It all began in January of 2022, right at the beginning of my second semester in college. I sat on a hallway bench and scheduled an appointment with my academic advisor, anxious of what was to come next. Originally, I came into college with this “perfect” plan of what to study (or so I thought). I was majoring in Marketing and convinced myself that I was obligated to stick with it. Having this major had been a part of my plan for years. As a perfectionist at the time, it was hard for me to even begin to entertain the idea of changing pathways so abruptly. I felt a sense of comfort in having a plan, but there was still one undeniable issue: I absolutely hated my classes. Despite obtaining high grades, I didn’t enjoy what I was studying at all. I was working hard and felt like it was all in vain. I was constantly stressed and strived arduously simply because of one thing: the fear of failure. One way in which I’ve grown significantly over the past year is by overcoming fearful and limiting mindsets. The moment I felt helpless led to the moment when I experienced relief. After scheduling the appointment with my academic advisor, I called my mom. I spoke with her about the possibility of changing majors and consequently, her support and much-needed wisdom led me to have an epiphany. The breakthrough moment occurred the second I realized to just let go. This wasn’t letting go in the sense of giving up, but instead, understanding that I didn’t need to have every little detail of my future figured out. It was okay to change my mind and to make mistakes. I didn’t have to be perfect. It may sound like common sense to many, but for someone who couldn’t even fathom having anything below an ‘A’ grade, this was a monumental moment. A weight was lifted off of my shoulders and I could breathe again. The physical and draining mental effects of stress no longer had an impact on me because I was making a choice. I made a decision that I was finally confident in: to stop fearing. Since making the decision that I don’t need to fear, I’ve experienced far much more progress in my mental health as a student and in general. I’m now a Media and Communications major, which I love, and I wouldn’t have been able to get to this point prior to my breakthrough moment. I was too afraid to change and possibly fail. I still aim to do my best in classes, but instead of stressing about the rest, I let things play out. My drive for excellence remains, but I intentionally don’t allow mistakes to deter me from moving forward anymore. Throughout this journey of self-discovery, I’ve learned that evolving is beautiful if we allow it to be. We may come to moments where we realize a fault or flaw within ourselves, but it’s at those times when a very important decision is made. Either we move forward and improve who we are or settle for where we’re at. From personal experience, I’d choose to now move forward every single time.

My goal for life is to be present, actively seeking the best for myself and others. Specifically, what this looks like to me is using my desire for writing and speaking to influence and enrich both those around me and far from me in the areas of life where I’ve experienced personal growth. Whether it’s simply speaking words of life into my peers or delivering a speech to many, I plan to impact the world with the use of my voice.

𝙳𝚘𝚞𝚋𝚝 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚏𝚎𝚊𝚛 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚕𝚘𝚗𝚐 𝚕𝚘𝚜𝚝 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚜𝚒𝚗𝚜. 𝙱𝚘𝚝𝚑 𝚎𝚡𝚒𝚜𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚙𝚊𝚛𝚊𝚕𝚢𝚣𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚕𝚒𝚖𝚒𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚍, 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚖𝚘𝚜𝚝 𝚍𝚎𝚝𝚛𝚒𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚊𝚕 𝚎𝚏𝚏𝚎𝚌𝚝 𝚒𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚢 𝚋𝚘𝚝𝚑 𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚋𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚍. 𝙱𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚍 𝚘𝚏 𝚠𝚑𝚘 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚌𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚋𝚎. 𝙱𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚍 𝚘𝚏 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚜𝚎𝚎. 𝚂𝚎𝚎 𝚒𝚗 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛𝚜𝚎𝚕𝚏 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚜𝚎 𝚊𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞. 𝙲𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚒𝚝 𝚋𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚍𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚖 𝚗𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚎𝚜𝚌𝚊𝚙𝚎𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞, 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚎𝚜𝚌𝚊𝚙𝚎𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚍𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚖? 𝚆𝚑𝚢 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚍𝚒𝚖𝚖𝚎𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚘𝚠𝚗 𝚕𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚌𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚋𝚎 𝚊 𝚋𝚎𝚊𝚖? 𝙰 𝚋𝚎𝚊𝚖 𝚘𝚏 𝚏𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚑 𝚕𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚜𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚛𝚖 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚠𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚗𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚎𝚗𝚍. 𝙰 𝚋𝚎𝚊𝚖 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝚏𝚎𝚎𝚕 𝚋𝚛𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚗𝚎𝚠 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚗𝚘 𝚕𝚘𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚛 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚙𝚛𝚎𝚝𝚎𝚗𝚍. 𝚆𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝚍𝚒𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚍 𝚋𝚎𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚜𝚘 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚜𝚞𝚖𝚎𝚍 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚕𝚒𝚎𝚜? 𝚃𝚎𝚕𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛𝚜𝚎𝚕𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍𝚗'𝚝, 𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍𝚗'𝚝, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚍𝚘𝚗'𝚝 𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠 𝚠𝚑𝚢. 𝙶𝚘 𝚊𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚜𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚕𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎. 𝙳𝚘𝚗'𝚝 𝚋𝚎 𝚊𝚏𝚛𝚊𝚒𝚍. 𝙾𝚠𝚗 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚢 𝚜𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚕𝚎 𝚍𝚎𝚝𝚊𝚒𝚕 𝚘𝚏 𝚑𝚘𝚠 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚖𝚊𝚍𝚎. 𝚈𝚘𝚞'𝚛𝚎 𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚊 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚘𝚗 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚋𝚎𝚌𝚊𝚞𝚜𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝, 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚊𝚕𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚢 𝚠𝚒𝚗. 𝙺𝚗𝚘𝚠 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚙𝚞𝚛𝚙𝚘𝚜𝚎, 𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚐𝚒𝚏𝚝𝚜, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚛𝚎𝚖𝚎𝚖𝚋𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚘 𝚊𝚕𝚠𝚊𝚢𝚜 𝚑𝚘𝚕𝚍 𝚞𝚙 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚌𝚑𝚒𝚗. 𝙳𝚘𝚞𝚋𝚝 𝚗𝚘 𝚕𝚘𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚛 𝚋𝚎𝚕𝚘𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝚢𝚘𝚞. 𝙸𝚝 𝚗𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚍𝚒𝚍. 𝙸𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚓𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚊𝚗 𝚞𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚟𝚒𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚟𝚒𝚜𝚒𝚝𝚘𝚛 𝚊𝚜𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚊 𝚋𝚒𝚍. 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚎𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚙 𝚍𝚘𝚞𝚋𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛𝚜𝚎𝚕𝚏, 𝚢𝚘𝚞'𝚕𝚕 𝚜𝚘𝚘𝚗 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚣𝚎 𝚠𝚑𝚢. 𝚆𝚑𝚢 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎 𝚒𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚓𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚊 𝚐𝚊𝚖𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚢𝚎𝚍, 𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚊𝚕𝚘𝚗𝚐 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚌𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚏𝚕𝚢. ~ 𝓑𝓪𝓼𝓲𝓪 𝓡𝓪𝓲𝓷 𝓜𝓪𝓻𝓲𝓷𝓸

Within the past two years, allyship has never meant more to me than it does now. The pandemic proved just how important it is to walk through life together, rather than alone. After coming to this realization, I decided to show up for the community of people who could possibly benefit from my own transparency of overcoming different challenges I’ve faced in my life. So, I started a podcast, named "Rain and Fruit Podcast." Whether an episode is focusing on helping someone through a subject as heavy as unforgiveness or even just providing an encouraging message for the day, I work to inspire listeners to become the best they can be in life, as I do the same. Although obstacles may appear in one’s lifetime, we have the power to overcome and if I can be a part of the reason someone does, that means so much to me. Near the beginning of this year, I began purchasing equipment to start recording. I had no idea what I was doing. Despite ignorance not being bliss in that situation, I found a microphone to purchase and downloaded an editing software onto my computer. Around the same time, I began building a website for my podcast. I knew that I wanted all episodes to be available outside of traditional platforms and easily accessible for everyone online. As I continued taking tiny steps and learning more, the vision I originally saw started to become more of a reality and I just wanted to keep going. Not knowing who I would reach, I stepped out on complete faith knowing that my voice would help someone somewhere and to me, that was worth it. I released the first episode and didn’t turn back. A few weeks after, the website was launched. Since starting Rain and Fruit Podcast, it has had such a great impact on me. I’ve noticed that when I sit down to record episodes with intentions of helping others, I have unknowingly encouraged and inspired myself at times after playing it back. Hearing listeners tell me the positive influence it has had on them really makes me happy. As someone who believes in everything having a purpose, hearing that what I’m doing actually has an effect on people makes me truly blessed and honored to be able to use my voice to uplift. The voice is a tool that can easily be taken for granted, but knowing that I’m able to use it to bring people through rough patches is so encouraging and humbling. It reminds me of how much we all need both love and each other. Although the podcast itself hasn’t been active for even a year, I believe that starting it not only has helped me to learn so many skills, like sound editing and website hosting, but it’s also made me more comfortable with speaking to and understanding others. In my opinion, being a great communicator and having empathy are crucial qualities to have as people. They enable us to have compassion and starting this podcast has helped me to better understand where others may be coming from in situations similar to where I’ve been.

Amelia Boynton Robinson and Samuel William Boynton were two prominent figures in both the Civil Rights and Voting Rights Movements. Amelia and Samuel shared a passion to improve the lives of the African American community. Before marrying in 1936, they were both already active in laying the groundwork for the Voting Rights Act to be passed in 1965. Throughout the nineteen-thirties and fifties, they paved the way for us to vote by hosting Black voter registration drives in Selma, Alabama. They encouraged Blacks to avoid harsh working conditions, especially in sharecropping, and to become economically informed. They saw voting as an opportunity to overcome discrimination. Obtaining the title as president of registration and voting from the Fourth Congressional District, Samuel used his platform to help the Dallas County Voters League, an organization co-founded by Amelia in 1933 to register more Black voters. Later on, they closely worked with the SCLC to organize protests against disenfranchisement of Blacks and segregation. Amelia and Samuel opened their home to strategize. Unfortunately, Samuel ended up suffering a heart attack and died in 1963, but Amelia continued with their efforts. In 1964, she became the first Black woman to run for a seat in Congress. Although she didn’t win, she stayed involved with planning one of the most well-known marches, coined as “Bloody Sunday.” Amelia’s hard work and heart for the voting movement were most clearly demonstrated at this time. During the march, she was beaten until unconscious by police officers and still continued with her activism afterwards up until her death at the age of 104. Both Amelia and Samuel’s endless contributions to laying a firm foundation for voting rights display their passionate dedication towards making the world a better place for us all to live in. They took every opportunity they could to fight for others whether it was running for a congressional seat or simply taking the time to explain economics and the power of voting to someone. They valued education and wanted better for everyone. It’s that same selfless and curious attitude that inspires me to major in Media and Communication. By receiving an education on how different aspects of our culture operate, I’ll be able to further understand how exactly to reach audiences that I wish to inspire and educate on serious topics. When we know better, we do better and I think that by knowing what our culture values, we will gain a clearer picture of our strengths and weaknesses as a society overall, helping us to improve. I plan to make an impact on the world through voting rights, civil rights, and equal opportunities for all by inspiring others to take advantage of what we are given and to capitalize on the advantages that we do have, as I do the same. Many times, people miss out on the potential of becoming all that they’re supposed to be simply because they underestimate the power available to them. By using my creativity and entrepreneurial skills to do so, I want to change the way we all think about ourselves and capabilities. We’re living in a unique point of history and while there are still flaws in society, I can use my voice as something that brings light by empowering others. We are able to vote now. We are able to speak. So, I aspire to one day own a business with a greater mission that's known for bringing hope, inspiration, and change just as Amelia and Samuel have brought for many of us to have the rights we do today.

I deserve this scholarship because orange comes after red in the rainbow. ROYGBIV has always been helpful when it comes to the importance of scholarship applications like this because skittles are delicious and absolutely necessary for writing essay after essay. In a world flooded with acronyms however, FAFSA is one of the best ones out there. You can’t go wrong with free money in a world with green grass, right? In a world so cold, my academic/career goals consist of giving every single person in the world fire-making lessons and a hug. As humans, we could all use a little warmth and with the proper $80,000 college education, I believe we could achieve this goal. After all, roses are red and violets are actually mostly purple, so why do we say blue? Anyway, let’s make some life-changing fires. It all began with a slow stride. As time ticked, my stride progressed into a running sprint. I was picking up the pace. I was gaining momentum little by little. A small mist gathered on my forehead and I ran. I was feeling parched, but determined to win it all. With one leap, I finally did it. I jumped 3 inches over the inflatable obstacle at my seventh birthday party.