Scholarships are amazing tools that assist millions of people with the cost of tuition every single year. The ability to give individuals a chance to earn their degree and follow their dreams is a huge gift that many companies and organizations invest in. With the cost of living going up and the average personal debt amount skyrocketing, not only is it an amazing opportunity, but a blessing to be able to apply for scholarships and grants so that students have an opportunity to better their lives with a degree without worrying about going into debt. I am beyond grateful to have the opportunity to go to college and pursue a degree that I believe is going to help me in my long-term career, but this journey has not been an easy one. Life doesn't stop when unexpected things happen. My entire life changed in 2024. Not only did I get engaged and then married 6 months later, but we were also in the process of getting a house, starting my first year in college, and I was taking on the responsibility of working solo at my corporate job at Henry Ford for the majority of the time. To say my life was chaotic would be an understatement, and by the good grace of God, I got through it in one piece. I wouldn't change a single thing that happened because, among the chaos, were little blessings. Some blessings included my friends and family coming together to help me pull off a wedding I wasn't sure I could do, all of my needs being met exactly when they needed to when I was worried about our house not being ready after we were married for 3 weeks, or the long nights I had to stay at work past my shift time just to meet a stranger on the street and show them a little bit of kindness. If anybody reading this has ever been married, I challenge you to think about your first night after the ceremony, feeling that immense relief that the biggest day of your life was coming to an end, and you were finally with your favorite person and you probably felt like it couldn't get any better. That's how I felt after my wedding ceremony. I was the happiest, and the most tired, I'd ever been in my entire life. Until I found out that I didn't have to pay for college. And dare I say my wedding became the second happiest day of my life. So, how will the scholarship affect me and benefit my future? It will not only bring me peace of mind knowing that my hard work won't be sabotaged by the ever-lurking fear of debt, but it will help me achieve the knowledge that I need to run my business and give back to my community with opportunities not present in my hometown.

I am the type of person who loves to push myself to my max, whether that is at the gym, or at work, or when I am completing a personal project. I used to believe that success was the label you earned once your entire life was perfect. It was only obtained when you had the perfect family, the perfect house, and the perfect job. Now I have grown to realize that perfect isn’t real and success is a personal race. The pressure I put on myself to accomplish my goals was created because I have a very high standard for myself because I know I can succeed at anything I put my mind to. I define success for myself as being a better person today than I was yesterday, even if I am only 1% better. Becoming the most successful version of myself has been hard but worth it. It started when I was researching the habits of successful people and the top 3 habits that stood out to me the most were very simple. Wake up before 7:00 am, have self-discipline, and read consistently. These habits gave me a vision for my future self. They allowed me to set goals and start creating a life I could one day call successful. Since 2022 I have incorporated these new habits into my daily life, and I understand why these highly successful people do it. Waking up earlier has allowed me to get more done throughout my day, the self-discipline habit I adopted was going to the gym regularly which helped regulate my mood and build my confidence, which are both attributes that successful people have, and since embracing daily reading I have completed over 12 nonfiction books. When I think of success I almost always think of failure. I am not afraid of failure, I embrace it. Understanding that failure is an opportunity to grow and start again is one of the most important lessons anybody can learn. I have found that the hardest part of success is not failure, it is the doubt and criticism that comes from other people who can’t see your vision and sometimes it’s the people closest to you that put the most doubt in your heart. When I decided I wanted to make a change, I was surprised to find out how many people were calling me crazy. I was being told to lower my standards and ask for less, I was told I didn't have enough education to make a difference in the world, but I can’t believe that. The only voice successful people listen to is the one rooting for them in their heart. Success to me is not just about completing the goals I give myself; it's overcoming the lies that the world tells me I can't do because I'm too small, or not enough. Success is understanding that I have the ability to achieve anything I put my mind to because the potential that is within me is greater than the fear that is in the world.