I never gave much thought to furthering my education until I had my daughter. When I was pregnant, I wanted to give her more in life. I wanted to provide for her and be able to support and inspire her. I applied for college when I was 7 months pregnant and I thought, "This is going to be so easy. I'll do online schooling when she sleeps or when my husband is home to give me a break." I didn't know how hard it really would be. PPD hit me hard. I was exhausted and breastfeeding made it so my husband couldn't help with her feedings. What was once fun and easy for me turned into a difficult hassle. I came so close to quitting and finding a different career to pursue. After going back and forth on this and praying upon it, peace finally came. I imagined being miserable in a job I didn't enjoy and thinking about the regret I would feel if I quit now. I imagined in the future my daughter asking me if this is what I always wanted to be and I either had to lie to her or word it in a way that didn't make her feel guilty. I want my daughter to know that through God and determination, anything is possible. There is so much money that goes into continuing your education. You have your tuition obviously but there’s also the little costs. Money that doesn't seem like a lot, but it adds up over time. Gas, notebooks, pens, textbooks, laptops, internet, and so forth. When parents go back to school, that number jumps tremendously. You need to find a safe and reliable daycare if you don't have a family village to help out. You spend time fighting over doing schoolwork or spending time with your children. You also struggle with the guilt of leaving your child with someone else. You can tell yourself that it’s just temporary, but there are moments you won’t get back. Even though I am basically living paycheck to paycheck, I get the chance to stay home with my daughter. Money isn’t everything, which is why I decided to go to college part-time. It may take longer and cost more, but she is my main priority now. Being a parent made it easy for me to push on and not give up. I still struggle with being in school part-time, working part-time, and being a full-time parent. My husband works two jobs to keep us afloat, but I know that when I finish and get my degree he won't have to work as hard. We can make decent money and set a good example for our daughter. It would be an honor to win this scholarship because every dollar counts. Every scholarship that I win is less hours that I will have to spend at a job away from my daughter. Every scholarship, no matter how big or small, will make a tremendous difference in our lives. I appreciate the opportunity to be able to apply for this scholarship. I admire your caring soul and I aspire to be able to sponsor future college students as well. Thank you and God bless.