I want to go into communications/ journalism because as a thirteen-year-old girl just starting middle school I was the most confused person on the face of the planet. I didn’t know who I was or what I wanted to do with my life. I was the kid that everyone knew but no one wanted to be friends with because I didn’t fit into their cliques. So you can only imagine that my social life was worse than that of a cow. So finding a way to be me and have a creative outlet was especially important to me because during this same year I came home and found my dad laying on our living room floor having a stroke. At the time my day was the only person in my family that had custody of me as my mother had not been in the picture for basically my whole life. This one event caused a series of chages in my life resulting in me going to live with my aunt. Looking back at it now I don’t think I would’ve even been able to get through all of that without social media, especially YouTube. For me social media was a way that I could express myself and feel like I was a part of something. It made me feel comfortable enough with myself to be able to come out as lesbian. Having things like YouTube helped me find people that were like me and it made me feel a little less alone in this world. I had the oppertunity to connect with other people like me. We have these amazing platforms where we can reach out to people, help them find themselves, and give them an escape from their real lives. We as people no matter what generation should be able to have our own little mini escape from our lives especially now during these times. That is why I want to go into communications/ journalism, so that I can help inspire people to find their voice. If i can just impact one person’s life and help them then they can motivate others to do the same. All while giving people a chance to smile at least once each and everyday. I hope that one day I can also start a nonprofit for kids that helps them find their voice in the world, and also give them a place that they can feel safe to be themselves and express themselves.

My name is Chello Gardner and I am a senior at Arlington High School in Arlington, TN. As a young black girl that identifies as a lesbian, it is often hard to find your place in this world. There was a time in my life in which I walked into a room and felt like I was being judged before I could even utter a word. This made me feel like I wasn’t capable of following my dreams, and caused me to looked down on myself because that’s how those around me saw me. During this period in my life, I turned to music as my escape. One artist that I identified with was Demi Lovato. She once said, “You’re stronger than you think you are. Keep pushing forward, never give up on your dreams, and don’t let anyone stop you.” Demi went through a lot of personal struggles in her life, and those around her also looked down on her. This quote showed me that I can be whoever I want to be. I had to learn to build confidence in myself, to speak up when I am being treated unfairly, and to never let others make me into someone I am not. I can’t be scared to take a leap of faith and chase after the things I want. It made me realize that I am not just a young lesbian black girl. My name is Chello Gardner and I am a strong, intelligent, beautiful, and colorful human being, and the world will hear my roar!

We as humans have become very comfortable with routine. We wake up every morning get dressed and get ready for our day. When we leave the house maybe we stop to go get coffee or a breakfast sandwich at McDonald’s. After work, we stop at the grocery store and then we head home. One thing we never thought would ever happen to us was a global pandemic. We live our lives on a day-to-day routine thinking that everything will be the same. COVID-19 has taught me that we can’t just live our lives doing the same thing every single day. We don’t know what’s going to happen to us, but we cannot spend our lives waking up every morning going to a 9-to-5 job. This pandemic allows us the opportunity to spend time with our family and do the things that we never thought we would be able to do and never had the time to do. It makes us sit down and look at our lives and question are we really happy in our day-to-day life. On March 13th the world was shut down, and on March 14th I spent my 17th birthday in quarantine. It has been a whole year since this pandemic began. Every day I am scared of what might happen next. I spend my days stressed and worried about school, college, COVID, my family, and my friends. Juggling school during a global pandemic, while trying not to contract a deadly virus, and still somehow get into college and pay for it all is not something I thought I would spend my senior year doing. I go to school and come home every day feeling burnt out, but I have to realize that I have to keep pushing and still find a way to make the most of it. Throughout this pandemic, I have learned that I don’t want to live my life in a routine. I want to wake up in the morning and get on a plane and travel somewhere. I want to allow others to find a creative outlet for themselves and give back to our communities and give people a reason to smile. I want to make an impact on the world, and change the way we view ourselves and those around us.

As a first generation college student, navigating through the college admissions process and life has been quite the journey. With my mom suffering from paranoid schizophrenia, and my dad having his fair share of health issues, paying for college has become a huge concern for my family and I. Unfortunately, at just 3 months old I was placed into foster care, and shortly after my dad obtained custody of me. At the age of twelve I was placed in my aunt’s care because my dad had a stroke and was physically and financially unable to care for me. Due to this unexpected change, my aunt and I were never properly prepared for how this would affect my future. Though she does the best that she can, financially she will be unable to help me cover any significant college expenses. Although my situation is not ideal, and I continue to take on many leadership roles within high school activities like Marching Band, Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA), and Women’s Equality Cub to help me grow as a leader. I also hold many leadership positions in an organization called Project Patriarchy. In being apart of this youth operated organization, I have helped educate youth in politics and issues on a national and global scale. These things have also helped spark my creativity and find ways to express myself and grow into the person I am today. Throughout my journey I had to deal with the fact that my parents wouldn’t be at any of my band concerts or awards ceremonies, but rather than be upset about them not being there I had to be proud that I made it to where I was. In three months, I will walk across a stage and accept my diploma without my parents being there. When I finally get to move that tassel from one side to other I will remember everything I did to get myself there. Even though the circumstances of my childhood have been far from perfect, without all of these life struggles I wouldn’t have been able to find myself and learn how to persevere. I have learned that only I can turn my situation into one that can make me instead of break me. Being awarded this scholarship would not only help me further my journey in education, but also afford me the opportunity to create a better life for myself, and write my own destiny.

From a very young age the odds had always seemed to be stacked against me. As if being a young, gay, black girl, in America wasn’t hard enough. I also had to live with my aunt because my mother had paranoid schizophrenia and my father had his own share of health issues. The only way to cope with all this was music. For me music gave me a chance to escape or even put into words how I was feeling. No matter what I was going through I had a song for it, but the one song the really got me through it all was Demi Lovato’s Tell Me You Love Me. That song not only gave me the strength to love myself, but it also gave me the confidence to take chances. It taught me that only I can be my own hero and that no one can love me the way that I love myself.

When I was in the 6th grade my father had a stroke and I came home from school to find him laying on the floor. I remember feeling overwhelmed and scared that I might lose my father. This is because my father was the only one that had custody of me and if something happened to him I could go into foster care. During this time I turn to social media, music, and YouTube to get me through this. It was influencers like AlishaMarie and LauraDIY that gave me a place in which I could be creative and express myself but with the rise of social media platforms like Instagram a certain toxic culture started to be formed. I myself have been a victim of cyber bullying and I had to tear into listening to music to help get me through that. I want to show kids how to express themselves and be who they are all while showing them how to properly and safely do that. It is important to me that we show the generations to come how to properly use social media in a way that is inspiring and can uplift people. I believe that only takes is that one post or video that will inspire someone to do that one thing that they were always scared of. Especially now with the rise of awareness about gender, race, and sexuality issues that are going on in this country and in the world we need to be able to take these talks off of the Internet and into our everyday life. That one TikTok video or that one Instagram post can change how someone views the entire world. I want that impact to be one that is positive. That is why I want to pursue a career in being an influencer in one day I hope to start a nonprofit that helps kids get educated About the current issues that are going on in the world and how to express themselves and inspire others. I want to create young leaders in change and promote creativity in young minds across the world.