Because of an unfortunate financial situation, I have had to work to provide for my family for the past two years. My entire life, my father has worked out of state in California for the film industry. In May 2023, the Film Writers Guild went on strike, and he was out of a job. My family has seven people, so this caused an immediate panic. At this point in life, I was already employed, unfortunately just a couple of days after my father was laid off, I was fired. Shortly after, I got my certifications in place to be a lifeguard that summer. During the summer of 2023, I was working almost 30 hours a week in the beating sun, and almost all the money earned was cycled back into supporting myself or my family. When the summer ended and I began my Junior Year, I applied for a waitress position at the local pizza place. Here I quickly began working 25+ hours a week while also juggling school and band. My family was even becoming even more despreate for financial support, as the strike had still not ended. The responsibility fell on me to pay for groceries, my sibling's school supplies, and car insurance. With little time in the day to study, It was difficult for me to maintain my A+ average. However, I rose above the odds and finished out my junior year with excellent grades. The stress and responsibilities that have fallen on my shoulders during these last few years have impacted my academic performance, but I have found the strength to persevere and do my best to succeed. To be honest, I am very nervous about affording the costs of university this coming fall. As soon as I graduate, I am temporarily moving to a larger city and couch surfing off a friend in order to work at a well paying job. I am hoping to make enough over the summer to pay for the rest of my fall tuition, but nothing is promised. With this scholarship, so much of that stress would be taken off of my shoulders. I only need around $10,000 more in order to cover my entire first years cost. My parents will not be aiding me, so it is entirely up to me if I want to push myself to succeed, and I most definitely do. The money I would earn from this scholarship is more than enough to motivate me to persevere through the hardships on the horizon and make my dream of becoming the first person in my family to graduate come true.

My choice of health care profession that i’ll be studying for the next few years is psychology, with plans to become a licensed therapist. I have always been extremely passionate about advocating for my peers mental health throughout my childhood, therefore, I plan to specialize in youth therapy. The reason I want to become a therapist is because it has always been difficult for me to see the people I care about struggle with their mental health problems while I was growing up. With the recent mental health crisis, I have seen so many people around me fall victim to depression, anxiety, and, unfortunately, suicide. Not only as this affected my mental health, but it has given me a deep desire to understand the big question, why? Why do people get so sad, so crazy, so angry? The more I would question it in dark times, the more genuinely intrigued I was, and I made the decision to combine my want to help others with my passion for knowledge in order to pursue psychology. Throughout my life, I have always been known as the person that my friends, and even people who didn’t know me too well, knew they could come to, whether it was to cry on my shoulder, to talk through their issues, or to just laugh along with me. A frustration that I heard quite often from my peers was that although they had been seeing a counselor, they felt as if they weren’t getting the proper help needed in order to thrive mentally. They felt unsupported, and some friends told me their therapist was “out to get them” As much as I deeply wanted to help them, there is not much of an impact you can make as a child, and I knew then that I never wanted to make a child feel that way. I did not have the knowledge or influence to direct their emotions in a way that would have helped my friends at that time, and the best I could do was comfort them through their struggles. Therefore, I am going to take advantage of becoming an adult, and pursue this major/career to gain the knowledge I had always yearned for on those days where I felt helpless. I can not wait to make a change, no matter how small, and become the person that my peers needed help from in their youth.

In middle school, I discovered a band named ROAR by a stroke of luck. This band was not very popular, and the music that they produced was slightly strange. Despite this, they quickly became my favorite band and I listened to almost 35,000 hours worth of their music in 2021. Along with the insane hours, Spotify claimed I was in the top 0.05% of ROAR's listeners that year. Middle school was tough for me, like it is for many people, and I deeply credit this ROAR's music for getting me through those awkward years. Throughout my high school experience, I have branched out into different music and bands. Therefore, my obsession with ROAR has faded considerably. I still listen to their music now and then, in fact, as I write this I am. Despite the decline in interest, I still kept up with the band on social media. One morning earlier in the year, I saw that they had released a new album for the first time in nearly three years. Immediately, I began listening to the entire album from beginning to end. As the music played, I discovered that they were going on tour to celebrate the release of the album. Excitingly, I rushed online and ordered tickets. I had never been to a concert before. As I looked into the venue details, I discovered it was a cozy little nightclub in the middle of downtown Austin, and only 100 tickets were available. Tingling with anticipation, I bought a brand-new outfit and created a detailed itinerary for myself. Looking back I can laugh at myself for overplanning, but at the time, the excitement was overwhelming. On the day of the concert, I got ready hours too early and had to sit around waiting until it was time to call an Uber. Once I got to the venue, I realized it was even smaller than I'd anticipated. I looked around at a tiny merch stand, selling only a print or two and some tee shirts. Being one of the first people there, I pushed my way towards the front and waited for the opener to come out. The total turnout for the concert looked to be about 80 people. As the opening band played through their songs, I could feel the excitement running through the crowd. I remember looking around at the faces surrounding me and thinking that this was it, I had found my community. Finally, ROAR came on stage and I saw in person, the man I had only ever seen through Spotify and Instagram posts. It was an unreal feeling, and I realized I had fulfilled a dream I had a long time ago. The depressed middle school girl that was still a part of me healed a little bit more. Once the music started, I felt like I was floating. I had never seen any music live before and It was the most amazing experience. The lights, the surround sound, and hearing the performers up close and personal made me feel alive. Halfway through the band's sets, the lead singer stopped to play a game of Mad Libs with the audience. Hearing the people around me sing and laugh along with me was something I had never felt before, and I truly realized I belonged. I'm so thankful that my first concert experience was amazing.

I discovered Chappell Roan back in March 2024 right after I made the decision to break up with my boyfriend of a year and a half. Like a teenager does after a break up, I began listening to a lot more music. Chappell Roan became my #1 Spotify artist in a matter of weeks, and I quickly indoctrinated my friends into the fandom. As a bisexual teenager living in a very conservative rural Texas community, my sexuality has always been a complicated subject to explore. Chappell Roan’s bold expression and pride for her sexuality made me prouder of who I was. Her musical talent was also something I deeply admired. For most of my life, I have been a musician. While I do not have the talent to sing, I play a wide variety of instruments. One of the main things that has drawn me to Chappell’s music is her immense vocal control and music composition. I began to notice this when I heard her song “Picture You”, where she demonstrates incredible technique and control of her voice. I look up to Chappell Roan because she is also from a small rural town like me. Her success story of a queer rural musician becoming one of the biggest pop-stars in the world is incredibly inspiring. Later this year, I will be going to support Chappell Roan in person at her performance in the Austin City Limits music festival. As soon as her name came out on the lineup, I bought tickets. I am overjoyed I will be able to see the artist that I admire so deeply.

Minecraft played a big part in my childhood. At school and at home, it was always something interesting to talk about. Whether it was a new update that was coming out, or someone beating the Ender Dragon for the first time, it always seemed to be something that the people around me could bond over. Because of this, my favorite aspect of the game is something quite simple, the ability to play with family and friends. Once my siblings and I discovered the Multiplayer option, the Minecraft universe opened up to us so much more. We would come home from school and as soon as we could, joined whatever world we were working on at the moment. This did not always make our parents happy, but we sure enjoyed ourselves. Once my friends at school started getting computers, we would exchange gamer tags and join each-others servers or realms. It was always very convenient that Minecraft could be played across a multitude of platforms, and allowed almost everyone I knew access to the game. This was a great way for my siblings to connect with my friends, as well as a good way for me to develop “social” skills. Additionally, this inspired several friends of mine to start their own streaming our YouTube content channels, which added a level of excitement and creativity to playing time. During quarantine, my oldest sister had to come home from college. She had never lived with my family for more than 6 months before, and there was over a 7 year age gap between us. Because of this, we were not very close to each-other. However, a few weeks into quarantine she discovered the wonderful game that is Minecraft. After this, my siblings and I would spent countless hours in my room building an intricate society in a realm. In this time, we all became very close to each-other, this simple game about blocks helped to bridge the gap that had been in my family for so long. Through the uncertainty and panic that ensued with Covid-19, Minecraft became our safe-space. I would say without a doubt it was one of the biggest factors that got me through those tough months. I deeply value the community and togetherness Minecraft has brought to many people throughout the world. This game will always hold a special place in my heart. Thank you Minecraft.

Despite my outstanding performance, I have always been seen as a dumb blonde. From a very young age, I have excelled in school. I have maintained a 4.0+ GPA, been a part of the gifted and talented program, joined several extracurriculars and clubs, and kept a consistent job to support my family. Despite my hard work and effort, I can’t seem to be taken seriously. I strongly believe this has to do with the fact I am a woman in a small town rural Texas community. My freshman year of high school, after I turned 15 was when I truly began to notice a difference. Instead of being patted on the back for my academic accomplishments, I was called into the office and told to cover my revealing shoulders. Meanwhile, the football team was congratulated for passing their classes, and were allowed to make uncomfortably sexual comments towards their female classmates without so much as an eye raise. This began to infuriate me, but whenever I would speak out about it, I was brushed off as a “dumb feminist”. “What’s so wrong with being a feminist?” was the question I asked often. I never received a good answer, just that feminism was “stupid” or “too radical”. All I have ever advocated for is equality, all I have ever strived for is to be held on the same level as my male classmates. I do not believe that is “too radical”. I will always and forever speak up about this issue, and continue to advocate for the many women in my life. In the Fall semester of 2025, I plan to attend the University of Texas in Austin. My chances of making it in are slim, but I believe I can do it. At UT, I plan to study psychology, where I will complete my masters degree and become a licensed therapist. As of now, I am planning to specify in youth therapy and help aid children through mental health issues. The impact I would make as a woman is succeeding. Completing my masters at an excellent university and becoming an essential member of a community as a therapist would be a wonderful showcase to the girls that are growing up in my hometown. I hope that my success will inspire them to challenge the gender-norm, and push through being seen as “just a girl” to become the smartest, most successful version of themselves.