My name is Chloe, and my pronouns are she/her. I am a cisgender, pansexual female. Growing up, I always knew I was gay. I came out when I was 11 , and at the time I was the first one in my school to come out. Very quickly I received ridicule from teachers, students, and their parents as well. There were multiple times during school that I had to leave sleepover parties early because my friends parents thought I would hurt the other girls or, as the put it, "turn them gay". Despite nearly constantly being ridiculed, I started the first GSA (Gay straight alliance) my middle school had ever seen. When I got to high school, it had reached a point that I had no one, and frequently ate or studied by myself in the library or bathroom. When I reached my junior year of high school, I enrolled in a college IT program. I was relieved to have an escape from my usual classmates, but disappointed to find out that not only was I the only gay kid in my program, but I was also the only woman. Over the next two years I endured hate and ignorance that escalated to a point where I dropped out of my program. When I graduated high school I went straight into the work force. When I started working my full time job, it took less than a week for a coworker to become infatuated with me. He was 45 and I was 18. When I told him I was not interested, he would not take no for an answer. I then told him I was gay, hoping it would throw him off. Instead, he insisted he could "change my mind" and told multiple other coworkers that he was going to "F***her straight". During this time period, another male coworker was also harassing me, but simply because I am gay. He called me multiple slurs and sometimes would follow me around the store. When I reached out to my managers, both of them got no more than a slap on the wrist. They were explicitly told not to interact with me, and they didn't. What they did do was spread misinformation about me. Suddenly I was hearing horrible rumors about myself and unfortunately, there wasn't much I could do to stop it. Instead, I ignored it. I moved up the ranks in the store and grew a backbone. I moved departments and became a leader. Just over a year ago I stepped down from my position after being a manger for a year at 18-19 years old. Now I don't tolerate that kind of behavior and I have learned to stand up for myself, to be my own best friend, and most importantly to be unapologetically me. Now I am furthering my education and pursuing a bachelors in psychology. Once I get my bachelors I will be pursuing a Masters of Social Work, in anticipation of becoming a Therapist specializing in at-risk LGBTQ+ teens. I hope to help kids who are going through the same struggles I did, from a place of experience and maturity. Currently, I support myself completely independently. As of the first of the month, I will have my own apartment with my boyfriend, I bought my own car at 19, and I have been supplying myself with basic necessities since I was 16 years old. I am now 20 years old, and I am anticipating working full time while going to school. This scholarship would lift a weight for me, and help me reach my goal.