healthy mental health habits in younger generations. My passion for the arts is something that I hope can continue mental health conversations. As a self-taught artist, I aspire to tell stories through my works that can connect with others. Much of my current art and the art I plan to make in the future revolves around mental health issues that I've struggled with in the past, like anxiety and depression. The artwork I plan to make now has themes related to generational trauma, something that all communities suffer from. I hope to create a platform to discuss mental health and inform others about it by addressing these issues in my artwork. Though I am passionate about the arts, environmentalism has always interested me. Growing up, I loved shows like "Planet Earth" that displayed the beauty of the natural world and informed the audience of the dangers it faced due to climate change. I explored career options like biology and ecology in hopes that I would be able to find solutions to environmental problems. Instead, I found that a career in anthropology, where I get to explore the relationship between humanity and the environment rather than solely focusing on scientific solutions, would better suit me. By pursuing an anthropology career, I hope to engage in research that will allow me to pinpoint the source of humanity's apathy towards nature and encourage the public to care more about the environment. By doing this, I also hope to introduce elements that allow more people to interact with and care for nature, especially in crowded urban areas like mine. Introducing community gardens to low-income areas within food deserts similar to my home would encourage environmental care and allow communities to find ways to sustain themselves. Like my use of art to communicate issues about mental health, I wish to do the same with the environment. Through this, I hope to bring people of different disciplines together to solve the problem. I believe that by creating a community of scientists who understand global warming, researchers like anthropologists who understand the human element, and artists who know how to communicate with people, we can create a large community of activists willing to fight against the climate crisis. Through my career, I hope to create a more connected world with the confidence to care for itself.

My environment played a critical role in how I want to impact the world in the future. Growing up in a low-income area, it wasn't uncommon for mental health to be neglected because people didn't have the time or were unaware that there was a problem because specific issues have become so normalized. As a youth mentor, I have worked with younger children to implement healthy mental health habits in younger generations. My passion for the arts is something that I hope can continue mental health conversations. As a self-taught artist, I aspire to tell stories through my works that can connect with others. Much of my current art and the art I plan to make in the future revolves around mental health issues that I've struggled with in the past, like anxiety and depression. The artwork I plan to make now has themes related to generational trauma, something that all communities suffer from. I hope to create a platform to discuss mental health and inform others about it by addressing these issues in my artwork. Though I am passionate about the arts, environmentalism has always interested me. Growing up, I loved shows like "Planet Earth" that displayed the beauty of the natural world and informed the audience of the dangers it faced due to climate change. I explored career options like biology and ecology in hopes that I would be able to find solutions to environmental problems. Instead, I found that a career in anthropology, where I get to explore the relationship between humanity and the environment rather than solely focusing on scientific solutions, would better suit me. By pursuing an anthropology career, I hope to engage in research that will allow me to pinpoint the source of humanity's apathy towards nature and encourage the public to care more about the environment. By doing this, I also hope to introduce elements that will allow more people to interact with and care for nature, especially in crowded urban areas like mine. Introducing community gardens to low-income areas within food deserts similar to my home would encourage environmental care and allow communities to find ways to sustain themselves. Like my use of art to communicate issues about mental health, I wish to do the same with the environment. Through this, I hope to bring people of different disciplines together to solve the problem. I believe that by creating a community of scientists who understand global warming, researchers like anthropologists who understand the human element, and artists who know how to communicate with people, we can create a large community of activists willing to fight against the climate crisis. This will also allow me to bring new technology into anthropology, which appears to be lagging compared to other fields. Though it requires more interactive studies with people, new technologies can be used to visualize lost cultures and teach about them. Through my career, I hope to create a more connected world that has the confidence to take care of itself.

More often than not, I groan when I hear that one of my favorite books has been adapted into a movie. "The Hunger Games" adaptation, however, was a pleasant but unexpected break in the cycle of bad adaptations. From what I remember since the last time I read "The Hunger Games" series, especially the first book, the writing wasn't impressive compared to the other books I've read. Some of the scenes were difficult to imagine, and the flow of many of the scenes seemed displaced. I rarely say a movie adaptation was better than the book, but it was entirely accurate in this case. Understandably, writing a future dystopia with a dictatorial government system is challenging to build without info-dumping. Suzanne Collins avoided info-dumping but also refrained from giving details about the story in places that would have been helpful. "The Hunger Games" movie bridged this gap because it was precisely that, a movie. The movie's visuals more easily expressed the story's setting and the character's circumstances. Cluttered descriptions that were hard to envision when written on paper were incorporated into the setting that captured the book's tone. Action is something else that I read often that is incredibly difficult to write well. The movie adaptation of the book did a fantastic job of handling the action in the arena and finding unique ways to explain what was happening that did not appear in the book. The movie's use of the game masters to explain what was going on in the arena was an additional feature that I appreciated. It allowed the characters to act as themselves and not have to explain everything while still explaining the situation to the audience. Additionally, the movie adaptation helped bridge the gap between me and the characters. A book like The Hunger Games is so fast-paced that characters die so often that it is hard to remember or connect with any of them. Seeing each character, especially the minor characters like Rue and Fox Face, helped me become more immersed in the story. It also helped me empathize more with them since I could see what they were going through. "The Hunger Games" book is told in first person, which somewhat hindered how I could view the characters. The objective storytelling of "The Hunger Games" allowed me to see each character through my lens instead of through the eyes of one character. This, too, allowed me to form a deeper connection with each character, whether I loved or hated them, which made me more invested in the story. All of these changes made in the movie series make the books more enjoyable when I reread them. Overall, the book-to-film adaptation, though different, made the right changes in a way that truly allowed the audience to connect with the movie.

Since childhood, I have shown great concern for the environment. Shows I love, like "Planet Earth," show the beauty of the earth and how it is impacted by pollution and global warming. Learning this and seeing such pollution in my community pushed me to want to create solutions to environmental problems. I considered careers in science, like biology and environmental science. I found that my thought process focused more on how I could encourage people to care more about the environment instead of how to use scientific principles to find solutions. This interest in people's interaction with the environment has led me to want to pursue a career in environmental anthropology. Through my studies in environmental anthropology, I hope to gain an understanding of people and their environments, which will allow me to engage in research and encourage healthier interactions with the environment. Many solutions for pollution and climate change already exist. People's lack of knowledge and empathy for the world around them creates the environment for such slow action toward preventing environmental damage. One of my goals is to investigate environments, specifically urban environments that are the most detached from the natural environment, to encourage them to input methods that could help slow environmental destruction. Outside of my interest in ecological anthropology, I also have a passion for the arts. Through my art and writing, I hope to bring together an audience that, if not already interested, can become educated on environmental issues and work together to solve them. The storytelling used in the arts can help form the deeper connection that I hope people have with the environment and the people and habitats constantly affected by the disasters created by environmental changes. Creating this kind of platform that allows people to discuss environmental catastrophes and empathize with the communities that have been affected will further my goal of getting the public to participate in methods that will help the environment. With the methods I plan to encourage in other communities, I hope to see my community thrive. Driving through wealthy neighborhoods and seeing community gardens and lush parks free of litter was always daunting. I always wished to see something like this in my community, care for the environment that people in my environment seemed to lack because those in the lower class don't have the time. The world around me initially fueled my passion for the environment. I hope that by pursuing this career path, I can return to my inspiration and build upon it by bringing those additions that I found beautiful to my community and communities around the globe.

Anthropology is my career path because it involves analyzing human behavior, explaining it, and finding problems for modern solutions. To prepare myself for this career, I have investigated the field and its subfields to get an idea of what would be the best fit for me. I have done readings related to history, sociology, and anthropology outside of school to prepare for what a career in the field may look like. To prepare for this field, I have also spoken with the university's anthropology department faculty, which I wish to attend. Should I get into this university, I will take further steps to become an anthropologist, like speaking to the faculty that have experience in the many subfields to get a first-hand understanding of the field. Since I aspire to be an environmental anthropologist, I will engage in research with the one I know is on the staff and further my understanding through the school's science classes and clubs. I have always been interested in global warming, so environmental anthropology was an easy choice. By pursuing this career path, I will be able to investigate humanity's interactions with nature and seek solutions that will allow more people to contribute to environmental safety. My deep interest in history has also led to my interest in anthropology, as it will allow me to look at history, past and present, through a new lens. My deep analytical and critical thinking skills would make me an excellent fit for a career in anthropology. When considering careers in the past that would allow me to engage in environmental research, I often considered biology or ecological science, but I frequently thought through a more human-focused perspective instead of one based on hard science. My already strong observation skills of people and their involvement can only be strengthened by my field of study and will aid me in my future goals. Growing up in an urban area, I found it familiar to see litter rolling in the streets and fume clouds above the highway. Everyone else did because no one cared enough to talk about it. I find that this experience is what pushed me towards a career path that focuses on people's interactions with the environment. All of the solutions in the world can exist for climate change but never take place because people don't care, which I will seek to fix in my studies. I envision positively impacting my future profession by introducing anthropologists to people of different disciplines to solve more issues. Anthropologists usually work in research and give what they know to those who need the research to invent new technology. The world would benefit from more communication between people who specialize in understanding what people need and those who know how to create solutions. I also think the anthropology field could benefit from more technology. With technology like AI becoming more popular, anthropologists can use it to trace past civilizations and recreate cultures lost to modernization. It can also be used to imagine ways to incorporate environmentally safe practices into modern life. Overall, my past experiences and hopes for the future excite me to pursue a career in anthropology.

Most of my childhood memories of entering a new situation involve trying to find someone familiar. I hated being around people I didn't know and was dubbed "shy." It wasn't until I reached high school that I realized my frequent nervousness hindered my everyday life and kept me from pursuing my goals. Throughout middle and high school, there were clubs I wanted to join but never could because I was scared to talk to teachers I didn't know, and peers I thought were friendly but never spoke to because I was afraid of what they would think of me. I grew distant from friends because I didn't want to seem like a burden for talking too much. Though my anxiety caused me to miss a lot of opportunities during my academic career, I was able to learn a lot from it. My anxiety often caused me to overanalyze people's behavior, which led me into a spiral of doubt. Since confronting and correcting my anxiety, I have been able to heighten my observation skills and use them to benefit me. I am still able to analyze those around me. Still, instead of getting nervous and reading too much into people's behavior, I can use it to maneuver easily in social situations. Overcoming my anxiety has also taught me to be more aware of my thoughts. When trying to erase thought cycles that would cause me to spiral, it became easier to recognize and alter thought patterns to work in my favor. Changing thought patterns has helped me not only overcome my anxiety but also turn situations into those that would benefit me. Instead of seeing a situation as unfavorable, I can direct my mind to something that is going well or that I could use to become more confident and comfortable. Pursuing a college degree is important to me because it allows me to make up for the opportunities that I lost while trying to overcome my anxiety in a way that will enable me to grow. My desired field of study, anthropology, is a field that requires extensive study and research to allow students to know how to properly engage with the world around them in research and problem solving. My interest in environmental anthropology even more so because it analyzes the interactions of people and the environment. With my degree I plan to engage in research and solutions based projects on a number of issues, including how to encourage the interaction of people an nature in densely populated urban areas, and how to encourage the public to become more involved in finding solutions for climate change. Pursuing this degree is important to me because it will allow me to be a part of the solutions of what I believe to be some of the modern world's greatest problems

My experience with mental health has included my experience with my mental health as well as the mental health of those close to me. I didn't realize that I'd struggled with anxiety for most of my life until I reached high school and realized that my nervousness wasn't normal and deterred me from pursuing my goals. Since confronting my anxiety, I have adopted the notion that every moment is what you make it. While amid my overactive thoughts, every part of my life felt like it would consume me. It wasn't until I began stepping out of my comfort zone and sidestepping those anxious thoughts that I realized what I focused on would amplify itself, so I started to focus on the good around me. Aside from my experience with anxiety, I also suffered from depression throughout middle school and high school. This experience taught me that I have more power over my mind than I may think. While trying to work my way out of my depression, I had to rework my mindset constantly. It was a battle between the repetitive, negative thoughts that flowed into my head and the positive thoughts I was trying to instill. Though I don't clearly remember the time it took to reform my thoughts, I remember that it flew by incredibly fast. From then on, I could fully utilize my power, recognize what thoughts and perceptions I wanted to change, and willingly change them and encourage those around me to do the same. While in high school, I worked as a youth mentor, which allowed me to work with young children. Interacting with them so often has made me realize that many mental health issues and beliefs start at a young age. Since working with them, I've learned to find child-friendly ways of addressing mental health, as I believe that the best habits start when learned young. This also made me realize that many issues don't just appear and that they can be traced back to childhood, like my anxiety. From this, I adopted the belief that growth can come from looking at where you are, where you've been, and what parts of your past need to be healed. My relationships with my friends and their mental health have altered my relationships the most. Most of the time, when my friends struggled with their mental health, I wouldn't be informed until after the fact. Whenever I heard them talk about their struggles, I always wished they'd come to me sooner so that I could help them through it. This desire to help those around me made me more open and empathetic in my relationships, especially with my friends. I will often try to remind them that I'm always there if they need me and encourage them to open up, even if it's about something small that may not even be an issue, so they know that I'm always there. It has also encouraged me to open up about my feelings. I figured that if I felt like I could comfort my friends, even if they doubted themselves, they probably felt the same way about me. I have since formed closer bonds with my friends, and we continue to lean on one another. Since realizing the importance of mental health in my life and the lives of others, I have integrated encouraging better mental health into my career goals. My current career interest is in anthropology, specifically environmental anthropology. Since the duty of an ecological anthropologist is to observe the relationship between humanity and nature, I find that a significant part of that is how humanity's interaction with nature affects our mental health. This is something that I hope to research in the future. I also hope that my findings will allow me to work with people of many other professions so that we may work to incorporate more natural environments into society, especially in condensed urban areas like the city I live in. Since it is already known that there are strong ties between improved mental health and increased interaction with nature, it is something I plan to work to bring access to everyone in the future. Though my mental health may not have always been the best, I have learned many valuable lessons from having to overcome these mental roadblocks. While overcoming my issues, I have even discovered ways to help my community, which is an essential part of building my mental fortitude and that of others.

I plan to positively impact the world by continuing my mentor journey. I am a youth mentor at two local organizations in my community. I have held the prestigious position of mentor of the year for two years, along with other accolades. During my four years of college, I plan to travel through our "Countries In Need" program over the summers and assist with STEM projects. These projects will help to build systems to filter clean water, build prosthetic legs for a village with deformity, build control cars for physically challenged kids, and provide learning systems for students without wi-fi access. During college, I plan to start a mental health awareness group that includes yoga, meditation, sound bowls, Reiki balance, journaling, vision boards, poetry slams, mental health speakers, and community outreach. I want to extend our program to public schools in the area to teach kids positive ways to deal with life circumstances. I would also like the students to visit the campus to gain a better insight into college life and participate in fun educational activities. To impact the world, we must intertwine the entire community into one family. We must bridge the educational system as a whole. Even in preschool, we have to see ourselves as middle or high schoolers and elementary or middle school students must see themselves in college. My program would provide a chance to reach back and provide positive resources. To make an impact on the world, we must pay it forward. To pay it forward, one must have an unselfish spirit, the heart to embrace change, and the patience to see it through. After graduating, I plan to open a non-profit organization in an underserved community. I plan to create a STEM division and partner with the local college, propose a sports program to prevent youth from mischief on the streets, take financial and real estate classes, and eat mental and emotional balance. Youth will be able to graduate with a certificate. They will participate in a ceremony to graduate from their life course. We will also participate in large fundraisers and partner with community organizations to send our youth out of the country to assist other deserving communities. I hope to a business. I am not sure yet which field to pursue, but I would like to hire alumni who graduated from the non-profit organization program to assist them in enhancing their careers. I cannot do this alone, so I plan to make an impact with like-minded people who wish to change the world one community at a time.

I am a youth peer mentor at Phoenix Academy in my city, and I pride myself on ways to center and elevate youth voices that go unheard in the community. Peer mentoring relationships are relationships in which older youth and young adults offer advice and support to their peers following similar paths. My job is to guide underclassmen through academic and personal endeavors to display proper life etiquette and positive resources to handle unfortunate life plights. Peer mentoring relationships have been incredibly beneficial for both the youth mentee and myself. Peer mentoring allows me to reflect on and share the knowledge I wish I would have known as a younger person (such as when you first started middle school or high school or positive ways to deal with peer pressure, bullying, mental awareness, and anxiety), I can positively inspire youth similar to me and directly contribute to positive changes in my community. The youth in my surrounding area are intertwined with a mix of poor and middle-class living. I have experienced and overcome many things that younger youth struggle with today, such as dealing with stress before exams, studying effectively, being overwhelmed by commitments, and balancing friendships. With that being said, I have the privilege of sharing concerns about school life, the future, identity, and general experiences with my mentees and providing clarity. I have been able to share my knowledge, skills, and ability to succeed with my mentees who have gone through similar situations. I normalize and validate their feelings daily, no matter the situation. We must show our youth, especially our young men, that emotions are a gift from God. I teach my mentees how to balance emotions through positive reinforcement. I teach them that a turmoil of bottled-up emotions can lead to detrimental outcomes and consequences that may not be prepared for. I assist in finding ways to help my mentees effectively problem-solve as individuals and in groups. They are assigned accountability partners; I teach them that when dealing with problems, two heads are better than one. I encourage my mentees to communicate freely and openly about their needs, aspirations, and challenges without fear of judgment. I always listen and empathize with my mentees’ needs and life experiences. Being a part of the program, I have noticed a difference in my mentees' posture, attitudes, and spirits. They are more excited about life and encourage one another daily. The beauty of being a mentor is watching rainbows kiss the day. I will continue to mentor throughout college, and I plan to open a non-profit organization once I graduate.

First, let us examine what STEM represents. STEM is an acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math education. It is an interdisciplinary approach that helps students succeed in elementary, middle, high school, college, and future careers. The focus of STEM education is hands-on, problem-based learning. We must recognize that these four diverse careers intertwine into one beautiful walk of life. Just like cultures, we all come from different walks of life, consisting of living in other worlds, although we are all on the same planet. My experience in Georgia differs from that of someone from Pakistan or even Alaska. The upbringing determines the needs of the person or parties involved. Though we are from different parts of the country, we all have needs that we feel need to be represented to make our community better. With access to other education and resources, it is pertinent that various backgrounds merge to make a difference in the world. For example, farmers in Bangladesh need to find a way to grow food even when the land floods. City issues relating to transportation, the environment, or overcrowding — need design solutions. Some countries need access to clean water - some cultures can build water filtration systems. With the ever-increasing amount of devastating earthquakes around the world, a group can create earthquake-resistant structures in their classroom. This is why it is essential to have diverse representation in STEM careers. This is why it is important to have like-minded people who are not alike in boardrooms and labs across the country to make a difference. Diverse representation can save lives physically and mentally because successful STEM projects can provide peace of mind to all involved. Everyone has something of value to contribute, and it's society's responsibility to allow people to release their inner gifts and talents to make the world a better place. A team of people with different cultures and backgrounds who all see the world differently benefits creativity. This creates a more well-rounded and flexible approach to problem-solving. Scientific progress depends on people learning about new things and studying existing things in new ways — and having racially and ethnically diverse people included means bringing different lenses, different experiences, different questions, different passions – and getting better results. As STEM becomes a fastened position in the world, as humanity, we must open our eyes to the changes before us and design opportunities that will benefit diversity to make our world a more liveable and fruitful place.

Mental wellness has become an essential issue for me in recent years as it is something that I used to struggle with. Since overcoming the anxiety that I developed as a child, I have become a youth mentor to make children aware of their mental health at a young age so that it becomes easier to manage. Though I will be some distance away from my home and will no longer be able to be a youth mentor for my organization, I hope to continue being a guide for young children in whichever community I make myself at home in while in college. I also hope to create safe spaces for my peers that allow for a breath of fresh air away from the bustle of college. Within these spaces, we could build an understanding community that can lean on each other in times of distress. I also hope to encourage discussions about wellness through my art and writing. As previously mentioned, mental health was something that I struggled with in the past, but it has continued to inspire my art and writing. By sharing my experiences, I will create a platform for people who have faced similar struggles. I plan to be a part of these discussions and encourage people to open up so that we can continue erasing stigmas about mental health and the generational trauma that often surrounds many mental health issues. Though much of my art has been inspired by my mental struggle, the hardships I've witnessed within my community, like the unfair treatment of African American women within the health care system and the unequal opportunities presented in underprivileged communities, is something that is often expressed in my works and something that I hope to bring attention to improve my community. Though personal wellness is essential, health on a global scale affects us all. With the effects of climate change rapidly increasing, people can interact safely with the environment less and less. In the future, I plan to engage in research that involves observing people's interactions with the environment and finding solutions to encourage people to be more environmentally aware. I believe that by cultivating positive relationships with the environment and inspiring people to take better care of their environment, they will find more joy and beauty in the world around them, both in their interactions and improvements with it. Because of my interest in the environment and its effect on wellness, I also consider the environmental impact on communities and their culture. With more communities destroyed by natural disasters each year, it is vital to be able to recover what is lost during those horrible times. By using emerging technology like AI, it is possible to rebuild and replicate the heritage of destroyed communities and begin imagining new ways to rebuild them that allow people to interact better with their environment. Using technology to rebuild communities will introduce innovation and cultural preservation, ultimately improving the conditions and well-being of communities worldwide. Overall, I hope to continue to involve myself in improving communal wellness in my local area and worldwide, whether through helping my peers in university, addressing global problems by instilling passion in people through art, or helping suffering communities with advanced technology.

Like most people in my generation, I found that the media was an unavoidable part of my childhood. I was quickly introduced to every major world problem through the news and even shows I enjoyed, like "Planet Earth," which displayed global habitat destruction. My sensitivity as a child played a part in how much I care about these issues now and how I try to serve my community. Since I started high school, I've become a youth mentor at Phoenix Academy. Though a significant part of my role is helping the children at the academy, I have also taken it upon myself to introduce them to the importance of maintaining nature, whether in local forests or the backyard. Regarding my STEM educational goals, I plan to study anthropology. While studying, I plan to engage in community service and study abroad programs that will allow me to understand better the subject and how anthropology can be used to achieve my goals. Though I have considered other science fields like engineering and chemical engineering, anthropology allows for necessary research regarding science and the public's reaction and relationship with the subject. These skills will allow me to connect the public with issues they generally feel disconnected from, making them empathize with the problem while connecting them with the facts to bring more significant change. I can further my education by specializing in environmental anthropology to broaden my understanding of the issues I wish to solve. One of the significant problems I plan to address with my knowledge is global warming. Despite its severity, a substantial component of the lack of change regarding global warming is the lack of public empathy. Although the issue gets coverage when laws that would affect climate change are debated and in the heat of natural disasters, there is a lack of knowledge about its unseen effects and the solutions that people could work towards as a society. Using my environmental anthropologist skillset, I can better understand the relationship between people and their environment and innovate efficient solutions to issues. Climate change affects the natural environment and the social environments in areas facing the most severe threats. Every day, communities are destroyed by natural disasters that have solutions in the science community. Both these cultures and cultures being destroyed by rapid modernization can be preserved. Though these issues may sound different, they can both be slowed by emerging technology that can rebuild all aspects of communities using AI, including infrastructure, how languages sound, and artifacts that may have been destroyed. An essential part of being an anthropologist in the modern world is being able to use technology to solve contemporary problems, a concept that is slowly being introduced that I wish to push further within the community. Using modern technology will aid declining cultures and make people more open as they are exposed to more diverse people. Through these projects, the world can become a better-connected place that is more concerned with the well-being of one another and is more educated in different cultures. My goals within STEM are not just to better my local community but to enhance people's connections and love for their fellow man worldwide.

This scholarship support would be meaningful because I watched my mom struggle to provide us with a good life. Coming from a single-parent household, I have had to watch my mom uproot us from a comfortable life due to tragic events and start life all over again from scratch for the second time around. It was as if the devil did not want her to be great, for he knew she was special. My mom had been homeless once before with my older sister before I was even thought about. She got her life together and became a patient care tech for a major hospital, earning ranks and making a good life for herself. We did not have the world, but we had each other and were happy. But once again, overnight life struck my mom once again, and as hard as she tried to keep up with life, it decided to pull her back once again, causing us to lose everything we had overnight. Having to move from place to place in the blink of an eye, watching my mom's spirit dwindle right before my eyes (even though she kept on a good poker face), and hearing her cry at night when she thought we were sleeping broke my heart. But, oh, look at god. He came back and replaced everything the devil thought he had stolen. My mom was placed in a career she didn't deserve, but god. She was blessed with a real estate agent who put her in a first-time homeowners program, and she could go back to school through her job to advance her career. It is one thing to be a proud parent, but oh, to be a proud daughter. To watch your mom become a superhero right before your eyes. This scholarship would mean the world to me to remove some slack from my mom's back. She has been through enough and is working tirelessly around the clock, searching for scholarships on my behalf. Her dream is to start a non-profit organization for underprivileged youth in Atlanta. She has accepted a mentor in the non-profit sector to assist her, and she has instilled in me that giving back is the only way to be truly happy. Reach back and lift. She told me that once I start my career path, start a scholarship fund, and join the college abroad program, I will travel to different countries to help those in need. She encourages me to maintain my status as a mentor and one day take over her nonprofit or open my own to help those in need because someone will always be in need. This experience taught me never to give up on my ambitions and dreams. My mom taught me that perseverance wins the race. Like the turtle and the hare, sometimes taking your time in life gives you the best rewards. My mom is not only a single mom; she is a Supermom. I embody Agape love by volunteering as a youth mentor at Phoneix Academy and Step Up In Georgia. I take on the responsibility of feeding positivity into students who went through the same trauma I dealt with—those with parents who are dealing with trying times and transitioning to provide a positive outcome for the betterment of the family. We encourage parents and youth through classes, workshops, and community partner resources. There is no project too heavy for us to carry. We ensure that we love all the families from the beginning, continue to mentor them through their graduation and bring them back into society on a positive note.

I view the military in a positive light. First and foremost, the military allows one to enhance one's maturity level, self-improvement, know oneself better (e.g., strengths, capabilities, areas for improvement), positive transformations following trauma or situations of extreme stress, Improve coping skills, and pride within oneself and as a unit. We have to understand as much as we hate war, someone must place themselves on the front line to protect not only the country they live in but their families as well. Having the United States defend other countries is an honor of its own. Imagine someone you don't even know leaving behind their families to risk their lives to protect you. The men and women of the military are superheroes and should be treated as such. Imagine coming from an area where young men have nowhere else to turn but the streets. They live in a world where you either end up in jail or dead. Their education is subpar, and jobs are scarce due to their background. Imagine a recruiter coming along and instilling power into lost souls. Put, recruiters have the time and resources to find the best talent available rather than the best of what's available. Recruiters can pull gifts and skills out of those who don't believe in themselves. The military has taught me to take pride in myself and how I view the world I want to be a part of. I no longer complain about simple things as we have citizens who risk daily for those they do not know. I am a more humble person. I am more grateful and honored to have an uncle who is a military captain in the army. He went to the army right out of high school and retired from the military. He is now an ROTC teacher at a high school in Georgia. My uncle encourages his students mentally, morally, and spiritually. He prepares underprivileged students for a career in the military, building their self-esteem and enabling them to care for themselves and their families. I will never be able to look at the military in a negative light; they have positively changed so many lives. To all the military workers in the world, I would like to say thank you for your service. Your courage is one for the history books. Continue to share your heart with the world. Thank you again for the hard work you do.

The media played a critical role in exposing me to worldwide issues at an early age. Since I was young, I have watched shows like "Planet Earth" that display the beauty of Earth while also confronting the environmental destruction that is taking place. I want to pursue a career in STEM because it can help me gain the resources I need to confront global issues like global warming. Though I considered a degree in a science like biology or chemical engineering, I have found that the research done by anthropologists helps gather essential information about environmental issues and forms the communication channels necessary to allow their findings to reach a broad audience. I will use my anthropology degree to engage in research and the more ethical and human-focused training that anthropologists receive to make the general public more aware of environmental issues and push for communal involvement. Another component of anthropology is its ability to analyze and understand the components of the world around them. I plan to use this to uplift the community by creating safe spaces for cultural expression. By educating diverse communities about the people around them, we can better understand one another and begin to find ways to work together. Widespread cultural unity can help in social and financial ways, as well as help to address issues that I mentioned previously, like global warming. Helping people to understand the world around them includes protecting already existing cultures. By using the culture-focused lens of anthropology, I can ensure that there are ways to protect minority communities globally whose cultures are being erased and allow for the return of cultural artifacts to countries whose heritage is held by former colonizers who harbor stolen artifacts. With time, this connection of culture will form a global community willing to learn and protect one another. Though I don't have an anthropology degree yet, I am still very aware of the culture I am already surrounded by. Within my community, many people have the ambition and intelligence to achieve their goals but not the means. In the future, I hope to create a STEM non-profit organization in an underprivileged community like my own that can place people who are overlooked in a position where they can prove to themselves that they can thrive under the right conditions. Similar to how I wish to introduce opportunities into underprivileged communities, I also want to play a role in the technological advancements of the anthropological field. As technology advances, software has developed to rebuild archeological sites and give us clues into what ancient languages sound like. I hope to use technology like this to aid current societies. By using these kinds of tools, we can make it easier to help deprived populations across the globe develop infrastructure that suits them and their specific needs without erasing the cultures already present. Through a career in STEM, I will learn the benefits of scientific data, cultural interaction, and advanced technology and how I can further develop those principles into ways that will reconstruct society's generational problems. Through this development, it will be possible to uplift humanity worldwide.

I usually describe most slice-of-life anime as dull and repetitive. Despite this, "A Silent Voice" is one of my favorite anime and holds a dear place in my heart. I can form deep connections with the characters and easily resonate with their struggles, along with the beautiful presentation that portrays the characters' inner workings. Throughout the film, we witness how the main character, Shoya, struggles with anxiety, an issue I've struggled with in the past. Though he remains comfortable in his shell at the movie's beginning, we see him develop into someone more willing to express himself. Through this transformation, we also see him try to make up for the ills that he committed against the other main character, Shouko. Even as he has setbacks like people from his past bringing up the terrible things he did to others and his wavering perceptions of himself, he continues to find ways to move forward. My ability to resonate with this kind of perseverance against oneself to achieve personal growth makes this movie unique to me. The second main character, Shouko, breaks and heals my heart the most. Because of her deafness, she struggles to communicate and find acceptance with her peers in her childhood and as a young adult. Her struggle to communicate leads her into a depression, never shown on camera and not seen until the moment she tries to commit suicide. Her arc touches me so profoundly because I have known others and have personally struggled with my mental health in the past. To have the pain of not being able to communicate expressed through a character who, because of her disability, has difficulty expressing herself, though it is unlike my problem, makes the character relatable and easy to empathize with. The story's two characters, who struggle in different ways, accept each other throughout despite how they may have hurt each other in the past. Watching Shoyo help Shouko understand that she has a meaningful place in the world after growing up from being her childhood tormenter who made her feel like she didn't was a beautiful way for the writers to show the change in both characters. Shoyo's development into a confident young man who could forgive himself enough to look others in the eye and Shouko's growing self-worth despite her perceived flaws touched my heart. A proper applause for this fantastic film isn't complete without a nod to the visuals. The animation itself is crisp and beautiful, with vibrant colors and beautifully built characters that give us a sense of their individuality. The placement of each character in a scene is well thought out and portrays specific emotions as scenes change. The unordinary choices used, like having X's over characters' faces to show Shoyo's anxiety and how they peel away when he becomes comfortable with someone, help to enhance the story. The use of different shots to show parallels and foreshadowing is something I appreciate, as I notice something new every time I rewatch the movie. Overall, the movie's message about mental health and its ability to portray it through its characters and visuals have quickly made it one of my top anime. If you ever need something to watch, I recommend "A Silent Voice" to anyone willing to be enthralled by a beautiful, heart-wrenching story.

I want to pass a bill banning social media during school hours or shutting down after a particular hour for students. This bill would be called the Mental Health Shutdown. Social media has played a significant part in, I believe, the rise of cyberbullying, lack of attention in class, mental health, and prioritizing essential activities. Only teachers will have access to social media - there will be a device that blocks social media during school hours. Teachers will have a passcode to use the internet. Let's break down why social media mental health time is needed. According to reports, teens who spend more than three hours a day on social media double their risk of depression and anxiety. Children younger than 11 years old who use Instagram and Snapchat are more likely to have problematic digital behaviors like having online-only friends and visiting sites parents would disapprove of, as well as a greater chance of taking part in online harassment. Also, too much time on social media apps can lead to an increase in body dissatisfaction, eating disorders, and low self-esteem. As well as, reports show that 46% of teens 13 to 17 years old said social media made them feel worse about their bodies. Cyberbullying, which happens through technology, the internet, and social media to harass, threaten, or embarrass someone, is just as expected. Nearly 6 out of 10 teen girls say they’ve been contacted through social media platforms by a stranger in a way that makes them uncomfortable. Increased irritability, increased anxiety, increased depression, increased sleep issues, lack of self-esteem, and lack of focus and concentration are rapidly ripping into the mental health of our youth. The bill will identify time frames between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. and from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. to block student access to social media. This will allow students to engage with friends face to face, initiate conversations, focus and prioritize school work, gain interest in hobbies, and possibly absorb new reading material. At the right time, social media is a blessing, but when it stunts the brain growth of our youth, it becomes a curse. I view more negative information on social media than positive. It becomes depressing, so I can only imagine how it affects the minds of those in elementary school, including those who are on tablets most of the day to occupy their time so parents can get work done around the house. Let's make going outside and enjoying one another great again.

In 2020, I joined two organizations in my city: the Phoenix Academy Mentor Program and the Step Up In Georgia Mentor Program for youth and senior services. Based on inner-city needs, our youth in surrounding metro areas lack the resources to discover their dreams. When I joined the mentorship program, youth as young as seven were mentally broken. At seven, we were outside riding bikes, playing, and living an innocent life. As young as five years old, youth experience hunger, molestation, parents with no education, and or parents who pass down generational curse behaviors. As I interacted with the program's youth, I realized that all they wanted to do was be kids. No child wants to be in a position where they have no choice but to grow up too fast and lack the resources to maintain such a status. I implemented a workshop called "No Family Left Behind." Through community networking, my team could input G.E.D. courses for parents and technology classes and bring in work sources to discover parents needing jobs and technical training for certifications. We brought the food bank to assist with weekly snacks, groceries, and fundraisers. We also solicited community partners to provide monetary and in-kind donations to provide youth with fun activities around the city, allowing students to see outside the perimeter for the first time. In the future, I hope to establish a non-profit organization to pay it forward to my community. I want to add classes for the entire family. I aim to wean low-income families off welfare and help them transition back into society through certifications, degrees, and careers. I would also like to partner with the school counseling departments to reach youth exhibiting signs of distress. It takes more than a village. It takes the world to care enough to change an entire community. My mentors will help me enhance my leadership skills and ensure I have the resources to reward those who need services through community outreach. I hope to achieve a circle of bright students excited about making a return on the investment placed in them. Leadership is a healthy parasite that, if done right, can feed knowledge to multiple people, growing a beautiful garden of leaders to help not only better the community but the world as well. I am grateful to have the honor of applying for your fantastic scholarship. Thank you for all that you do.

I am passionate about art; art is a gateway to freedom, and I can express the avenues of my mind by this. Too often, as kids and adults, we cannot express the flow of activity in the brain. Daily, we take in our problems and the world's issues. Imagine the brain internalizing daily, including school, work, friends, family, social media, and worldly matters. How does a person exercise the brain to maintain a healthy balance? As I move into a more profound journey of the arts, I would like to reach out to the community to teach youth how to express the flow of brain activity through color. I would teach kids the emotions of color and how to release anger, happiness, and sadness on paper through paint, oil, clay, sketching, and other avenues of art. I want to teach our youth that outlets come in many forms. I would teach them the fundamentals of art and how to understand art in the eyes of the most prestigious artist. Most don't understand that art can be made from formulas of art and from the intricate math of the universe. Art is a true eye-opener. Earth is art. I would teach youth to view the world as art despite daily turmoil. I would teach them to tell the story in a way that will touch the heart of someone who cannot see the sun in the storm, who cannot see the light in the darkness. Art is a place of peace and a place of emotional freedom. Schools worldwide should allow students to express themselves through art once a day to release the brain of chaos. The brain breathes through art. Let's remember that art is a diverse range of human activity and its resulting product that involves creative or imaginative talent generally expressive of technical proficiency, beauty, emotional power, or conceptual ideas. Imagine if youth were able to express this side of the brain daily. I guess better grades, less disciplinary action, attitudes, and introverted behavior would decrease. I hope to open an art gallery to display teens' work in the community. I will produce art shows, galas, and auctions to prepare the teens for real-world experiences and introduce social awareness. This scholarship will help me increase my awareness of the arts so that I can one day pay it forward to those in need. Thank you for giving me this opportunity.

As the world continues to modernize, the amount of the world's money controlled by a small group of people continues to increase, hoarding the benefits that society could experience together. One change I would make to the world is decreasing the width of the wealth gap. The main problem with the wealth gap is that it puts so much power in the hands of such a small group of people. The concentration of power in so few hands allows a group of elites to manipulate the world's resources in a way that will enable them to make profits while ignoring the needs of the public. Because they have so much power, they're rendered untouchable by the laws in place because the elite will always be able to get what they want through a corrupt system that thrives on the selfishness of those who are supposed to bring justice. Ideally, erasing the wealth gap would eliminate the invincibility of the wealthy elite and hold them fully accountable for their actions. Closing the gap would not only destroy their power over the system but allow them to become more concerned with the well-being of society, as the elite no longer have enough money to ignore consequences and have empathy for those who are now similar to them. Closing the wealth gap would destroy the amoral system created by the ultra-wealthy and aid people experiencing poverty. In my eyes, it would mean returning essential resources held by the elite to the hands of the countries and cultures to which those resources rightfully belong. Returning resources would effectively allow underdeveloped countries that have been held hostage by countries that uphold the ideals of colonizers to make profits to finally benefit from the labor that they have been performing for decades for foreigners. Though countries may never be equal, returning those essential resources would be necessary to increase a country's wealth. This growth in wealth would allow underdeveloped countries to solve problems that have solutions in more developed countries. Issues like infant and maternal mortality, starvation, and damage due to natural disasters could quickly be solved if countries had the resources. Even in developed countries like America, where there are tent cities in every major city and the growing wealth gap increases the difficulty of simply living, especially for those in poverty, closing the wealth gap could change the lives of millions of people. Both greed and a lack of money are components of much of today's world's strife. Those with money are continually driven by greed and harm people while trying to gain profits, while those fighting to survive can't make proper changes because they don't have the means. An erasure of the wealth gap would allow everyone to empathize with a similar situation and give everyone the time to face the issues that present themselves to whole societies so that proper change can be made. Overall, closing the wealth gap is a way to unite humanity and free everyone from the lifestyle that has taken true power from everyone for so long.

Animated shows are often overlooked in favor of live-action series because they're deemed childish. However, the show "Blue Eye Samurai" is an adult animated series with gripping storytelling and beautiful animation that kept me entertained from beginning to end. The story is set in Japan's Edo period and follows the main character, Mizu, as she searches for vengeance while disguised as a man. Chances are, if you loved the movie "Mulan," this will be the perfect callback to your childhood while bringing something fresh. A highlight of this show for me is how, like "Mulan," it shows women's struggles during ancient periods. The maturity of the show, though, allows this perspective to be developed in multiple ways. One of these is the main character herself, the nobility, and the characters who were more likely to face the trials of society, such as the courtesans. The writers allowed their status to impact their characters differently while fully developing their characters outside their identities as women, which many series fail to do. The show enables its female characters to be strong in different ways without being so powerful that they feel static and inhuman. We're allowed to see the characters at their weak points, and as the story progresses, we gain insight into why characters are the way they are, which is done with methods that incorporate Japanese culture. The writers made sure to perfect not just the female characters but every character presented, fleshing out each well enough to seem realistic while serving a purpose within the plot. Some series often make a mess of having so many main characters and leave plot holes when going from one character's point of view to another. "Blue Eye Samurai" closely intertwined every plot so that even when characters weren't meeting, they impacted one another and tied the story together to create a fantastic ending to season 1. As I mentioned, the story doesn't just take place in Japan; it uses Japanese culture to tell the story in a way that allows the character to engage deeply in it. It presents itself in the characters' power dynamics, plot, and beliefs of the characters. Beliefs held at the time about those with blue eyes, like the main character, being regarded as demons gave the main character a heart-wrenching past and conflicted feelings about her identity while revealing the feelings of those around her and forcing them to confront their beliefs. A proper review of this series isn't complete without applauding the animation. One of my favorite things about live-action movies and series I've watched is the incredible fight choreography, so seeing a series that puts effort into having smooth, eye-catching fight scenes makes my heart flutter. Even simple scenes make an effort to appear beautiful and create perspectives and visuals that give insights into the deeper feelings of characters and meanings of scenes. An essential part of "Blue Eye Saumari" is its thematic presentation, which I commend the writers for being able to do without openly preaching to the audience. The themes in the show are closely tied to the visuals, specifically how it shows its characters. Overall, the writing of the show's characters, plot, setting, and attention to detail place it at the top of my list of Netflix shows. I recommend it to anyone and everyone, especially those who love character-driven, action-packed stories. A watch list isn't complete without this series.

If I could have everyone read one book, it would be George Orwell's 1984. The first time I read this book, it immediately became one of my favorites since it depicts so much of what is happening in society today. The novel's setting is a dystopian society where people mindlessly believe what the government feeds them. Information is constantly erased and replaced with events that never happened. Society is split into castes where those loyal to the deceptive government are rewarded. The middle class is made to feel like they're a part of some great cause, while people experiencing poverty are too distracted with trying to survive to try and create real change. Though today's world is not a complete dystopia as depicted in the book, society closely mirrors its themes. In the age of technology, people's opinions are easily formed and reformed by the abundance of information and the simplicity with which it can be manufactured. The world is experiencing socioeconomic gaps like never before, with the wealthiest people holding most of the world's wealth and using it to change its rules to their advantage. All of this goes unchecked because the rest of society is either complacent with the world they've created or fighting to survive. I want people to read 1984 because it would encourage them to look at the world from another perspective. Though it was written as a warning against a controlling society, it could now serve as a way for people to question the world around them. Throughout the book, characters are constantly faced with questions about why their lives are the way they are and are faced with confronting the lies they formerly accepted without question. Having everyone read this book would place them in the position of the main character and force them to examine how society has distorted their views and how they can change themselves and their world for the better.

This scholarship support would be meaningful because I watched my mom struggle to provide us with a good life. Coming from a single-parent household, I have had to watch my mom uproot us from a comfortable life due to tragic events and start life all over again from scratch for the second time around. It was as if the devil did not want her to be great, for he knew she was special. My mom had been homeless once before with my older sister before I was even thought about. She got her life together and became a patient care tech for a major hospital, earning ranks and making a good life for herself. We did not have the world, but we had each other and were happy. But once again, overnight life struck my mom once again, and as hard as she tried to keep up with life, it decided to pull her back once again, causing us to lose everything we had overnight. Having to move from place to place in the blink of an eye, watching my mom's spirit dwindle right before my eyes (even though she kept on a good poker face), and hearing her cry at night when she thought we were sleeping broke my heart. But, oh, look at god. He came back and replaced everything the devil thought he had stolen. My mom was placed in a career she didn't deserve, but god. She was blessed with a real estate agent who put her in a first-time homeowners program, and she could go back to school through her job to advance her career. It is one thing to be a proud parent, but oh, to be a proud daughter. To watch your mom become a superhero right before your eyes. This scholarship would mean the world to me to remove some slack from my mom's back. She has been through enough and is working tirelessly around the clock, searching for scholarships on my behalf. Her dream is to start a non-profit organization for underprivileged youth in Atlanta. She has accepted a mentor in the non-profit sector to assist her, and she has instilled in me that giving back is the only way to be truly happy. Reach back and lift. She told me that once I start my career path, start a scholarship fund, and join the college abroad program, I will travel to different countries to help those in need. She encourages me to maintain my status as a mentor and one day take over her nonprofit or open my own to help those in need because someone will always be in need. This experience taught me never to give up on my ambitions and dreams. My mom taught me that perseverance wins the race. Like the turtle and the hare, sometimes taking your time in life gives you the best rewards. My mom is not only a single mom, she is Supermom.

I currently have an immediate family member who deals with mental illness. We first have to understand mental illness comes in many forms. In my space, I have dealt with a person who deals with active symptoms of delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech, trouble with thinking, and lack of motivation when on specific medication. At first, I was very judgmental and frustrated because I did not understand what was happening. I had to take a step back and reevaluate my position. They were reaching out for help in the best way they knew how, and I had to come to terms with how many other people in the world are reaching out for help and being pushed away only because they are misunderstood and cannot control the chemical imbalance in their brains. It is essential to provide an open, nonjudgmental space with no distractions. Let them lead the discussion at their own pace. Don’t pressure them to tell you anything they aren’t ready to discuss. Talking can take a lot of trust and courage. You might be the first person they have been able to talk to about this. Try not to make assumptions about what is wrong or jump in too quickly with your diagnosis or solutions. Try to keep your language neutral. Give the person time to answer, and try not to grill them with too many questions. JUST LISTEN. Discuss ways of de-stressing or practicing self-care and ask if they find anything helpful. Exercising, having a healthy diet, and getting a good night's sleep can help protect mental health and sustain wellbeing. Have them play games, listen to soft jazz or classical music, or walk in nature. Try not to take control and allow them to make decisions. Also, seek holistic medicine as a natural precaution so the person is not consistently bogged down with meds. Please understand this is a draining situation. You will have your limits on the support you can provide. And it's essential to take care of yourself, too. Give yourself time to rest and process what they have told you or what’s happened. Try to help them create a support network of other friends, relatives, and mental health professionals who can help them, too. I am currently a youth mentor, and we make it our mission to discuss mental awareness with the youth in our programs. I wish to start (if my college has not done so) a mental awareness group for students where we meet once a week with a professor in place to discuss ways students have dealt with mental health, require help, want to be a support shoulder for other students and provide activities such as but not limited to yoga, sound bath, Reiki, team-building games and journaling to assist students on their mental awareness journey. This type of forum will prepare students for the real world and extend help to others as they travel the world on their journeys.

I currently have an immediate family member who deals with mental illness. We first have to understand mental illness comes in many forms. In my space, I have dealt with a person who deals with active symptoms of delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech, trouble with thinking, and lack of motivation when on specific medication. At first, I was very judgmental and frustrated because I did not understand what was happening. I had to take a step back and reevaluate my position. They were reaching out for help in the best way they knew how, and I had to come to terms with how many other people in the world are reaching out for help and being pushed away only because they are misunderstood and cannot control the chemical imbalance in their brains. It is essential to provide an open and non-judgmental space with no distractions. Let them lead the discussion at their own pace. Don’t pressure them to tell you anything they aren’t ready to discuss. Talking can take a lot of trust and courage. You might be the first person they have been able to talk to about this. Try not to make assumptions about what is wrong or jump in too quickly with your diagnosis or solutions. Try to keep your language neutral. Give the person time to answer, and try not to grill them with too many questions. JUST LISTEN. Discuss ways of de-stressing or practicing self-care and ask if they find anything helpful. Exercising, having a healthy diet, and getting a good night's sleep can help protect mental health and sustain wellbeing. Have them play games, listen to soft jazz or classical music, or walk in nature. Try not to take control and allow them to make decisions. Also, seek holistic medicine as a natural precaution so the person is not consistently bogged down with meds. Please understand this is a draining situation. You will have your limits on the support you can provide. And it's essential to take care of yourself, too. Give yourself time to rest and process what they have told you or what’s happened. Try to help them create a support network of other friends, relatives, and mental health professionals who can help them, too. I am currently a youth mentor, and we make it our mission to discuss mental awareness with the youth in our programs.

This scholarship support would be meaningful because I watched my mom struggle to provide us with a good life. Coming from a single-parent household, I have had to watch my mom uproot us from a comfortable life due to tragic events and start life all over again from scratch for the second time around. It was as if the devil did not want her to be great, for he knew she was special. My mom had been homeless once before with my older sister before I was even thought about. She got her life together and became a patient care tech for a major hospital, earning ranks and making a good life for herself. We did not have the world, but we had each other and were happy. But once again, overnight life struck my mom once again, and as hard as she tried to keep up with life, it decided to pull her back once again, causing us to lose everything we had overnight. Having to move from place to place in the blink of an eye, watching my mom's spirit dwindle right before my eyes (even though she kept on a good poker face), and hearing her cry at night when she thought we were sleeping broke my heart. But, oh, look at god. He came back and replaced everything the devil thought he had stolen. My mom was placed in a career she didn't deserve, but god. She was blessed with a real estate agent who put her in a first-time homeowners program, and she could go back to school through her job to advance her career. It is one thing to be a proud parent, but oh, to be a proud daughter. To watch your mom become a superhero right before your eyes. This scholarship would mean the world to me to remove some slack from my mom's back. She has been through enough and is working tirelessly around the clock, searching for scholarships on my behalf. Her dream is to start a non-profit organization for underprivileged youth in Atlanta. She has accepted a mentor in the non-profit sector to assist her, and she has instilled in me that giving back is the only way to be truly happy. Reach back and lift. She told me that once I start my career path, start a scholarship fund, and join the college abroad program, I will travel to different countries to help those in need. She encourages me to maintain my status as a mentor and to one day take over her nonprofit or open my own to help those in need because someone will always be in need.

The adversity I had to overcome was in a single-parent household. My mom has worked tirelessly around the clock to ensure I have the best life. I have watched my mom struggle and cry (even though she tries to hide it) and still push through. Sometimes, she didn't have it to give, but she always made a way. Even though she could not afford all the material possessions, her love never slacked. She has shown up and shown out for me in every aspect of my life. We have had to move multiple times due to tragic events, but my mom never missed a beat. My strength was passed down from my mom. She is a fantastic woman. Sometimes, her heart becomes weary, but again, she pushes through. I have not had the best life, but I have a good life. The trials and tribulations of moving abruptly from home to home without notice took a toll on our household. Uprooting the family from what we knew as our comfort zone and moving into a situation that was conducive to our mental health was a struggle. Through all that, my mom persevered and made her dream come true for the family. She bounced back purchased her first home, graduated from college and provided us a healthy atmosphere. My strength, my rock, my mother is a force to be reckoned with, and I am one proud daughter. It is one thing to be a proud parent, but when the shoe is on the other foot, oh, what a feeling, For those who have not faced challenges in their life, to me, they do not understand what it means to live truly. The saying "you have to get out of the mud" is not a negative but beautiful one because the world's most extravagant flower blooms from mud pits, and I am a Lotus flower. Honestly, I thank god for adversity because it has made me into who I am today, and with that being said, it has allowed me to become a mentor to youth in need for organizations in my community. There is no age limit to prospering in life as long as you believe if there is a will, there is a way to see a pot of gold on the other side of the rainbow. Embrace adversity, fine-tune it, and use it to change the world. Thank you

Often, when people are in the middle of conflicts between two people that they care about, they have heightened emotional intelligence about what is going on around them. Being the child of divorced parents is a very similar experience. Although they always tried to have my best interest at heart, my parents' strong feelings towards me and each other often led me to be the source of all of their interactions, good or bad. This led to my higher emotional intelligence from a young age and a strong intuition when interacting with others. Going from one household to another, I also learned to adapt to different environments. Since neither of my parents is well off and we moved to other apartments every few years, I quickly adapted to new environments. Looking back, I'm surprised this didn't come as a distraction, considering how much my mother worked to take care of me as a child and how little of her help I could receive. I believe I developed a sense of independence in academics to allow her the space she needed after long working hours. Seeing her work the way she did also developed a strong work ethic, as she was the role model I was constantly around. Because of this, my empathy and independence fed into compassion for those around me, and I have nurtured this compassion even today. The empathy and work ethic that became vital traits as a child have caused me to become interested in impacting society on a global level. I plan to major in anthropology and minor in art, which will allow me to learn more about the international society in which I am already interested and cultivate a skill I already have. By doing this, I hope to use my artistic talents to bring attention to global warming, connect people more personally to the issue, and lobby people in a way that allows the public to bring widespread change. I also hope to use what I plan to learn to bring attention to the threat of cultural deterioration in a quickly modernizing world. As the world advances, many small cultures are under the threat of being erased. Similarly, many others have parts of their culture held hostage in institutions that uphold colonial ideals by harboring stolen artifacts that don't belong to them. I hope that with passionate historians and artists, we can revitalize cultures that are being erased and advocate for cultures that deserve their heritage returned to them. This scholarship will help me achieve these goals by making it easier for me to attend my dream school, which is known for its mission trips to aid those in need and its deep involvement in the community. Its small population allows for a deep connection with other students and faculty, which will allow me to more easily connect with those who share a passion for protecting the world around them. I hope that with this scholarship, I can create the change I want to see in the world.

For a long time, I have been interested in humanity's duality and how it can present itself in many ways. I have seen duality expressed through my inner and outer self through the development of my mental state, which was the main inspiration for the attached piece. While overcoming a period of poor mental health, I began to realize that I was outgrowing who I was but had not yet fully developed into who I was becoming. In this way, I found that I was trying to find peace on the outside while on the inside, I was still struggling and exposed to the harshness that parts of me still saw in the world. These parts of me were not entirely separate, though. Instead of my thoughts varying from moment to moment, there were times when my old and new selves would clash at once in my head, creating this muddled canvas of thought I wasn't sure how to navigate. I chose to express this as the head and skull protruding and merging from one another to show how entangled everything can become. This artwork was also inspired by the complexities of my relationships that developed over the period when my mental health declined. Though I always felt that my parents loved me, as my mental health declined, I began to realize how little I trusted them with my emotions. This duality, too, is represented by the blank face staring ahead and the exposed skull, which shows the raw truth. I found a disconnect between what my parents thought our relationship was, what I thought it deserved to be, and how I felt. The combination of loving but not trusting, seeing what could be while never being seen, and how often those feelings blended to push me deeper into pain and guilt helped to inspire this piece. Though this isn't one of my best artworks, as it was something I did when I first began using charcoal, it is still one of my favorites since it is still relevant to me, and I continue finding new meaning in it. I see the theme of duality in everyday life, especially in emotion, though not as much in the negative aspects as before. As I study human history, I see the complexities and analyze the meaning behind behaviors familiar to me, even in the present. I become enamored by how I can still find the truth behind my feelings. This is my favorite piece not because of its appearance but because of the universal truth of balance and polarity that I can find in it.

Mental Health is crucial for me as a student because I have suffered from poor mental health in the past and know the adverse effects that it can have. I have also seen the adverse effects that it has had on some of my closest friends, which is something I never wanted to see them go through. When you witness how much harm not caring for your mental health can cause, it creates a new sense of awareness for the issue. Though my friends and I were suffering from different problems, we all went through similar struggles. We all became tired of the things we were passionate about. We all became more closed off from one another and didn't know how to seek help, so we sunk deeper into depressed mental states until we got ourselves out of them. Mental health is essential to me as a student because I know how it can cause people to collapse and become a lesser version of who they want to be. My goal has always been to help others and myself address our mental health in healthy ways that will allow us to grow with our communities. Having a collective with robust mental health can create a community that prospers together and can feed back into itself to continue to grow, which is another reason why it is so important to me. Often, when groups of students within the school look out for each other, it leads to better results for everyone. I advocate for mental health by participating as a youth mentor in my local community service organization, Phoenix Academy. Through the organization, my role has become chiefly engaging with young children on weekends for activities that challenge them and help them better understand themselves and the world around them. Since I believe starting healthy habits early is best, I often have simple lessons about mental health. Having conversations with younger children is usually simpler than having them with adults, as they are mostly more expressive. My mission, though, is to teach them healthy habits in expressing themselves and communicating with others, starting in the group setting that they attend. I also advocate for mental health through my school's club, Sisters in Action. The club was formed to empower young women, which we do frequently in simple ways. Our girl's bathrooms occasionally sport sticky notes with positive affirmations and advice that were made to get girls through the day. We have also hosted group meditations and PowerPoint during our meetings to encourage all of our members in various ways. I plan to continue being an advocate for mental health in my college career and beyond, as the mind is a part of us that will never leave and should always be loved and cared for.

For a long time, success was defined only by academics. Early in elementary school, I was labeled gifted and consistently praised for being the intelligent child ahead of everyone else. This praise made academics the basis of my identity, so when I stopped performing as well as I used to, I became burnt out, and my self-esteem shriveled. I could no longer achieve what came to be my idea of success, so I considered myself a failure, unable to reach for help because I believed that it was my responsibility to be who everyone thought I should be. It wouldn't be until years later, in high school, that I learned to outgrow these toxic patterns of thinking. I remember being in a deficient mental state when deciding that I wanted to change who I was. I didn't want to feel like I was less than anymore. Looking back, I wish I would have asked for help because it's possible that I would have gotten better much faster. After long periods of trying to retrain my thought patterns and look within myself, outside of what others constantly told me I was, my idea of success formed into something new. My idea of success is simply this: you will succeed as long as you stay true to who you are or become in the future and use what you have to better the world around you. My idea of success now revolves around staying true to who you are because it's hard to help anyone when you're miserable. When constantly trying to force myself to compete to be the best in academics, I was continually drained. However, when I realized that my true passions exist within the sphere of art and culture, it became easier for me not only to pay more attention to my interests but also to pay attention in schools and use what I learned to further my goals. I also say that you have to stay loyal to who you become in the future because, as people, we should constantly be evolving. Whether in morals, passions, or emotions, staying true to your current self instead of what others may remember you as just because that's who they are comfortable with is crucial. This opportunity will help me achieve my idea of access by allowing me to place myself in my ideal environment where I can learn within a small community that will enable me to interact with others who understand and help me further my anthropological and artistic goals. It will allow me to engage with an environment that encourages growth and global change and give me a hands-on understanding of what it means to be a global leader in innovation. The institution I wish to attend encapsulates a fundamental part of my idea of success: using what you have to better the world. Success cannot exist within a vacuum. The world was meant to be a place of exchange where one system helps another system grow. The university that I wish to attend, the one this opportunity will help me reach, is known for its frequent trips with faculty and students to locations worldwide to assist in research and aid those who are underprivileged. This opportunity will help me to engage in an environment where I can be myself, grow, and help those around me. In other words, success.

The media's constant attention to global issues has caught my attention since childhood. I always assumed that I had to be a scientist to combat the problems like global warming until I realized that I could use my artistic and writing skills to bring about change as well. I plan to use these skills to serve others by helping preserve cultures quickly lost to modernization. As smaller groups assimilate into more predominant groups over time, many cultural practices and heritage become lost. I plan to serve them by using my art and writing to direct public attention to the issue of cultural loss through deterioration and the stealing of culture through artwork and artifacts. Since the period of colonization, global superpowers have kept artifacts belonging to various diverse groups and displayed in museums. Despite the persistence of these peoples who ask for their cultural heritage to be rightfully returned to their land, their culture is continuously held hostage by the world's former colonizers. I plan to use my skills to serve this community by creating more awareness of the problem and encouraging lovers of art who understand how much art means to them to return these people's heritage to where it belongs. I plan to use my skills to improve society by combating the harmful stigmas surrounding many issues. Though the stigmas surrounding mental health are slowly but surely being undone, while being surrounded by my peers for the majority of my time, I have become a witness to how people may not realize that they have issues to address. An example of this is a sketch I did featuring a woman and a skill, which was inspired by feeling like you're not truly yourself, but you don't know who else to be. Using art as a form of expression and communication can allow people to look within themselves and learn to dissect their problems instead of looking at what someone else says may be wrong with them. I also plan to do this with various other issues, like family trauma, the deterioration of community, and the previously mentioned global warming. Global warming is a topic that has always caused me deep distress. The effects it has on the worldwide community, and the lack of attention it receives from the general public are incredibly concerning. I believe the issue could be combated much faster and with a much more vital force if the public banded together to push legislation that could cause significant change. Using my art to bring awareness to this issue serves a global community and improves society by creating a world we can all be proud of. I plan to use my art to create a platform that brings awareness to the issue and makes a stage where it can be openly discussed by people who all understand the language of art.

The pumpkin spice latte is a favorite and memorable drink to me. When fall rolled around, it was the only coffee my mother would allow me to drink, and it helped fuel my thorough pumpkin obsession. Since fall is also my favorite season, it's only suitable that pumpkin spice is one of my favorite fall staples, rivaled only by pumpkin carving and pumpkin soup. The latter has become a fall treat and an indicator of when a fall has arrived. Charlie Brown had The Great Pumpkin. We have pumpkin spice lattes. Though some may say it is only a drink, the ability of someone's tastebuds is not to be underestimated. Taste, sound, and smell have been linked to involuntary memory, a mechanism that allows people to remember things through the senses. This can be connected to any food or drink, but for me, the pumpkin spice latte brings back cozy memories of driving through light autumn rain or reading while the landscape outside changes from green to the fiery reds and yellows that make fall such a beautiful season. Even when mentioned, you can't help but think of a scenic autumnal Hallmark landscape with cozy scared and people with warm, steaming cups in their hands. The pumpkin spice latte has often allowed me to create scenes that get through the day. Whenever I don't feel like studying in the fall, I make a cozy setup with my books, gaze out the window like a main character, and sip my drink, maybe even going the extra mile and having a croissant on the side that looks so good it could be fake. The air that falls and the drink creates explicitly allows me to immerse myself in a situation that encourages me to keep pushing myself. The association and aesthetics it shares with autumn allow for a feeling of ease and perseverance. The iced pumpkin spice latte also has a place in my heart. Although the fall is known for its chilled weather and is ideal for hot drinks, the iced pumpkin spice latte creates a mood unlike its hot counterpart. Where the hot pumpkin spice latte created a feeling of coziness and relaxation, the iced latte has a more active feeling. The iced latte carries the autumn wind that pushes you forward, energizing you to do various things, while the hot latte provides calm and focus. Regardless of whether it's hot or iced, the pumpkin spice latte will always be a staple at Starbucks and in my autumn-born heart.

Since childhood, I have loved all forms of storytelling, including books, movies, TV shows, and visual art. Through my art, I hope to tell captivating stories that resonate with people. I hope that my artwork can portray simple emotions that move people and discuss issues that I and many other people have dealt with, like generational trauma and mental illness. Through my art, I hope to achieve a level of creativity that allows me to be fully expressive and experimental. I hope to allow myself the freedom from pressures that have been put on me throughout my life, and I, in doing so, encourage other people to be free as well. Outside of addressing the everyday feelings and common issues that people experience, I also hope to address the global problems that matter to me and bring awareness to them through my art. Issues like global warming, which I have witnessed since childhood, have always been a significant concern. By expressing these issues though my artwork I hope to create a stage where they can be discussed and become concerns of the general public so that we can move as a global community to create change. I hope to do something similar by addressing cultural deterioration. I hope that we can bring more attention to small cultures being erased due to modernization and return art and cultural artifacts that have long since been stolen from their homelands by colonizers. I envision my future relationship with art as something that alters often. Since I am still so young and learning to use different mediums and art styles, I don't imagine that as I gain experience, my relationship with my artwork will stay the same. I believe that, as people, we were meant to continue growing, so the artwork that I make or plan to make now may not mean as much to me in the future, and that's okay. As my feelings change, I may not feel the same way I felt about specific pieces in the past, but that will allow me to make room for new topics to depict in my art. I also envision my future relationship with my artwork as a timeline. Looking back at my past creations will remind me how far I've come and serve as a reference for the present. Inspiration and truth can always be found in the past. I imagine that my future relationship with art will always be personal, something I use as a form of expression and to show others what matters to me. This, too, may change, though, and although I am excited to see the future of my art, I am prepared to work on my skills in the present.

With so many issues and information being spread from multiple sources with multiple opinions, it's hard to talk about your views without getting backlash. We live in a combative world that's more focused on being proven right than understanding others. That isn't to say that we'll all always agree, but we should at least be able to agree to disagree peacefully. This is what I feel like writing does for me. It allows me to criticize everything I see in the world in a way that doesn't destroy my psyche. Instead of writing about the imbalances of power in a way that has constantly been ignored, I can turn it into a fantastical epic that allows me to address and escape the issues of my life. The pain I feel as though I can't express to anyone besides myself becomes poetry, something beautiful instead of painful. Something that can be erased and fixed, unlike the problems that I continually see and go through. Writing is an outlet and a way to connect with others and be seen. There have been times when I've felt alone and disconnected, but a fictional character has been the one thing I can connect to. Their weaknesses are mine, and so are their strengths, and I can recover from them. I hope this is what my writing can do for others one day. I can never write true to myself if I don't write what I feel, so I can only hope that others can genuinely connect with the emotions that I put into words. This connection is also essential because it creates a platform to discuss these issues. Classic books today are often dissected for their themes and critiques of society, which are frequently discussed when conversations on them are brought up. This is something I hope to evoke in my work. I want to create spaces where people are forced to call into question their behaviors, their thoughts, and the very basis of their society. One of my favorite books, "1984", is a perfect example of a classic noted for its criticism of society. It is authors like George Orwell that I hope that I can write like so that I can create meaningful, thought-provoking stories. It reminds me of one of my favorite quotes. "Art should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable." I feel like this, too, applies to writing. Writing means that I can confront the wrongdoings of society in a way that reaches a variety of people, not just those who agree with me, so that we can address the issues together.

I get inspiration from the everyday world around me through the relationships I see. I enjoy witnessing the colors and patterns in nature and trying to adapt them to my art style and the stories I tell. The emotions that I see in the people around me, what I watch, and what I read paint vivid pictures of alternative scenes that tell stories of their own and occasionally become interpreted in my art. Usually, the mundane things inspire me. The last time I felt inspired was when looking out of a restaurant's window about ten stories up. It was so dark outside that all you could see were everyone's reflections floating in the air. Though it was a simple moment, I couldn't help but think about how the reflections might have felt floating there, and it inspired me to draw. The most important way the everyday world inspires me is by encouraging me to think outside the box. The first image was inspired by the statues and paintings I often see in church, depicting biblical figures as solemn and dedicated. The combined woman and skull image was inspired by how people occasionally feel exposed and try to cover it up like they can't be too much of who they are. The third is a collection inspired by conversations I had with a group of people. I tried to capture the emotions I could remember in their eyes, some part of what made them what they were and again replicated it in the crow.

Though most historians consider Jack Johnson a controversial figure and not necessarily a leader, I consider him one of the most inspirational black historical figures. Though his behavior was uncouth and certainly not something I would model myself after, his attitude toward life is something that I hold in high regard. Around the early 20th century, when Jack Johnson was the heavyweight champion of the world, he dared to compete against white boxers at a time when he was considered less than. Despite the insistence of the white boxing community that he should stay with the rest of the black boxers where they thought he belonged, he challenged white boxers because he believed that he was the best. Johnson's choice to ignore the dominant white community and refusal to throw matches so that white people would feel less threatened by black people is part of why I consider him a leader. Though he was not like the typical leaders of the time who preferred eloquence and writing to persuade his people, he used his gifts to show his community that they were far from less than others. he continuously defeated the white boxers who would be deemed "the great white hope." The hope was that they would restore the honor of the white men and community who felt beaten by one black man who took the title from white men. Johnson did this to prove to himself that he was as great as he believed and to show that the black community was much greater than the white community would have them believe. Other black leaders and authors of the time wrote about Jack Johnson's infamy, stating how the integrity of the black community hinged on his matches against his opponents. This shows how important his role was in bringing faith and boosting the reputation of all African Americans. As stated before, some of Johnson's behaviors were considered uncouth to the public and aired out to display him as a villain. Though some of what was said about him was true, that isn't to say that what he did was unique to him. Johnson participated in many of the behaviors that white men participated in without being questioned. Once again, Johnson's refusal to bow to authority to seem pleasant or socially acceptable makes him one of my favorite historical black figures. His unbridled belief in himself and his community made him one of the most controversial and exciting figures in recent American history.

Because I have always had a passion for art and humanitarianism, I plan to use both in the future to raise awareness of global warming and cultural deterioration. Though I possess a variety of knowledge of history already, I plan to go to school to study anthropology to understand humanity's interaction with the world better. Through my understanding of the world, art, and culture, I will use art to communicate with people. I will also create platforms where researchers and artists can come together to bring awareness to issues they share a mutual passion for. Through my art, I hope to make the general public, who seems detached from the issue of global warming, care more about it so that they take action in their communities. When it comes to the problem of cultural deterioration, I hope to address it through my art so that not only the public is aware but researchers and other anthropologists begin to take into account how fast modernization is erasing cultures so that they can try to preserve them. Along with the fact that many cultures are being erased, some are continually being held hostage by former colonial powers who refuse to return countless artifacts that they received from conquest. I plan to create a space where these powers can be confronted and urged to return the items of people's culture since artifacts and art play an essential role in tradition, history, and beliefs. Outside of addressing global issues, I also wish to create a space where people can discuss more personal matters. Since my art often depicts topics that I have dealt with, like depression and family trauma, my work will create spaces where such issues can be discussed. The discussions surrounding my art will allow generational issues to be addressed in ways that will enable communities to grow. It will also invite people who have a minimal understanding of the topic but will introduce them to people who are willing to teach. I try to help my community in more localized ways, such as through community service. My favorite way to do this is within my school. Through one of the school's clubs, Sister in Action, we often do small acts of love to help the girls in the school. We frequently make and post notes around the school to encourage them throughout the day. We have also hosted meditations and meetings that discuss topics like money to encourage thoughtful choices and empowerment.

My love for the arts is seemingly random and unexplainable. Neither of my parents has been very artistic, nor has anyone in my family. Despite this, I have cultivated my creative skills in many different mediums. Though I am passionate about art, I struggled with completing pieces for a while because I was never attached to them. I have realized that I can't commit myself to a piece unless I can somehow feel or relate to it. I use my art as a way to tell stories of things that I have experienced, like mental health issues and family trauma. I do this to show what I'm feeling and allow others who may relate to specific topics to know that someone understands and has a space to talk about it. Even to those who may not tell, I hope those moved by my pieces seek a better understanding of the topics depicted. Much of art is about interpretation, so though I love to tell stories through my art, I enjoy leaving parts of my pieces somewhat ambiguous so there can be multiple messages. Allowing viewers to have space to read between the lines creates interesting conversations between viewers about many different perspectives. I hope to do this through art and by mixing mediums and unique ways that bring about more questions. Outside of my love for art, I have always been interested in history and humanitarian issues, such as global warming. Since art is known for unifying and bringing about discussion of important issues, I hope to depict some of these issues in my art to make them more prevalent. Though these issues are already presented in mainstream media, I believe there is little public action because people don't feel connected to them. I will use my art to call attention to important issues that I have seen since I was young and have not seen any real impact. Another issue I hope to bring attention to is the erasure of culture. Since I hope to have a significant or minor in something like Anthropology, I plan to combine an anthropologist's investigative skills and an artist's creativity to bring passionate people from all over together. This would allow me to create a community that genuinely cares about world issues, knows how to present them, and gets the public to care about them. As we move towards modernization, many small cultures worldwide are constantly being erased. Not only this but artifacts that have been stolen from countries and cultures all over the world are still being held by their colonizers despite requests for returns. Art is essential not only as a form of expression but also as a part of these cultures, which is part of the reason I want to create a platform to get so many artifacts returned.

What I remember most about my childhood was my parents telling me how smart I was, my teachers telling me how smart I was, and how good it felt to have everyone tell me how smart I was. From the time I was enrolled in school, the basis of my identity, what everyone told me, was that I was smart. My other talents, like my love for art and writing, were barely acknowledged as long as I was at the top of my class. When my grades started slipping, the one thing I recognized about myself was no longer there. Since the core of who I thought I was was now gone, my mental health began to slip. I stopped caring as much about what I did outside of school, now believing I was a failure because I wasn't meeting my parents' expectations. For a few years, I only knew how to navigate the situation by trying to improve my grades and restore who I thought I was, which only resulted in a cycle of negative thoughts about myself. That led me into a depression that I didn't know how to talk about because I felt like I couldn't. I never had a problem being the intelligent kid everyone expected before, so it shouldn't be a problem now. This thought process kept me from telling anyone in my family. For a long time, my only support system was my peers, who were also considered gifted and understood the academic pressure that came with the title. It wasn't until high school that I realized the problem wasn't my lack of academic excellence but my perception of my identity. It took me some time to admit that I'm more than temporary grades and even more than just my interests. As I saw my value, I also grew to know the value in others. Where my original perception of someone was purely based on their intelligence, I began to see people as more than how they were ranked in school. I allowed myself to be kinder and received more positive output from places I previously considered cold and exhausting. While recovering from such a bad mental state, I realized the importance of the mind. Though we often hear phrases like "mind over matter" and "life is what you make it," as my thoughts became more positive, I truly began to understand the power of what you say and think. It took me a while to fully convert my thoughts of insecurity to more positive things, but as I did, I learned that changing my perception of myself and the world around me changed everything that happened around me. I realized that if you seek the good in the world and the opportunities that it may hold, they will often find you. From this experience, I also learned that you have to continue to grow as a person. While recovering, there were periods where I considered my mental state better, but I still had reoccurring periods where I felt like a failure. It allowed me to realize that while you are improving, improvement is never indeed done.

Since I've struggled with poor mental health, I know very well how it can impact my personal and academic life. While I struggled, I noticed a decline in my academic performance as I struggled to focus in class, and it became harder to care about my grades when I found it hard to even take care of myself. My thoughts were filled with doubts about every aspect of my life, including my social life. Most of the time, I couldn't handle being around my friends for more than an hour before becoming irritated or choosing not to hang out because everything felt exhausting. Since then, my mental health has dramatically improved, and I've learned how to stop myself from slipping back into bad mental health habits. I've learned that an essential part of making my mental health a priority is doing regular mental health checks. Most people often allow their thoughts to remain on autopilot, bringing up reoccurring thought patterns that may not be healthy. I've learned to stay conscious of my thoughts a lot of the time to correct them and make better and healthier thought patterns a part of my routine. To make my mental health a priority, I also prioritize what's going on in my daily life. While balancing school, extracurriculars, community service, and the voices of everyone who seems to have an opinion on the future of my education, I've learned to hold certain things to a higher degree of importance than others, especially regarding other's opinions. This allows me to protect my piece of mind by putting what I know I need to prioritize in front of what other people think is best for me. Outside of sorting through everyday life, I've found that making time for myself is one of the most important things I can do for my mental health. Since I am passionate about the arts and have always had a safe space within them, I always make time to engage in them. Having an activity that brings me ease and a place to release emotions, not just address them, allows me to maintain a healthy mentality. When trying to remain healthy, I have found that my mental health has a deep connection to my physical health. When I'm inactive for long periods, I feel more tired and less inclined to do things I enjoy. I try to spend as much time outside as possible to counteract this. This allows me to feel energized and connected to the world instead of detached and reluctant to participate.

The mystery and supernatural elements of Gravity Falls and the creativity of Phineas and Ferb rank the two shows among my top-rated animated TV series. Combining their wacky and somewhat sarcastic humor could create nothing short of a masterpiece. In an episode titled "Gravity Falls on Phineas and Ferb," Dr. Doofenshmirtz creates a machine, thinking that if he can't defeat Perry the Platypus, then someone else, or something else, can. Following his notorious role in the show, Dr. Doofenshmirtz's invention doesn't go quite right. Instead of summoning something to defeat Perry the Platypus, he blasts Phineas and Ferb and sends them to the one place where all weird things come from. Gravity Falls. Mabel and Dipper see them as they appear and are immediately wary of strangers who appear out of thin air, considering all they've been through. When they appear in the gift shop, Mabel and Dipper run back to the Mystery Shack, prepared to go on lockdown. Phineas immediately starts fiddling with anything he can use to make tools, while Mabel attempts to get some information out of Ferb in a poor, Mabel-fashioned interrogation. Dipper follows Phineas, who is still making a machine, around the shop. Once the machine he made begins to ding, it shows him exactly where he is, which calms Mabel and Dipper. Once they confirm that the red and green-haired boys aren't zombies, clones, or shapeshifters, they realize they have nothing to worry about until there's a rumbling outside of the Mystery Shack. As it would turn out, Dr. Doofenshmirtz's Otherworldly-Gateway-Inator did summon the creatures he hoped for, just not where he'd expected. Back at Phineas and Ferb's home, Perry the Platypus is told to report to Major Francis Monogram to be sent back to Doofenshmirtz Evil Inc. so that he can undo what Doofenshmirtz had done. In Gravity Falls, the Pines and Flynn siblings look out the window to see Mitch, Meap's evil counterpart, outside the window. The Pines don't know who this is, but the Flynns are all too familiar with him. The children attempt to hide around the mystery shack when Mitch seeks them. Together, the Pines and Flynn siblings can use the anomalies around the shop and their inventing skills to keep Mitch at bay. Despite his usual cautious and frightened state, Dipper finds himself having fun with the boys he was previously wary of. Mabel's creativity pairs well as she runs around with Ferb, whose quiet demeanor balances her excited one. At Doofenshmirtz Evil Inc., Perry is forced to work with Dr. Doof to get him to fix the machine. It isn't until Vanessa walks in that he agrees to repair it. Once he does and brings the boys back, his machine is again destroyed. The Flynn boys start to glow, realizing they're about to be transported again, hopefully back home this time. They share a tearful goodbye with the Pines twins, promising they'll visit before they disappear. Once they return, Candace is in the backyard, ready to tattle on her little brothers for teleporting. Once they reappear, though, their mother's back is turned. Once she turns back around, Candace, who saw everything, is once again left stunned, wondering how she could fail to catch them again.

Because of the media's impact on my generation, I grew up with global issues like global warming and the various wars of the late 2000s being shown regularly. This caused me to develop a sense of responsibility for the world around me and has pushed my interests into fields like anthropology. Though I currently love learning history in school and reading about past events on my own, I feel that a career in a field like anthropology will significantly help further my understanding of the world around me and how I can help it. In the future, I will use my knowledge of the world and how to operate within it to better communicate the issues to the public. Since I also have a deep passion for the arts, I hope that I can use my talents to convey my message. Art is known for being moving and unifying, so I believe it can help bring attention to global issues. People continue to be disconnected from issues like global warming because they don't see it often. The articles they read or news they hear doesn't move them. Therefore, they don't remember. I believe that in the future, with a proper understanding of society that I plan to gain in my secondary education, I can bring the researchers who know the facts on the issue and the various artists, from writers to painters to public speakers, to engage the public on these issues and challenge them to fight for a better future. I'm also heavily invested in the cultural deterioration around the world. Though colonialism is an outdated concept, its practices have certainly not been forgotten and still linger in many of the world's most developed countries. Small cultures continue to steadily be erased by adapting to Western culture. At the same time, institutions like the British Museum keep people from their culture by holding captive the cultural relics and artifacts acquired from centuries of brutal conquest. I hope that the many cultures who have been victims of cultural thievery can come together to address the issue on a global stage and hold those accountable who justify such outdated and demeaning practices. Change is not only done through combat but through nurturing the already existing cultures. When I succeed in becoming an anthropologist, I will be in a position where I understand how to preserve and teach about culture and will be surrounded by people with the same intentions and interests.

Most of my favorite memories of playing the original Super Mario Bros on my family's little blue Wii start with someone yelling at the TV as if Mario and Luigi could hear us and would decide to pick up the pace. I was small, too small to handle the pressure of losing our last life if I lost the level and got us sent back to the beginning of the board, but I remember leaning forward with my eyes glued to the screen. My mother was shaking the pink remote strapped to her wrist, moving it from side to side like she was steering. My sister holds the blue remote, her favorite color, opposite my hyperactive mother as she sits tensely on the bed, quickly pressing buttons. I don't remember how they lost, but I remember how the music announced it and how they groaned in response. My sister flopped back on the bed next to me, and my mother took the remote off her wrist, smiling despite the loss. Even before I could play the game, seeing how my mother and sister worked together and how the game brought out their competitive spirit solidified the Original Super Mario Bros as one of the most challenging, fun, and rewarding Nintendo games. That little blue Wii is still a cherished family member, sitting in my room now that I'm old enough, though I still don't make it very far. I hold many fond memories of it, especially with my family. Playing Super Mario Bros 1, 2, and 3 allowed my family to work together, even if there weren't enough remotes for everyone. Even if we were supposed to play the game while seated, getting worked up, jumping around, and yelling at the TV were the best parts of the game. The competitive spirit that the game has always succeeded in bringing out in my family and how it allowed us to communicate outside of what was going on in our everyday lives has caused the game to remain one of my favorites.