Helping others is a dance that keeps others moving forward. The phrase "iron sharpens iron" has always interested me because both components are the same. One iron is not better than the other iron, both need each other to become sharper. That is how I feel when I support others and help them achieve their goals. Not only am I investing in their sharpness, but I am also investing in myself. As I sharpen myself, I grow in my goals and desire to help others, not only in my major, which is marketing but also outside of it. When I was a boy I was told I was too kind. I gave away more than I received and even as a child I loved to see people smile. This helped in my efforts to support other people by volunteering in my church. I helped paint houses for people who could not stand on their own. I delivered furniture to families that could not afford it. I helped kids who could not afford to buy new clothes for school get new shoes so they could feel confident on their first day. All of these were not for me to brag to others nor a pat on the back for, honestly this is probably the first time I have ever even written this down. It was for the community and to help people see that someone out there sees them. How does this follow my degree plan? As a marketer, I have found a passion in helping smaller companies find their way in social media. I currently run social media campaigns for companies that either do not have a presence or have a presence but do not run it correctly. I primarily target smaller companies so I can see them grow and help them prosper. "Mom and pop" shops are the backbone of our society and bigger operations tend to choke them out of the market for their gain. I want to show these people that they do have a chance with their company and to not give in to the pressure. I want to start my marketing agency that specializes in helping these companies grow and become as powerful as they can be. Helping others sharpens us as well. Iron sharpens Iron we are all the same. By helping others we can help ourselves, our communities, and our country grow into a stronger and more prosperous nation.

My favorite moment Nintendo ever gave me my awakening into the videogame world. I remember walking into my friends media room and seeing all of my family playing Mario Party 8 on the WII. I was so enthralled and even though I had no idea I had to play it, somehow I still ended up winning. Even though the bonus stars carried me to the win (Yeah they count) I felt so alive in my tiny child brain. Even far after that I continued to play Nintendo and it became my safe space. Mario Galaxy 1 & 2, Mario Party, Mario Kart, Super Smash Brothers, Legend of Zelda, and Pokémon all gave me the space to express my love for a wild life. Choosing my first starter Oshawott to stopping the moon from destroying the Earth, all of this made my simple world a little more exciting. It gave me shelter from being the weird kid out in the real world, to becoming a hero in another. Nintendo gave me hope for a brighter future and hope for more games in the future. Overall, Nintendo was there for me in a lot of times, good and bad. It was the start of my gaming career and made me love computers and technology much much more. By the way I 100% Mario Party 8 only a couple years later and am still proud of that progress.

Living life as a person apart of the LGBTQ+ has been a heralding and worrisome adventure. I have been Bisexual since I was twelve years old and have never looked back. Living in a Christian household I could never feel truly accepted by my peers and parents. Feeling like I had to hold on to the truth and hide from people it drained me and made me feel so isolated. I have found Certain communities that I have gravitated too, help me realize maybe my colors were not only black and white. I did not know who I was or why I was put on this Earth, and I am still learning everyday. However, the LGBTQ+ has helped me bring myself out of my own jail cell, that our country and culture has convinced me I belong in. I began to accept myself once I moved out and started to live on my own recently. I began going to college and started to learn about how to think and where I want to go in life. I joined and began creating a Instagram page that supports the LGBTQ+ that has gained over 13k followers. I love social media and marketing strategies so much and I would use my art to spread the love of the LGBTQ+ to everyone around. By making people see and exposing people to the LGBTQ+ I can start to help people grow and understand us as a community instead of enemies. This scholarship would move mountains for me and could push me to continue college. Currently I am worried of the debt I could accumulate if I go to college and the financial burden of never paying it off. However, the stress of the never ending debt and the living crisis would be mostly quelled by this help. As a person of the LGBTQ+ any support our community can get will greatly help the spread and growth of the love and compassion this community could have. Overall, my life has been a lot of ups and downs. Discovering I was apart of a community that most people do not want to accept was disheartening. However, Over these last couple years I have begun to accept who I am and to begin advocate for the community that I have found myself in. Whether you are straight, gay, or somewhere in between I hope that we can come together and build a community that supports each other.