I believe I should be considered for this scholarship because I am determined, hardworking, and passionate about my education and future career allowing me to have a strong drive to pursue my career. I have loved music my whole life with my first performance being when I was six years old and as I got older, I wanted to become a singer and only became more passionate about music over time. For a few years I was confused about what I would study and pursue as a career. Though I loved performing since I was young, I started to face barriers later on. In high school as college and deciding my future came closer, I started to get sent in different directions. Since performing is seen as a risky career as I got older, I was encouraged to consider what some would say were more realistic jobs. Some of these jobs were a music teacher, a writer, and a journalist. Though I tried to find the same passion for these careers that I had for performing, they never felt the same. Additionally, I got told by my peers, family, and some mentors that I wouldn't be good at other careers. All of these factors had me reeling. I was lost and even more upset that I seemed to have nowhere to go. However, as the year went on, I realized that at the time I needed to focus on what I felt passionate about and consider what other people consider is best at another time. Music has helped me in a variety of ways from my mental health to my overall happiness. During the hardest and most stressful times of my life music helped me persevere. An example of this is during my senior year when my mom had been diagnosed with an autoimmune disease. She had lost her ability to move most of her body and was in the hospital for months. Living without her and having to manage the house, family members, school, and work, was one of the hardest times of my life. The only time I felt comfortable and happy was when I was making music. When I was performing and singing with my peers in choir, I was able to embody the music and forget about my home situation. When I was anxious and depressed music was there to help me through. Additionally, during the spring semester of my first year in college I got into a deep depression. After an unlucky first week of losing my phone, access to my school account and assignments I got behind and was not able to get any help from my professors. From there I continued to have a downward spiral with my mental health and watched my academics and energy fall apart. Though I was stressed while pursuing music it was still keeping me through this time. During this time, I realized why I was pursuing vocal performance in the first-place music was not just something I loved, it was what I always dreamed of, it became more than a desire and a dream it became a part of my body and spirit. When I realized how important music was to me, I realized why I couldn't give up on myself. And though it was difficult with me losing a counselor and not always having the energy to get out of bed, I was able to get through the semester and find happiness again through performing with my peers and working with my voice teacher who was helping rebuild my confidence in myself. My overall happiness has improved because of music. Even in my low moments with choir or theory, making music and sometimes just sitting down and listening to music makes me feel better. Music helped me through the worst times of my life, and I know it will only continue to do that in the future. It has made my life better in so many ways and I can't imagine who I would be or what I would be doing if not for music and I will always love it for that. Through pursuing music, I have had a variety of opportunities. Throughout school I participated in All-County, ACDA, Districts and State Solo and Ensemble and have earned a number of high marks and awards. My love for music led me to audition for a Visual Performing Arts Magnet in high school and was able to partake in voice lessons and learn many new skills. Now I'm studying Classical Vocal Performance at the University of North Florida and have been able to develop a wide range of new skills like conducting, advanced music theory, and new acting techniques. Additionally, I have been able to participate in many performing opportunities with being able to have multiple opera roles, paid performances, and have even been able to win an aria singing competition. Pursuing music has provided me a wide range of opportunities and has increased my drive and passion for music more than before and being able to continue with help from this scholarship would prove to me that my hard work and determination would be able to pay off.

As a student I think mental health is important because having good mental health will allow me to focus, connect with others and have a positive mindset in school. Looking back, I've realized that I've struggled with mental health my whole life with one of the first instances starting in elementary school. When I was younger, I often got upset and would cry over seemingly little things and was often called sensitive. Along with that after my parents' divorce, I switched schools and became incredibly shy, quiet, and anxious. I felt like an outsider and barely talked to anyone. At this time my family didn’t really understand mental problems and how to handle them. I often got shamed and punished for how I was feeling and never really understood why. This made me more distant and secretive about my problems with my family and others in general. Though lately I have been able to share my problems with friends I still often hold my feelings inside and barely share them with my family today. After this time throughout high school I continued to face more mental health challenges. During my senior year of high school my mom was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease that had her in the hospital for many months. During this time many responsibilities were put onto me from work, school, family drama, all while wondering if I would see my mom again. I became depressed and drained and often struggled to get out of bed. This experience affected my relationships specifically with my extended family due to the inappropriate behavior during the situation, but it also helped bring me closer to my mom and siblings after we overcame the experience. Though the situation with my mom put me through a lot of stress I would say the worst depression I felt was during my first year of college. Though the fall semester was practically perfect, the spring semester started off horribly. I started off the semester getting locked out of my email and canvas, unexpectedly losing my federal work study job, and having a professor push me to withdraw a class before I even had the chance to catch up. Though I tried to believe it was simply a bad start I was hit with many other obstacles and felt like I was constantly being punched down. I became depressed and practically bedridden; I watched myself go into a zombie like state and became a shell of who I once was. Even though I was able to get through it eventually and finished out the year fairly well I will never forget how I felt during this time. I have continued to struggle with depression and anxiety and have even dealt with suicidal thoughts as well. While I have been able to evolve while working with my counselor at school I have seen how much my mental health can impact my education. Since I'm studying music having a good education is non-negotiable and is how I can have access to more opportunities and develop my skills. Being stable with my mental health will allow me to keep up with the time consuming major and become more successful as a student and a performer as well. Mental health has always been really important to me, and I have been able to advocate for it by connecting with others who need help with services needed and showing my community at school what options, they have to help maintain their mental health.

I've been raised by a single mom since I was eight and watching her persevere and grow through many challenges has taught me many things. One thing that she taught me was having determination through any challenges. My father was one that believed child support went a lot farther than reality and as long as he paid it, he didn't need to do anything else for his kids. For most of my life I rarely saw my dad and while he took care of the new family he created, I watched as my mother struggled to keep up financially. He got to a point where he fully stopped paying and my mom's salary, though too small to always keep up with what was needed, was also too big to get any government aid for food and we never had extra family support either. Despite all of this I watched my mom stay strong through our worst times to take care of us. This not only inspired me but also my siblings on how to face challenges head on through work, school, and later on to help take care of her. My mom showed me how much the love and care for your loved ones can take you. Watching how much she was willing to do for us made it easy to see what a parents love and care should look like and taught me how to show love for my family and friends in many different ways as well as appreciate the community I have. I would never be as far along as I am in life without my mom and I will always work to show her how much I appreciate her sacrifices for me to have these opportunities.

For me college means that I can pursue my passions, gain new opportunities, and better my future. While pursuing my degree, I've not only been able to develop my skills but also have access to new ones that I never saw myself getting going into my degree. I currently study classical vocal performance at the University of North Florida and through the years I have been introduced to advanced music theory, conducting, acting techniques, and knowledge of vocal pedagogy to name a few. Being able to continue my degree will give me more opportunities to develop these skills and be able to pursue music as my career. While studying at UNF I have had a variety of different opportunities. I have been able to do things like have multiple opera roles, have paid performances, and even have been able to win an aria competition run by my school. Through these opportunities as well as being able to study under a voice teacher and have had multiple mentors throughout the years I have learned how deep my love for performing is and also that I have an interest in teaching students in a private studio as well. With these new insights and being able to develop my voice and skills themselves my drive to pursue music as my career has only gotten better. However, college not only allows me to achieve my passion but that I will be able to give back to my family and community. I was raised by a single mom since I was eight and watching her persevere and grow through many challenges has taught me many things. Her determination helped her through many barriers from my dad not paying child support, being denied any aid, and not getting help from our extended family. I watched my mom stay strong through our worst times to take care of us. This not only inspired me but also my siblings on how to face challenges head on through work, school, and later on to help take care of her. Being able to continue my education to have a promising career will not only give me the opportunity to help give back to her in the future but my community as well. I would also have access to providing for my community. I have always had a passion for helping others and giving back and recently have had personal experiences where I needed to rely on my personal community. Recently I unexpectedly became homeless, I had originally planned to stay at a motel but due to a system error I ended up not being allowed to check into my room. Not being able to afford another motel and having nowhere to go I turned to my friends for help and was able to stay over at their house while I thought of next steps. Looking back, I hardly want to think about what could have happened if I didn't have my community to turn to and having the opportunity to continue my education and be able to pay them back for what they've done for me in the future as well as help others that have went through it as well would be a dream. College is one of the most important parts of my life and I cannot imagine where I would be able to go if I stopped pursuing my education. Having the opportunities would not only allow me to do what I love but be able to make an impact and I will always appreciate the opportunities this education offers.

I have been singing for most of my life with my first performance being when I was six years old. As I got older, I only became more passionate about music over time. Performing has helped me in so many ways that my drive to pursue it as a career grew tremendously. In the future I not only want to be a performer and be able to share a story and connect with others but also be able to teach students to help them develop their love for music as well. For a few years I was confused about what I would study and pursue as a career. Though I loved performing since I was young, I started to face barriers later on. In high school as college and deciding my future came closer, I started to get sent in different directions. Since performing is seen as a risky career I was encouraged to consider what some would say were more realistic jobs. Some of these jobs were a choir teacher, a writer, and a journalist. Though I tried to find the same passion for these careers that I had for performing, they never felt the same. Additionally, I got told by my peers, family, and some mentors that I wouldn't be good at other careers. All of these factors had me reeling. I was lost and even more upset that I seemed to have nowhere to go. However, as the year went on, I realized that at the time I needed to focus on what I felt passionate about and consider what other people consider is best at another time. Now I am studying Classical Vocal Performance at the University of North Florida and have had a wide range of opportunities throughout the years. I have been able to develop and learn new skills like music theory, conducting, and vocal pedagogy knowledge as well as be able to perform in a variety of different areas. I have had multiple solo opportunities as well as multiple roles in operas, paid singing opportunities and have even won an aria singing competition. Seeing my voice develop has made me realize my love for classical music and opera singing, reaffirming my plan to pursue performance as my career. Additionally, while studying at UNF I have had a variety of mentors and voice teachers that have showed me a clearer idea of what I want to do as a career. The voice teachers at my school are not only consistent performers working with symphonies and performing in a number of other countries but of course also develop a variety of voices with their own vocal studios. While working with these mentors and meeting other professionals in the field as well I have learned a specific way of teaching that connects to students and is able to develop someone's love for music. Though the thought of having so much impact on one's voice and love for music can be scary to think about I'm also excited for being able to help develop someone's connection with music. This scholarship would be able to help me continue my education and continue to have access to educators that can develop my skills and help me turn into a professional performer and educator myself. Currently being surrounded by colleagues who have more access to money and familial support it's easy to feel insecure about having less educational opportunities and wide number of second chances and having this scholarship would help me be able to pursue my education with less worry about being a lower class than everyone else.

I honestly never tend to think how many ups and downs I've had throughout my life until I start to write it down. I've been in the lower-class sector for most of my life and have been raised by a single mom since I was eight years old. Additionally, I have dealt with many adversities, obstacles, and circumstances that left me at what felt like rock bottom. However, when I look at how I remember everything I see that because of the perseverance and optimism I learned from my mom I've been able to look at my situation with a different perspective. Through this I have also been able to rely on hobbies that have brought me joy in my worst moments even one that turned out to be my passion. I have loved music my whole life with my first performance being when I was six years old. As I grew, I only became more passionate over time. Music has always been one of the most important parts of my life. It has impacted my happiness, my confidence, and overall mental health. Music and performing has helped me in so many ways that my drive to pursue it as a career grew tremendously. When I was younger, I lost most of my confidence after I had to switch schools. I became shy, anxious and rarely talked to my peers. One of the few things that made me feel comfortable again was performing. Singing and performing for others took me to another place and is one of the things I love most about music. Music has also helped my mental health, in some of the worst moments of my life music has been one of the main things that helped me get through it. An example of this happened during my senior year in high school when my mom had been diagnosed with an autoimmune disease. She had lost her ability to move most of her body and was in the hospital for months. Living without her and having to manage the house, family members, school, and work, was one of the hardest times of my life. The only time I felt comfortable and happy was when I was making music. When I was performing and singing with my peers in choir, I was able to embody the music and forget about my home situation. When I was anxious and depressed music was there to help me through and I will forever love music for that. Currently I am studying Classical Vocal Performance at the University of North Florida and have been able to develop my love for performing. Through pursuing my degree, I have had a wide range of opportunities such as having roles in multiple operas, doing paid performances and recently even winning a singing competition run by my school. I've discovered that performing isn't just important to me but has become a part of me in a way and I feel honored to be able to pursue it as my career. This scholarship would be able to give me so many opportunities to pursue my career. Giving me the opportunity to continue my education and have access to more opportunities, connections, and skills. Being surrounded by colleagues with more income and family support I've not always had access to as many educational opportunities and wide number of chances for as my peers, having access to a scholarship like this would be able to help me have access to more to develop my career path as well.

Pursuing a higher education will help me facilitate my future by teaching me how to refine my skills and providing opportunities for me. I have been performing since I was six years old and have always wanted it to be my career. Through performing I have been able to see how I can make a positive impact on others through connecting to audiences, giving others opportunities and slowly getting the ability to help my community. For a few years I was confused about what I would study and pursue as a career. Though I loved performing since I was young, I started to face barriers later on. In high school as college and deciding my future came closer, I started to get sent in different directions. Since performing is seen as a risky career as I got older, I was encouraged to consider what some would say were more realistic jobs. Some of these jobs were a music teacher, a writer, and a journalist. Though I tried to find the same passion for these careers that I had for performing, they never felt the same. Additionally, I got told by my peers, family, and some mentors that I wouldn't be good at other careers. All of these factors had me reeling. I was lost and even more upset that I seemed to have nowhere to go. However, as the year went on, I realized that at the time I needed to focus on what I felt passionate about and consider what other people consider is best at another time. After that I began studying classical vocal performance at the University of North Florida and through the past three years I have learned a wide range of new skills. Not only have I learned more about singing through classes like vocal pedagogy that showed me the anatomy of the voice and vocal literature that showed me how useful a library of songs is I have also learned completely new skills like basic conducting and a wide range of music history. I’ve learned things that I never imagined I would be a part of growing up and they have helped me develop my performing in a variety of ways as well. My education has given me insight on new ways to look at rhythm, character portrayal, and learning a role. With this I’ve had many amazing opportunities like portraying multiple opera roles, having paid singing opportunities, and even being able to participate in a singing competition which I had the honor of taking first place. Studying at the university has developed my performing and given me skills I never would have imagined having going into my degree and has made my drive for my career even better. Through performing I have already noticed my ability to have a positive impact on others. When I have performed I’ve been able to connect with audiences by telling stories of hope, of independence, of perseverance and have reached people in ways that I never imagined. This has not only made my desire for performing grow but has also made me excited for the possibility of making money that I can use to give back to the community around me.

Collaboration has not only been a great opportunity for me to do but also has taught me how to work with others, how to appreciate different talents, and how a piece can transform more than before. This past year I have had a number of collaborations with artists, instrumentalists, and other vocalists and I have learned so many new things from the opportunities. When I started my degree in vocal performance, I had the opportunity to work with many other vocalists in my school. I have performed duets, sextets, and ensemble pieces with my colleagues and have had the opportunity to learn how to improvise with others and get comfortable with people I may not have been familiar with before. I have also had the opportunity to work with other musicians, and I believe these collaborations have made me better as an aspiring professional. After winning an aria competition at my school I had the honor to sing one of my solo pieces with the orchestra from my school. Through this experience I learned to make small adjustments to cater to my fellow musicians and was able to get immersed in the piece more than I ever thought was possible. My performance with the orchestra was my best performance of that piece and ever since I’ve dreamed of having the opportunity again. Even though I felt amazing about the performance, others decided to make interesting comments. Even from right when I got off the stage people were saying the orchestra was out of tune, one of their solos was bad, some weren’t together, all things that I never thought of or noticed when I was singing. They made an exciting moment for me, an opportunity to shame other students for things that either weren’t accurate or were miniscule at most. Another example of this was when I was in the most recent opera production where we worked with the orchestra as well and I saw similar behavior from my colleagues. It seemed like no one could help themselves but speak harshly and poorly about our colleagues and conductor. They seemed to take any mistake that was made personally, and any adjustment as a burden and no one was able to see their own faults and mistakes anymore. This negative environment made it practically impossible for me to focus and enjoy the production and there were many nights where I blasted music in my ears to avoid it all. This experience taught me that being able to work with others is not only about being able to do your part correctly but also being able to show respect to who you’re working with which in my opinion includes not making a negative environment for others and disrespecting people behind their backs. This mindset has helped me have amazing collaborations and through them I’ve been able to appreciate others’ abilities and see how pieces can evolve. One experience I had was performing at a museum and being painted live while I was performing. Having the opportunity to see my emotions and acting portrayed on a canvas was one of the best experiences I’ve made and now I have a connection with artists at my school. Additionally, when I performed with the orchestra I had a completely new insight on my piece. Standing in front allowed me to feel the music completely surround me and I was engulfed in the scene of the song more than ever before. The ability to watch my performances transform like this has made me grateful for my current collaborations and excited for more in the future.

I've wanted to be a singer my whole life. Ever since my first performance at six I have loved performing and sharing music with others and have been determined to make it my career ever since. Music has always been one of the most important parts of my life from singing at my church and school choir to later audition for performing arts programs. Through programs like this I have been thrown into a variety of opportunities like being able to work with a voice teacher to being able to participate in many festivals and conferences. I have participated in things like All County, ACDA, as well as districts and state solo and ensemble having the chance to get feedback and develop my skills. These programs would be where I would meet my future professors and inspired me to take on music as my major. As I continue to study singing and gaining access to more opportunities, I've realized singing is more than a hobby or a dream for me I want to use every minute to learn a new song, perfect a role, and listen to singers to help me develop my voice. Music is a part of me, and I could never imagine my life without choosing it as my career path. One of my biggest role models that I've had while studying music was the teacher I met at state solo and ensemble. My current voice teacher was my judge that year and though it was intimidating how much he clearly knew about music he was amazing to work with and when he mentioned he wanted me to audition for his university I got curious. I was surprised when he remembered me at my audition and even called me later to ask if I would be a part of his studio. Having such a personal experience helped make my decision for a school and major much easier. When I started studying with him, he became my biggest supporter. My voice lessons have always been the highlight of my week, and he has helped me develop my voice, confidence, and professionalism. He has shown me how to work professionally with others and what casting for opera companies, and young artist programs are looking for. He also has shared with me what barriers I may face and how to handle myself when working with other musicians. Studying with him has helped me have many opportunities like opera roles, paid performances, and winning my first aria competition and I will always be grateful for how much he changed my life. In any industry as a black woman, barriers are inevitable and the opera industry is no different. Of course, there are not nearly as many black singers and when I mention I sing the genre that is one of the first things that gets pointed out to me. I have already experienced microaggressions, less opportunities, and much higher expectations because of my skin color but that will never stop my passion for music. I'm not the first and won't be the last black opera singer but I'll still be someone audiences aren't used to seeing. I want to be that person girls like me see and realize they can do that too. I want to show others my pain, my style, my voice even if it's not what they're used to. I don't need to be a trailblazer, but I want to be an inspiration to others. I want to be remembered as someone that broke through barriers and still followed their passion with joy and determination.

My parents separated when I was eight and I've been raised by a single mom since then and watching her persevere and grow through many challenges has taught me many things. One thing that she showed and taught me was having determination through any challenges. My father was one of the people that believed child support went a lot farther than reality and that as long as he paid it he didn't need to do anything more or even interact with his kids that much. For most of my life I only saw my dad on Christmas and occasionally Father's Day and while he took care of the new family that he created with a new wife I watched as my mother struggled to keep up financially. This only got worse when he got to a point where he fully stopped paying. My mom's teacher salary though too small to always keep up with what was needed for the house was also too big to get any government aid for food and our extended family was never able to help with our situation either. Despite all of this I watched my mom stay strong through our worst times to take care of us. This not only inspired me but also my siblings on how to face challenges head on through work, school, and later on to help take care of her. During my senior year of high school, my mom was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease and was hospitalized for months. My siblings and I were thrown into a stressful situation and had to take care of the house, children, school, work, and extracurriculars all while not knowing for months if our mom was going to make it. Even when my mom was finally able to come home, we had to feed her through a tube, help her walk around the house, get in bed, get dressed, and more. This was the most stressful time of our lives and the only thing that helped us persevere was our determination to help her get better. My mom showed me how much the love and care for your loved ones can take you. Watching how much she was willing to do for us made it easy to see what a parents love and care should look like and taught me how to show love for my family and friends in many different ways as well as appreciate the community I have. I would never be as far along as I am in life without my mom and I will always work to show her how much I appreciate her sacrifices for me to have these opportunities.

Growing up I have always loved music and have been performing since I was six. The exhilaration I felt from embracing the lyrics and sharing the story with others made me realize it was what I wanted to do as my career. I always had a hunger for developing my skills. At first, I only sung in church and chorus, but I felt I never had the time to get into the music, be able to show what I could do, and start to better my ability. Due to this I thought I knew everything I needed to about performing when I was only in fifth grade. Going into middle school I tried to push choir to the side for theatre and orchestra thinking that I could sing on my own time and that's all that I would need but due to orchestra being full I ended up in choir as well as theatre and I could never imagine what my life would be like if that wasn't the case. My teacher that year was the first one that introduced classical singing to me and while doing choir I found out about many different genres, I never would have imagined. While doing choir and musicals I found out about performing arts schools and decided to make the decision to audition for a magnet program. Being that I auditioned for the magnet with Danny Boy I clearly knew little to nothing about classical music and when I got in, I was thrown into a whole new world of opportunities. I ended up getting a voice teacher through the magnet and started to be given songs to develop my voice and help me discover my technique. I also was able to participate in many festivals and conferences like All County, ACDA, as well as districts and state solo and ensemble. Solo and ensemble was always important to me because I had the chance to get feedback and have the ability to represent my school, teacher, and develop my skills. However, solo and ensemble would also be what helped me find my future education. The first time I made state solo and ensemble I met my current voice teacher who told me he wanted me to audition for the University of North Florida. Until then I had never heard of the school and after working with him I wanted to look into the program. I was kind of surprised when he remembered me and after my audition even called me to ask if I would be able to be a part of his studio. Having such a personal experience helped make my decision for a school and major much easier. Now studying classical vocal performance at UNF I have had access to a variety of opportunities and have been able to develop my voice to a level I never would have imagined for myself. Through the program I have had paid performing opportunities, multiple opera roles and have even won an aria competition. Pursuing my degree has shown me how much I love performing and sharing my art with others showing me why I want to make it my career and with the help of my mentors and professors I know I will be able to accomplish my dream.

I've been singing since I was six years old and have loved music for all of my life but even though I always knew I would be a singer I had no idea how much it would impact my life. Music has not only helped my confidence, mental health, and my overall happiness. As I continue to study music, I've realized how important it is for my life. I have basically never been what I would think is a confident person. Growing up in communities often surrounded by people who didn't look like me and were much more outgoing than I was I've dealt with anxiety and rarely have been able to talk to my peers. I started to think in order for people to like me I had to be practically perfect and judged myself on everything I did. If I didn't understand a concept at first, I was stupid, if I didn't have the perfect outfit, I was ugly, if my voice cracked, I was untalented. One of the only things that would calm my nerves and helped me connect to others was performing. Disappearing into a character and a story and being able to forget about the world around me helped me feel comfortable, powerful, and good enough. And it's one of the ways music has helped me. Music has always been one of the biggest helps to my mental health. During the hardest and most stressful times of my life music helped me. One time this happened was during my senior year when my mom was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease. She couldn't move her body and was in the hospital for months. Living without her and having to manage the house, family members, school, and work, was one of the hardest times of my life. The stress was overwhelming and there were some nights I cried to sleep. The only times I felt comfortable and happy was when I was making music. When I was performing and singing with my friends in choir, I was able to embody the music and forget about my home situation. When I was anxious and depressed music was there to help me through. During my spring semester my first year in college I got into a deep depression. After an unlucky first week of losing my phone, access to my school account and assignments I got behind and was not able to get any help from my professors. I continued to have a downward spiral with my mental health and watched my academics and energy fall apart. Though I was stressed while pursuing music it was still keeping me through the time. I realized why I was pursuing vocal performance in the first-place music wasn't just something I loved, it was what I needed, it became less of a dream and more of a part of me. Seeing how important it was to me made me realize why I couldn't give up on myself. And though it was difficult with me losing help and not being able to get out of bed, I got through the semester and was slowly able to have more happy moments. While studying music, I've had opportunities I never could have dreamed of years ago. From performing at a museum, having multiple opera roles, and even winning an aria competition. I want to use every minute to learn a new song, perfect a role, and listen to singers and I will always be grateful and dedicated to the art that's done so much for my life.

Music has been an integral part of my education. To this day I am not sure if I would even be in college if I wasn't pursuing music. I have loved music my whole life with my first performance being when I was six years old. As I grew, I wanted to become a singer and only became more passionate about music over time. Music has helped my confidence grow, helped my mental health, and gave me connections to people who are now some of my closest friends and who I have been honored to work with. For a few years I was confused about what I would study and pursue as a career. Though I loved performing since I was young, I still had to understand the barriers that can come with it. In high school as college and deciding my future came closer, I started to get sent in different directions. Since performing is seen as a risky career, as I got older, I was encouraged to consider what some would say were more realistic jobs. Some of these jobs were a music teacher, a writer, and a journalist. Though I tried to find the same passion for these careers that I had for performing, they never felt the same. Additionally, I got told by my peers, family, and some mentors that I wouldn't be good at other careers anyway. All of these factors had me reeling. I was lost and even more upset that I seemed to have nowhere to go. However, as the year went on, I realized that at the time I needed to focus on what I felt passionate about and consider what other people consider is best at another time. When I focused on that choosing my major and the best place for my education became a lot easier. I decided to go into vocal performance and after looking through some programs and meeting professors through festivals like Solo and Ensemble I was able to find the University of North Florida. Going into my degree I thought I already knew all I needed about singing and that my technique was already established and everything would essentially be review for me. Instead through the program I have been able to have many different opportunities that I never could have imagined going into college. I have developed my voice and have had multiple solo opportunities, have had paid solo performances, roles in multiple operas, and have even won an aria singing competition. Additionally, I've learned from the journeys of my professors how wide the opera community actually is and the opportunities that can come through them helping me develop my love for classical singing, opera, and performing. Now as I pursue a career in performing and voice teaching, I have the guidance and help from my mentors and colleagues to find opportunities and pursue my passion.

I have loved music my whole life with my first performance being when I was six years old. As I grew, I wanted to become a singer and only became more passionate about music overtime. Music has always made me happy and has been one of the most important parts of my life. It has impacted my happiness, my confidence, and overall mental health. Music and performing has helped me in so many ways that my drive to pursue it as a career grew tremendously. When I was younger, I lost most of my confidence after I had to switch schools. I became shy, anxious and rarely talked to my peers. One of the few things that made me feel comfortable and powerful again was performing. Singing and performing for others took me to another place and is one of the things I love most about music. Another way music has impacted my life is by affecting my mental health. During the hardest and most stressful times of my life music helped me persevere. An example of this is during my senior year when my mom had been diagnosed with an autoimmune disease. She had lost her ability to move most of her body and was in the hospital for months. Living without her and having to manage the house, family members, school, and work, was one of the hardest times of my life. The only time I felt comfortable and happy was when I was making music. When I was performing and singing with my peers in choir, I was able to embody the music and forget about my home situation. When I was anxious and depressed music was there to help me through. Additionally, during the spring semester of my first year in college I got into a deep depression. After an unlucky first week of losing my phone, access to my school account and assignments I got behind and was not able to get any help from my professors. From there I continued to have a downward spiral with my mental health and watched my academics and energy fall apart. Though I was stressed while pursuing music it was still keeping me through this time. During this time, I realized why I was pursuing vocal performance in the first-place music was not just something I loved it was what I always dreamed of, it became more than a desire and a dream it became a part of my body and spirit. When I realized how important music was to me, I realized why I couldn't give up on myself. And though it was difficult with me losing a counselor and not always having the energy to get out of bed, I was able to get through the semester and find happiness again through performing with my peers and working with my voice teacher who was helping rebuild my confidence in myself. My overall happiness has improved because of music. Even in my low moments with choir or theory, making music and sometimes just sitting down and listening to music makes me feel better. Music helped me through the worst times of my life, and I know it will only continue to do that in the future. It has made my life better in so many ways and I can't imagine who I would be or what I would be doing if not for music and I will always love it for that.

I have never been one to recognize my achievements. Over the years I’ve downplayed what I’ve accomplished unless it was something incredible. Since I would always focus on the next step forward, nothing I did seemed that great to me. Needless to say, looking back I had a lot of trouble choosing my greatest achievement. Being a vocal performance major and performing throughout high school I’ve had things like small competition wins, superior scores at solo and ensemble, graduating high school and even singing at my graduation. But though I’m proud of these moments they didn’t seem to impact my life or make me proud to look back on. Looking back, I think my greatest achievement was helping my mom recover from losing her ability to eat and walk during my senior year. Going into my senior year I was excited and hopeful about all of the opportunities I would get throughout the year. However, that quickly changed when I realized something was wrong with my mom. My mom was in pain in her throat and legs and was starting to have trouble getting up and eating. The pain first lasted days and then weeks and eventually she had to see a doctor. Unfortunately, the doctor didn’t really know what was happening to her so she continued taking pain medicine and going to appointments hoping the pain would leave soon. As time went by it only got worse and soon, she was barely able to eat anything solid and was in so much pain she needed to go to the hospital. While she was in the hospital I was going through work and performances and thought she had to be back home soon but as time went by, we realized the situation was much more serious. My mom had an autoimmune disease called inclusion body myositis and due to it she lost her ability to walk, eat, and talk. For weeks I tried to go through my day to day without my mom, but I could barely keep it together. And the fact that I had family members at my house stressing me out and causing a mess for me to clean after didn’t help. I was dealing with school, work, and children since I was often watching my cousins. For weeks the earliest I could get to sleep was midnight and sometimes I struggled staying up through school. I was physically and mentally struggling all while barely being able to see my mom and for months not even knowing what was happening to her. The first quarter of my senior year my mom was in hospital and if my siblings and I didn’t have each other I don’t think we would’ve had the courage to keep going. When my mom was finally released it was still a hard transition. She had to use a wheelchair, a walker, had a feeding tube and needed to be lifted up to go wherever she needed. At first, we had help from our family members, but a lot of conflicts and stress came with them. There was fighting and power dynamics that stressed out my mom even more and I often found myself having to yell over adults to keep my mom from breaking down. Due to all of this we soon lost the help that we had, and my siblings and I decided to jump in to do even more for my mom. We were lifting her up, helping her walk, get dressed, eat and anything else so she could keep going through her day-to-day life. Overtime she was able to recover and got the medication she needed to manage her disease. This year was one of the hardest times of my life, but I see it as my greatest achievement because it showed my strength and endurance. Getting up was draining and managing the stressful environment felt impossible at times but the courage and determination my siblings and I had helped us get through it all. Now I’m not afraid to tackle seemingly difficult situations and work to stand up for myself and the ones I care about. I plan to use the lessons that I’ve learned from this time to keep me going through tough times while pursuing my degree and having the courage to perform in the future.

I have loved music my whole life with my first performance being when I was six years old. As I grew, I wanted to become a singer and only became more passionate about music overtime. Music has always made me happy and has been one of the most important parts of my life. It has impacted my happiness, my confidence, and overall mental health. Music and performing has helped me in so many ways that my drive to pursue it as a career grew tremendously. Through pursuing music, I had many different opportunities. While in middle and high school I participated in All-County, ACDA, Districts and State Solo and Ensemble. I started to develop my voice and through my Visual Performing Arts magnet I gained a lot of skills and information to help me in my future career. For a few years I was confused about what I would study and pursue as a career. Though I loved performing since I was young, I started to face barriers later on. In high school as college and deciding my future came closer, I started to get sent in different directions. Since performing is seen as a risky career as I got older, I was encouraged to consider what some would say were more realistic jobs. Some of these jobs were a music teacher, a writer, and a journalist. Though I tried to find the same passion for these careers that I had for performing, they never felt the same. Additionally, I got told by my peers, family, and some mentors that I wouldn't be good at other careers. All of these factors had me reeling. I was lost and even more upset that I seemed to have nowhere to go. However, as the year went on, I realized that at the time I needed to focus on what I felt passionate about and consider what other people consider is best at another time. Now I am studying Classical Vocal Performance at the University of North Florida. In my first year I learned many new skills and information that will help me pursue music as my career. I gave my best effort this past year and had a wide range of opportunities with multiple solos, special performances, and being in my first opera. Seeing my voice develop has made me realize my love for classical music and opera singing, reaffirming my plan to pursue performance as my career.

I have been performing since I was six years old and throughout my life music has only become more important to me. Through performing I want to give others the same comfort and help that music has given to me. During the hardest and most stressful times of my life singing helped me persevere. In my senior year my mom had been diagnosed with an autoimmune disease. She had lost her ability to move most of her body and was in the hospital for months. Living without her and having to manage the house, family members, school, and work, was one of the hardest times of my life. The only time I felt comfortable and happy was when I was making music. When I was performing and singing with my peers in choir, I was able to distract myself and forget about my home situation. When I was anxious and depressed music was there to help me through, and I will forever love music for that. Due to things like choir, opera, and voice lessons keeping me together I want to give people the same feeling. Music can take people to another world bringing comfort during stressful times but can also showcase messages and make statements. Through my career I want to bring others the same joy music brought me as well as teach them about other people and cultures. Additionally, through my career I hope I can eventually give back to my community and family that supported me throughout all of these years.

While I was growing up my identity and sexuality was confusing for me. Since I grew up in a Christian family for a while I didn't know anything other than straight existed. Then later when I learned about gay people, I didn't hear a lot of positive views about them. For years I thought I was an ally I supported my queer friends and family, but I would usually deny my feelings because I still had insecurities about my sexuality. Deep down there was still a voice telling me I couldn't be gay because of my religion and my race. Saying queer people don't look like me. Don't act like me. That I'm just trying to fit in with my friends. That I'm not meant to be gay. And for years... I must have believed it because I acted like my feelings weren't real. Thankfully through participating in choirs and musicals I was able to meet and become friends with a variety of people who made me interested in researching into more sexualities. One of the first I discovered was bisexuality which I identified as in my freshman year of high school. But as time passed on, I started to learn about more people and realized that the term didn't fit me. I started to think I was attracted to practically everyone and thus attracted to all identities and so I changed to pansexual. And for years that felt right and comfortable. But as time passed of course that feeling changed yet again. My junior year of high school I had one of my first relationships, if you could call it that. A guy had approached me, and we slowly started talking. We started spending lunch together and I started to notice some things that felt off to me. Whenever he sat close to me, I felt uncomfortable and barely wanted to eat. When he put his arm around me, I felt a chill down my spine. And when he said some things to me and did things like kiss my hand I would genuinely recoil. I was upset and confused for most of my life I dreamed of having a boyfriend and as I got older, I never found guys unattractive, so I just assumed I liked them like everyone else. But I was put off and uncomfortable with a nice guy doing relatively normal things. This not only made me feel weird but also made me wonder if I was ever attracted to guys in the first place. I started to search and found more identities like neptunic but I ended up feeling overwhelmed. At this point, nothing felt right to me. And I was starting to feel the same way about my future. As I got older, I tried to find what would be a more realistic job. A music teacher, a writer, a journalist, and though I tried to find the same passion for them that I had for performing, they never felt the same. Additionally, I got told by my peers and family that I wouldn't be good at other careers which freaked me out. However, as the year went on, I realized that I needed to focus on what I felt was best for me at the time and went into vocal performance. I realized I had to look at myself the same and found that queer is the best identity for me. Though I had trouble finding my sexuality the community was a safe space for me and taught me how I don't have to know everything to be who I am.

One of the biggest reasons I love Wicked is its political message and story. When I first planned to see the movie, I was excited since I knew a good amount of the music and the actresses, and I always love to hear the different ways people perform a commonly known song. Though I knew a little bit about the story I had no idea how much it would touch me and feel relatable at the moment. After the election I honestly felt quite numb. Being a black and queer woman though I was not surprised that people around me had let me down I still felt betrayed and frustrated. I said very little about it just to keep myself calm and controlled since there wasn't much I could do about the situation. Seeing Wicked was one of the few bright moments I had. Lip syncing to What Is this Feeling? and freaking out with my sister about Defying Gravity and the cameos made me feel alive. However, I could barely hold back the tears from how accurate the story seemed to speak on the time we are in. Watching Elphaba representing marginalized communities and desperately trying to fit in. Seeing the animals try to stay calm and find ways to stay in their home while watching their kind be attacked and demonized. Seeing people like the headmaster watch what's happening in silence and fear of being next. Knowing it all was happening because of people in power and seeing how fast someone can be demonized when they try to advertise for the rights of others and themselves. To say it was heart wrenching would be an understatement. The characters transitioning from hopelessness, fear, and tension to joy and excitement and trying to move through life spoke to the reality of most of us in marginalized communities. I was touched in a number of ways that I had never thought I would be and the themes of greed, power, protest, and compliance with the help of the musical storytelling definitely helped give me insight on how to look at my situations. The movie has stayed in my mind and my heart since I saw it and it's not often that musicals and movies do that for me. All in all, this movie's storytelling, symbolism, and music have greatly impacted me and gave me joy and excitement in a time when I needed it most. And I will always appreciate it for that.

Mental health has always been something I've struggled with. Being a part of a low-income family of color I rarely heard about mental health growing up. Later I struggled with my family not understanding my struggles and not having the money to give me the help I needed. My struggles have impacted my life in a number of ways and recently I have discovered how it can affect my brain, emotions, and body. Throughout high school and college, I have struggled with anxiety and some depression which has had long lasting impacts on my life. During my senior year of high school my mom was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease that had her in the hospital for many months. During this time many responsibilities were put onto me from work, school, family drama, all while wondering if I would see my mom again. I became depressed and drained and often struggled to get out of bed. However, because of my siblings and our determination I was able to persevere and graduate high school with a high note being able to sing at the ceremony with my mom in the audience. Though the situation with my mom put me through a lot of stress I would say the worst depression I felt was during my first year of college. The fall semester was practically perfect, but the spring semester started off horribly. I started off the semester getting locked out of my email and canvas, unexpectedly losing my federal work study job, and having a professor push me to withdraw a class before I even had the chance to catch up. Though I tried to believe it was simply a bad start I was hit with many other obstacles such as getting ignored by my therapist and felt like I was constantly being punched down. I became depressed and practically bedridden; I watched myself go into a zombie like state and became a shell of who I once was. Even though I was able to get through it eventually and finished out the year fairly well I will never forget how I felt during this time. Due to all I’ve learned I have taken more steps to better my mental health. I’ve spoken to mental health specialists and therapists through my school and though it was hard to lose contact with my therapist I’m glad I learned more about myself through the meetings. I’ve started to realize my triggers and how much I put on myself as well as ways to address those problems one at a time. I’m going to continue looking for more options to better my mental health and research other ways to help myself and others. I still struggle with mental health today and doubt I will ever stop having bad moments and times in my life, but I have learned a lot through my struggles and have only become more determined to achieve my goals and better my future.

Mental health has always been a hard subject for me to tackle. I knew struggles could always affect me, but I didn't realize exactly how it can change my determination, academics, and strength. Throughout high school and college, I have struggled with anxiety and some depression which has had long lasting impacts on my life. During my senior year of high school my mom was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease that had her in the hospital for many months. During this time many responsibilities were put onto me from work, school, family drama, all while wondering if I would see my mom again. I became depressed and drained and often struggled to get out of bed. However, because of my siblings and our determination I was able to persevere and graduate high school with a high note being able to sing at the ceremony with my mom in the audience. Though the situation with my mom put me through a lot of stress I would say the worst depression I felt was during my first year of college. The fall semester was practically perfect, but the spring semester started off horribly. I started off the semester getting locked out of my email and canvas, unexpectedly losing my federal work study job, and having a professor push me to withdraw a class before I even had the chance to catch up. Though I tried to believe it was simply a bad start I was hit with many other obstacles such as getting ignored by my therapist and felt like I was constantly being punched down. I became depressed and practically bedridden; I watched myself go into a zombie like state and became a shell of who I once was. Simple things like getting up to eat became almost impossible and as I watched my academics fall, I felt too hopeless to do anything. Even though I was able to get through it eventually and finished out the year fairly well I will never forget how I felt during this time. Due to all I’ve learned I have taken more steps to better my mental health. I’ve spoken to mental health specialists and therapists through my school and though it was hard to lose contact with my therapist I’m glad I learned more about myself through the meetings. I’ve started to realize my triggers and how much I put on myself as well as ways to address those problems one at a time. I’m going to continue looking for more options to better my mental and physical health and research other ways to help myself and others.

My parents divorced when I was eight and watching her persevere and grow through many challenges has taught me many things. One thing that she showed and taught me was having determination through any challenges. Not too long after the divorce my dad looked for new girlfriend, later remarried and basically disappeared from my life. For years he didn't pay his required child support leaving us to struggle for basic necessities like food. I watched my mom work her hardest with her teacher salary to feed us even when she wasn't able to feed herself. She stayed strong through our worst times to take care of us. This not only inspired me but also my siblings on how to face challenges head on through work, school, and later on to help take care of her. During my senior year of high school, my mom became diagnosed with an autoimmune disease and was hospitalized for months. My siblings and I were thrown into a stressful situation and had to take care of the house, children, school, work, and extracurriculars. Then, when my mom was finally able to come home, we had to feed her through a tube, help her walk around the house, get in bed, get dressed, and more. This was the most stressful time of our lives and the only thing that helped us persevere was our determination to help her get better. I plan to use the skills and care I learned from her to help my community however I can. I have already done projects for foster kids and the homeless and plan to work and study to help even more people. My mom has shown me a lot about love and caring for others and I am determined to give back to my community and others.

Music has given me so much throughout my life. It has impacted my happiness, my confidence, and overall mental health. I have loved music my whole life with my first performance being when I was six years old. As I grew, I wanted to become a singer and only became more passionate about music overtime. Music and performing has helped me in so many ways that my drive to pursue it as a career grew tremendously. The impact performing has had on my life is why I want to share it with the world. One of the ways it has impacted me is affecting my confidence. When I was younger, I lost most of my confidence after I had to switch schools. I went from a school where I knew almost everyone and related to many people to one where I was often the only person of color in the room. I became shy, anxious and rarely talked to my peers. One of the few things that made me feel comfortable and powerful again was performing. Singing and performing for others took me to another place and is one of the things I love most about music. Another way music has impacted my life is by affecting my mental health. During the hardest and most stressful times of my life music helped me persevere. An example of this is during my senior year when my mom had been diagnosed with an autoimmune disease. She had lost her ability to move most of her body and was in the hospital for months. Living without her and having to manage the house, family members, school, and work, was one of the hardest times of my life. The only time I felt comfortable and happy was when I was making music. When I was performing and singing with my peers in choir, I was able to embody the music and forget about my home situation. When I was anxious and depressed music was there to help me through, and I will forever love music for that. Though I have faced challenges with discouragement, confusion, and doubts I have always returned to music, and I know that means it will always be a part of my life. I’m working with amazing vocal teachers that have helped me control and develop my voice as well as find ways to go into performing. Whether I consistently perform in operas or work as a voice teacher or lead a choir I know music will always be a part of my life and I plan to use that to entertain others and spread as much joy and love to give back what music did for me. And through performance I hope to spread the same messages and happiness to youth and others around me.

I have been singing for as long as I can remember and have been in choirs since the sixth grade and began to study with a voice teacher my freshman year in high school. I knew I wanted to sing when I was little, but my passion only developed over the years. It has impacted my happiness, confidence, and overall mental health. Music and performing has helped me in so many ways that my drive to pursue it as a career grew tremendously. For a few years I was confused about what I would study and pursue as a career. Though I loved performing since I was young, I started to face barriers later on. In high school as college and deciding my future came closer, I started to get sent in different directions. Since performing is seen as a risky career as I got older, I was encouraged to consider what some would say were more realistic jobs. Some of these jobs were a music teacher, a writer, and a journalist. Though I tried to find the same passion for these careers that I had for performing, they never felt the same. Additionally, I got told by my peers, family, and some mentors that I wouldn't be good at other careers. All of these factors had me reeling. I was lost and even more upset that I seemed to have nowhere to go. However, as the year went on, I realized that at the time I needed to focus on what I felt passionate about and consider what other people consider is best at another time. Now I am studying Classical Vocal Performance at the University of North Florida. In my first year I learned many new skills and information that will help me pursue music as my career. I gave my best effort this past year and had a wide range of opportunities with multiple solos, special performances, and being in my first opera. Seeing my voice develop has made me realize my love for classical music and opera singing, reaffirming my plan to pursue performance as my career. Music has impacted my life in a variety of ways which is why I want to share it with the world. One of the ways it has impacted me is affecting my confidence. When I was younger, I lost most of my confidence after I had to switch schools. I became shy, anxious and rarely talked to my peers. One of the few things that made me feel comfortable and powerful again was performing. Singing and performing for others took me to another place and is one of the things I love most about music. Music has also impacted my mental health. During the hardest and most stressful times of my life music helped me persevere. An example of this is during my senior year when my mom had been diagnosed with an autoimmune disease. She had lost her ability to move most of her body and was in the hospital for months. Living without her and having to manage the house, family members, school, and work, was one of the hardest times of my life. The only time I felt comfortable and happy was when I was making music. When I was performing and singing with my peers in choir, I was able to embody the music and forget about my home situation. When I was anxious and depressed music was there to help me through, and I plan to use that to entertain others and spread as much joy and love to give back to music.

The area of performing arts I’m going into is vocal performance. I have been singing for as long as I can remember and have been in choirs since the sixth grade and began to study with a voice teacher my freshman year in high school. I knew I wanted to sing when I was little, but my passion only developed over the years. It has been one of the most important parts of my life impacting my happiness, confidence, and overall mental health. Music and performing has helped me in so many ways that my drive to pursue it as a career grew tremendously. Through pursuing music, I had many different opportunities. While in middle and high school I participated in All-County, ACDA, Districts and State Solo and Ensemble. I started to develop my voice and through my Visual Performing Arts magnet I gained a lot of skills and information to help me in my future career. For a few years I was confused about what I would study and pursue as a career. Though I loved performing since I was young, I started to face barriers later on. In high school as college and deciding my future came closer, I started to get sent in different directions. Since performing is seen as a risky career as I got older, I was encouraged to consider what some would say were more realistic jobs. Some of these jobs were a music teacher, a writer, and a journalist. Though I tried to find the same passion for these careers that I had for performing, they never felt the same. Additionally, I got told by my peers, family, and some mentors that I wouldn't be good at other careers. All of these factors had me reeling. I was lost and even more upset that I seemed to have nowhere to go. However, as the year went on, I realized that at the time I needed to focus on what I felt passionate about and consider what other people consider is best at another time. Now I am studying Classical Vocal Performance at the University of North Florida. In my first year I learned many new skills and information that will help me pursue music as my career. I gave my best effort during my first year and had a wide range of opportunities with multiple solos, special performances, and being in my first opera. Seeing my voice develop has made me realize my love for classical music and opera singing, reaffirming my plan to pursue performance as my career. Though I have faced challenges with discouragement, confusion, and doubts I have always returned to music, and I know that means it will always be a part of my life. I’m working with amazing vocal teachers that have helped me control and develop my voice as well as find ways to go into performing. Whether I consistently perform in operas or work as a voice teacher or lead a choir I know music will always be a part of my life and I plan to use that to entertain others and spread as much joy and love through music to give back what music did for me.

I have loved music my whole life with my first performance being when I was six years old. As I grew, I wanted to become a singer and only became more passionate about music overtime. Music has always made me happy and has been one of the most important parts of my life. It has impacted my happiness, my confidence, and overall mental health. Music and performing has helped me in so many ways that my drive to pursue it as a career grew tremendously. I think music is important to society since it can spread positive messages, make others happy, and teach new skills. Through pursuing music, I had many different opportunities. While in middle and high school I participated in All-County, ACDA, Districts and State Solo and Ensemble. I started to develop my voice and through my Visual Performing Arts magnet I gained a lot of skills and information to help me in my future career. While I'm studying Classical Vocal Performance at the University of North Florida, performing in front of my peers, family, and others has helped my confidence and anxiety. I have gotten better at communicating with others and though I still get nervous I don't shy away from people anymore. With that I have made friends easier and became even better at customer service. Music can also spread positive messages throughout the world. I have performed in and watched many concerts throughout my degree so far and have seen many themes from them. I have performed in concerts that spread messages about peace, love, joy, and unity. And I feel so much joy when I see others connect with the music and themes and see how it helps them. With that I have also watched many beautiful concerts that spread these messages as well and have almost brought me to tears because of their meaningful themes and beautiful imagery. I love the positivity that I'm able to spread and receive through performances and while pursuing opera I hope to continue to spread that and have that effect on others. Music has impacted my life in a variety of ways which is why I want to share it with the world. When I was younger, I lost most of my confidence after I had to switch schools. I became shy, anxious and rarely talked to my peers. One of the few things that made me feel comfortable and powerful again was performing. Singing and performing for others took me to another place and is one of the things I love most about music. I have learned so much from pursuing music and believe I can teach and help others throughout the world and make a positive difference.

My mental health has influenced my life in a number of ways. Though it has negatively affected my relationships, aspirations, and understanding it has also taught me some lessons and skills to better myself. I believe I first struggled with mental health when I was in elementary school. When I was younger I often got upset and would cry over seemingly little things and was often called sensitive. Along with that after my parents divorce I switched schools and became incredibly shy, quiet, and anxious. I felt like an outsider and barely talked to anyone. At this time my family didn’t really understand mental problems and how to handle them. I often got shamed and punished for how I was feeling and never really understood why. This made me more distant and secretive about my problems with my family and others in general. Though lately I have been able to share my problems with friends I still often hold my feelings inside and barely share them with my family today. However this was only the beginning of my struggles with mental health. Throughout high school and college I have struggled with anxiety and some depression which has had long lasting impacts on my life. During my senior year of high school my mom was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease that had her in the hospital for many months. During this time many responsibilities were put onto me from work, school, family drama, all while wondering if I would see my mom again. I became depressed and drained and often struggled to get out of bed. This experience affected my relationships specifically with my extended family due to the inappropriate behavior during the situation but it also helped bring me closer to my mom and siblings after we overcame the experience. Though the situation with my mom put me through a lot of stress I would say the worst depression I felt was during my first year of college. Though the fall semester was practically perfect, the spring semester started off horribly. I started off the semester getting locked out of my email and canvas, unexpectedly losing my federal work study job, and having a professor push me to withdraw a class before I even had the chance to catch up. Though I tried to believe it was simply a bad start I was hit with many other obstacles and felt like I was constantly being punched down. I became depressed and practically bedridden, I watched myself go into a zombie like state and became a shell of who I once was. Even though I was able to get through it eventually and finished out the year fairly well I will never forget how I felt during this time. Though my struggles have made me more distant, anxious, and at times take away my ability to get out of bed I have managed to take away some lessons. My career aspirations have only got stronger since it was one of the few things that got me through my hard times. I am planning to have a career in music and performing was one of the few things that helped me during these times. My struggles have made me distant with some but have also helped me connect with others who understand me. Along with that it has shown me the people that are in my corner and willing to support me when I’m at my lowest. I still struggle with mental health today and doubt I will ever stop having bad moments and times in my life but I have learned a lot through my struggles and have only become more determined to achieve my goals and better my future.

My mental health has influenced my life in a number of ways. Though it has negatively affected my academics and personal life it has also taught me some lessons and skills to better myself. Throughout high school and college, I have struggled with anxiety and some depression which has had long lasting impacts on my life. During my senior year of high school my mom was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease that had her in the hospital for many months. During this time many responsibilities were put onto me from work, school, family drama, all while wondering if I would see my mom again. I became depressed and drained and often struggled to get out of bed. However, because of my siblings and our determination I was able to persevere and graduate high school with a high note being able to sing at the ceremony to my mom in the audience. Though the situation with my mom put me through a lot of stress I would say the worst depression I felt was during my first year of college. The fall semester was practically perfect, but the spring semester started off horribly. I started off the semester getting locked out of my email and canvas, unexpectedly losing my federal work study job, and having a professor push me to withdraw a class before I even had the chance to catch up. Though I tried to believe it was simply a bad start I was hit with many other obstacles such as getting ignored by my therapist and felt like I was constantly being punched down. I became depressed and practically bedridden, I watched myself go into a zombie like state and became a shell of who I once was. Even though I was able to get through it eventually and finished out the year fairly well I will never forget how I felt during this time. Though my struggles have made me more distant, anxious, and at times take away my ability to get out of bed I have managed to take away some lessons. My career aspirations have only got stronger since it was one of the few things that got me through my hard times. I am planning to have a career in music and performing was one of the few things that helped me during these times. My struggles have made me distant with some but have also helped me connect with others who understand me. Along with who’s willing to support me at my lowest. Due to all I’ve learned I have taken more steps to better my mental health. I’ve spoken to mental health specialists and therapists through my school and though it was hard to lose contact with my therapist I’m glad I learned more about myself through the meetings. I’ve started to realize my triggers and how much I put on myself as well as ways to address those problems one at a time. I’m going to continue looking for more options to better my mental health and research other ways to help myself and others. I still struggle with mental health today and doubt I will ever stop having bad moments and times in my life, but I have learned a lot through my struggles and have only become more determined to achieve my goals and better my future.

My mental health has influenced my life in a number of ways. Though it has negatively affected my relationships, aspirations, and beliefs it has also taught me some lessons and skills to better myself. I believe I first struggled with mental health when I was in elementary school. When I was younger I often got upset and would cry over seemingly little things and was often called sensitive. Along with that after my parents divorce I switched schools and became incredibly shy, quiet, and anxious. I felt like an outsider and barely talked to anyone. At this time my family didn’t really understand mental problems and how to handle them. I often got shamed and punished for how I was feeling and never really understood why. This made me more distant and secretive about my problems with my family and others in general. Though lately I have been able to share my problems with friends I still often hold my feelings inside and barely share them with my family today. However this was only the beginning of my struggles with mental health. Throughout high school and college I have struggled with anxiety and some depression which has had long lasting impacts on my life. During my senior year of high school my mom was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease that had her in the hospital for many months. During this time many responsibilities were put onto me from work, school, family drama, all while wondering if I would see my mom again. I became depressed and drained and often struggled to get out of bed. This experience affected my relationships specifically with my extended family due to the inappropriate behavior during the situation but it also helped bring me closer to my mom and siblings after we overcame the experience. Though the situation with my mom put me through a lot of stress I would say the worst depression I felt was during my first year of college. Though the fall semester was practically perfect, the spring semester started off horribly. I started off the semester getting locked out of my email and canvas, unexpectedly losing my federal work study job, and having a professor push me to withdraw a class before I even had the chance to catch up. Though I tried to believe it was simply a bad start I was hit with many other obstacles and felt like I was constantly being punched down. I became depressed and practically bedridden, I watched myself go into a zombie like state and became a shell of who I once was. This was one of the times I started to question my beliefs since being part of a Christian family I often got told to pray about my problems. However this suggestion never worked for me and often made me feel like I wasn’t heard. Even though I was able to get through it eventually and finished out the year fairly well I will never forget how I felt during this time. Though my struggles have made me more distant, question my beliefs, and at times take away my ability to get out of bed I have managed to take away some lessons. My career aspirations have only got stronger since it was one of the few things that got me through my hard times. I am planning to have a career in music and performing was one of the few things that helped me during these times. My struggles have made me distant with some but have also helped me connect with others who understand me. Along with that it has shown me the people that are in my corner and willing to support me when I’m at my lowest. And even through my troubles with my religion and beliefs I have gotten more insight on what I want from it in regards to my mental health and overall well being. I still struggle with mental health today and doubt I will ever stop having bad moments and times in my life but I have learned a lot through my struggles and have only become more determined to achieve my goals and better my future.

My educational goals are to graduate from my university with a bachelor’s and later a master’s degree. I have been pursuing music since I was in elementary school and am now working towards a Vocal Performance degree. Through my first year I had so many opportunities with multiple solos and opera performances as well as learned many new skills. My voice teacher and professors have taught me many new things about my voice and the performance industry, and I will only learn more in the future. This all has revamped my passion for music and determination to complete my education and work towards a successful career. I have faced many obstacles in my life, but I would say one of the most difficult ones happened in my senior year. At the beginning of the year my mom had been diagnosed with an autoimmune disease. She had lost her ability to move most of her body and was in the hospital for months. Living without her and having to manage the house, family members, school, and work, was one of the stressful times of my life. Unfortunately, it hardly improved when she got home. She had to be lifted up and held when walking, fed through a tube, dressed, and bathed by others. Additionally, though at first, we had help due to drama, arguments, and stress eventually my siblings and I were the main ones taking care of her. Though this situation was stressful and difficult it also taught me a few lessons. One lesson I learned was that unfortunately some people are not reliable. During this year my extended family showed a lot of selfish, childish, and inappropriate behavior. Due to the unnecessary fighting and arrogance my mom didn’t get the support she needed and deserved. Though we had always seen signs of this from our family this was the first time me and my siblings fully realized they’re not supportive. Although this was hard to accept, it helped us realize who to trust and how important we are to each other. It made our bond and love stronger than before, and I will always be grateful for that aspect. Another thing I learned was perseverance. Throughout the months we often felt like more and more obstacles were being thrown at us. From not being able to see our mom in the hospital, to hearing the sickness get worse at times, to dealing with family problems we felt a constant heavy weight on our shoulders. But even still we came together and were able to help our mom recover. Though we had many obstacles come our way we were still able to persevere and better the situation when at first, we didn’t even know what was happening. This proved to me how through determination and persistence you can achieve your goals and overcome your struggles. These lessons of perseverance and familial support have helped me apply it to my life and education. And I know this will help me work towards a successful future.

My arts education has impacted my life in many ways from bettering my confidence to expanding my opportunities. I have been pursuing music for years with my first performance being at six years old. I continued to practice music through school and have had many amazing opportunities. Through middle and high school I participated in All-County, ACDA, Districts and State Solo and Ensemble. In high school I also received multiple awards through my choir program and had the opportunity to sing twice for graduation ceremonies. Due to my work and efforts I was able to graduate from the Visual Performing Arts program from my school and continued to pursue music in college. Now I’m a Vocal Performance major at the University of North Florida and have had many opportunities after the first year. During my freshman year I performed multiple solos and was in my first opera. Additionally I met multiple composers and performed their songs in choir concerts. I have had many new experiences and learned many new skills as well and will only improve my skills for the next year. My experiences through the years have improved my confidence and mental health. When I struggled with nervousness and anxiety, performing was one thing that made me feel confident and powerful again. Additionally music has helped me through the most stressful times of my life. During my senior year when my mom had been diagnosed with an autoimmune disease. She had lost her ability to move most of her body and was in the hospital for months. Living without her and having to manage the house, family members, school, and work, was one of the worst times of my life. The only time I felt comfortable and happy was when I was making music. When I was performing and singing with my peers in choir, I was able to embody the music and forget about my home situation. When I was anxious and depressed music was there to help me through and I will forever love music for that. One of the people that inspired me and pushed me to continue music was my mom. Being raised by a single mom has motivated me to persevere to achieve my goals as well as following what I love and am passionate about. My parents got divorced when I was in elementary school and my mom didn’t receive any help from my dad or any other family members. She had to raise three and later four kids on a teacher’s salary and faced a lot of financial and mental problems. However, through all this she was able to persevere and overcome the obstacles in her way. I will always appreciate how much my mom supported my ambitions even when it was difficult to afford it. She never expected me or my siblings to give up our hobbies and what we love which only made me more passionate for music and more determined to be successful and be able to help her in the future. Overall music has impacted my life in so many ways. It has encouraged me through my best times and helped me through my worst and I could not imagine where I would be without it. With supporters like my mom and my university I am determined to continue the path and have a successful career. This career would allow me to give back to my community, my loved ones, and the art that bettered my life.

Being raised by a single parent has definitely shaped how important I view education and decisions on my educational journey. I became more passionate about my education, future career, and helping my community. With this knowledge I plan to pursue my passions and with my successes benefit my family and community. I was raised by a single mom since I was eight and watching her persevere and grow through many challenges has taught me many things. One thing that she showed and taught me was having determination through any challenges. Her determination helped her through many barriers from my dad not paying child support, being denied any aid, and not getting help from our extended family. I watched my mom stay strong through our worst times to take care of us. This not only inspired me but also my siblings on how to face challenges head on through work, school, and later on to help take care of her. During my senior year of high school, my mom became diagnosed with an autoimmune disease and was hospitalized for months. My siblings and I were thrown into a stressful situation and had to take care of the house, children, school, work, and extracurriculars. Then, when my mom was finally able to come home we had to feed her through a tube, help her walk around the house, get in bed, get dressed, and more. This was the most stressful time of our lives and the only thing that helped us persevere was our determination to help her get better. With that determination we fought through our situation and I was able to graduate high school and get accepted to the University of North Florida. Throughout my first year at UNF I started to work on my Vocal Performance degree and watched my passion for music and school develop. Though I still struggled with anxiety and stress and tough times with the help of my mom and what she taught me I persevered and continued to focus on my education. I plan to use the skills and loving care I learned from my mom to help my community in any way I can. I have already done projects for foster kids and the homeless and plan to work and study to help even more people. My mom has shown me a lot about love and caring for others and I am determined to give back to my community and others.

For me college means that I can pursue my passions, gain new opportunities, and better my future. Since I’m pursuing music, having a good education is necessary to have a successful career and I plan to work my hardest to achieve that success. I have loved music my whole life with my first performance being when I was six years old. As I grew, I wanted to become a singer and only became more passionate about music overtime. Through pursuing music, I have had many different opportunities. From performing for conferences, schools, and competitions I took a lot of opportunities and received a good number of awards. I started to develop my voice and through my Visual Performing Arts magnet I gained a lot of skills and information to help me in my future career. However, one of the most intimidating parts of pursuing music is how talent doesn’t ensure success. There are a number of mediums, genres, skills, and information you have to know to have a chance at a music career. All of which can be gained from college. My first year at UNF gave me a wide range of information and skills that I never knew I would learn. Learning has not only taught me new techniques but also ignited my love for classical music. By working through school, I plan to become a local performer for theaters, and I only become more passionate and focused as I learn more skills. Continuing my education at UNF will give me everything I need to succeed in my dream. However, college not only allows me to achieve my passion but that I will be able to give back to my family and community. I was raised by a single mom and faced a lot of financial struggles growing up. My mom had to work hard as a teacher and later take on a second job to take care of her four kids. Though money was hard to come by I fondly remember watching my mom do everything she could to take care of us without help. She showed perseverance and determination and love and ever since I was young, I wanted to make it up to her. Getting an education will allow me to have a promising career and give me the ability to help her. I would also have access to providing for my community. I have always had a passion for helping others and giving back and a successful education and future will allow me to do that. The homeless community is who I want to help the most. I have done projects in the past to help the homeless and am always looking to research more about the barriers and dangers they face. Having a successful career can allow me to advocate for the community and give back to help. College will allow me to develop my skills and techniques and give me access to many opportunities. Not only allowing me to help my family and community in the future but also allowing me to achieve my dreams.

I believe my mental health is important because it may not only impact my happiness but also my productivity and education. I started to realize I struggled with anxiety in high school and though I had a lot of stressful moments I was able to control myself with the help of my school's specialist. And even throughout my struggles I hardly saw my education affected by them until I started studying at my university. The year started out great and my fall semester practically flew by, and I hardly remembered struggling with anything. But my spring semester was a completely different experience. In my first few weeks I dealt with being locked out of my classes and email, losing my work study job since I no longer qualified, and having to withdraw from a class for the first time. Facing these struggles early on and struggling with more classes than I ever had before I began to struggle with my mental health. I started to become depressed, and I saw myself become a completely different student. I felt bound to my bed, missed classes, assignments, and often barely had the energy to get up. It felt like I was drowning and watching everything I worked for fall out of my hands. I talked with a school therapist for a while but eventually I lost contact with him and lost hope. With the help of my friends, family, and music professors I was able to manage my mental health better and work through my classes. But even through that digging myself out of the hole I dug was a lengthy and draining process. I knew that mental health could affect my education, but I had no idea it could be like this. When I was drained, tired, and dissociated my work showed it and my energy made me become a shell of who I used to be. But with the help of others, I was able to get my drive back and soon became my former self again. After going through the worst of my mental health problems I have continued learning and discovering new ways to help my mental wellness. I am looking for new counselors and using productive hobbies to calm me down such as baking and writing. My hobbies have helped me get through my days and focus on my classes and responsibilities. I have been learning a lot about how to help myself and my mental health and how to better myself for the future and continue managing my mental health.

Mental health is important to me as a student because it can affect not only your life and wellbeing but your education as well. My first year of college started out great and my fall semester practically flew by, and I hardly remembered struggling. But my spring semester was a completely different experience. In my first few weeks I dealt with being locked out of my classes and email, losing my work study job since I no longer qualified, and having to withdraw from a class for the first time. Facing these struggles early on and struggling with more classes than I ever had before I began to struggle with my mental health. I started to become depressed, and I saw myself become a completely different student. I felt bound to my bed, missed classes, assignments, and often barely had the energy to get up. It felt like I was drowning and watching everything I worked for fall out of my hands. I talked with a school therapist for a while but eventually I lost contact with him and lost hope. With the help of my friends, family, and music professors I was able to manage my mental health better and work through my classes. But even through that digging myself out of the hole I dug was a lengthy and draining process. I knew that mental health could affect my education, but I had no idea it could be like this. When I was drained, tired, and dissociated my work showed it and my energy made me become a shell of who I used to be. But with the help of others, I was able to get my drive back and soon became my former self again. I believe I help advocate for mental health in my community by sharing my and others’ struggles with mental health and ways to help them. Through school I have shared what I have gone through to help faculty and students learn more and discover new ways to help students with mental health problems. Additionally, in the future I plan to join therapy groups, learn more about symptoms and help others find safe spaces to share and meet people who can help them. I believe doing this will also allow me to help my family and others in my home community to learn about the importance of mental health and how to find help for themselves and others.

I was raised by a single mom since I was eight and watching her persevere and grow through many challenges has taught me many things. One thing that she showed and taught me was having determination through any challenges. Her determination helped her through many barriers from my dad not paying child support, being denied any aid, and not getting help from our extended family. I watched my mom stay strong through our worst times to take care of us. This not only inspired me but also my siblings on how to face challenges head on through work, school, and later on to help take care of her. During my senior year of high school, my mom became diagnosed with an autoimmune disease and was hospitalized for months. My siblings and I were thrown into a stressful situation and had to take care of the house, children, school, work, and extracurriculars. Then, when my mom was finally able to come home we had to feed her through a tube, help her walk around the house, get in bed, get dressed, and more. This was the most stressful time of our lives and the only thing that helped us persevere was our determination to help her get better. I plan to use the skills and loving care I learned from my mom to help my community in any way I can. I have already done projects for foster kids and the homeless and plan to work and study to help even more people. My mom has shown me a lot about love and caring for others and I am determined to give back to my community and others.

Growing up as a black person, when I was little, I didn’t know about the differences, adversity, and other problems people of color could face. In early elementary I went to a private Christian school filled with diversity that rarely ever felt different or heard about racism. This started to change when my parents divorced, and I had to go to a public school. I will always remember the first day I walked into this school and how it affected me. There were many different types of people that I had never seen before, and I had gone from a school filled with other black people to being one of the two people of color in my class. This not only caught me off guard but also heavily impacted my personality. I went from confident and eccentric to shy and quiet and had a small number of friends. I would often hide behind my friends, barely talk to others, and tried to blend in as much as possible. This even affected my love and passion for music and singing. My voice often got described as aggressive and dark and I thought it was my biggest flaw to fix. I often tried to brighten and lighten my voice and tried to make it match my peers as much as I could. It wasn’t until I began to study voice at my university that I realized that this mindset only made me hide and hinder my voice. Now I am learning how to open up and embrace my voice for what it is instead of trying to change it. Throughout my life and education path I’ve felt a lot of pressure to be successful. I often learned about the adversity and hindrance people of color face through life, education, and careers which made me feel I needed to work harder than anyone just to keep up. With a lot of my family members not being able to get through high school I only felt the pressure and expectations from my family even more. These pressures started to make me afraid of failure and though they gave me a good work ethic they also caused anxiety. Learning about my anxiety, emotions, and starting to discover how to work through that has helped revive my drive and determination. I am aware of the opportunities I may be denied, attitudes I may face, and expectations that may be held because of my identity. But as I learn more about these situations and possibilities my determination and drive strengthens. This drive will help me on my journey through college and further pursue my career and future ambitions.

One of the ways music has been instrumental in my educational journey has been by giving me new skills and mentally helping me through school. I wanted to study music since I was young and was able to get many opportunities. In middle and high school, I participated in All-County, ACDA, Districts and State Solo and Ensemble. I started to develop my voice and through my Visual Performing Arts magnet I gained a lot of skills and information to help me in my future career. Later, these opportunities and discoveries would help me in making decisions for my future. In high school as college and deciding my future came closer, I started to get sent in different directions. Since performing is seen as a risky career as I got older, I was encouraged to consider what some would say were more realistic jobs. Some of these jobs were a music teacher, a writer, and a journalist. Though I tried to find the same passion for these careers that I had for performing, they never felt the same. Additionally, I got told by my peers, family, and some mentors that I wouldn't be good at other careers. All of these factors had me reeling. I was lost and even more upset that I seemed to have nowhere to go. However, as the year went on, I realized that at the time I needed to focus on what I felt passionate about and consider what other people consider is best at another time. Music helped me stay calm while planning for college and deciding my future plans and I could not imagine going through that without it. Now I am studying Classical Vocal Performance at the University of North Florida. In my first year I learned many new skills and information that will help me pursue music as my career. I gave my best effort this past year and had a wide range of opportunities with multiple solos, special performances, and being in my first opera. Seeing my voice develop has made me realize my love for classical music and opera singing, reaffirming my plan to pursue performance as my career. Some of my future goals is to work to develop my voice more and take more opportunities to help expand my range and abilities. I also plan to advocate for myself, work through university, and find more opportunities to become successful and continue my passion.

I have loved music my whole life with my first performance being when I was six years old. As I grew, I wanted to become a singer and only became more passionate about music overtime. Music has always made me happy and has been one of the most important parts of my life. Performing has helped me in so many ways that my drive to pursue it as a career grew tremendously. I believe music can send a message and through the arts I plan to spread the stories of love and peace. Music has impacted my life in a variety of ways which is why I want to share it with the world. One of the ways it has impacted me is affecting my confidence. When I was younger, I lost most of my confidence after I had to switch schools. I became shy, anxious and rarely talked to my peers. One of the few things that made me feel comfortable and powerful again was performing. Singing and performing for others took me to another place and is one of the things I love most about music. Another way music has impacted my life is by affecting my mental health. During the hardest and most stressful times of my life music helped me persevere. An example of this is during my senior year when my mom had been diagnosed with an autoimmune disease. She had lost her ability to move most of her body and was in the hospital for months. Living without her and having to manage the house, family members, school, and work, was one of the hardest times of my life. The only time I felt comfortable and happy was when I was making music. When I was performing and singing with my peers in choir, I was able to embody the music and forget about my home situation. When I was anxious and depressed music was there to help me through and I will forever love music for that. If I could do one thing in my community I would work to rebuild and help the community. My neighborhood is plagued with construction problems as well as homelessness and I hope one day to be able to help resolve them. From working to help pay to fix potholes and roads to giving homeless people resources they need to help them thrive and persevere. Though my community is not perfect I have witnessed a lot of love and joy and would love to give back to make it even better. https://youtu.be/uEWpYjBs9QU

When I discovered I was a part of the community I started to face some challenges. One of the biggest challenges for me was confusion about my identity. When I realized, I was attracted to women in eighth grade I identified as bisexual. I was comfortable with this until I went to high school and started to learn more about the different identities and genders throughout the community. Soon after I felt attracted to a nonbinary person and soon started to identify as pansexual. This was my identity for two years and I was content and comfortable again, until I reached my junior year. This year I met a guy and we started to have a relationship but as we got to know each other I realized something. I was often uncomfortable around him, whenever he would put his arm around me, hold my hand, or even sit close to me I would get chills. I quickly realized I wasn't attracted to him and broke off the relationship before we had a date, but that experience made me start to question myself. My whole life I thought I was attracted to men but after this I was confused. Though I hadn't had many relationships this uncomfortable feeling was familiar, and I started to wonder if the attraction for men was ever there. Overtime I started to go through many different identities from neptunic, to gynosexuality, to lesbian, at this point I had no idea what I was really attracted to and what it meant. I was overwhelmed since I often saw the impression that having an identity was an essential part of the community and though I knew some weren't sure of their specific sexuality I never thought that would apply to me. All this confusion stressed me out until one day I took a second to think and realized that I didn't have to have a specific identity. Knowing who I was attracted to and discovering more about it was all I needed to know. Now I identify as sapphic and queer and even if this changes in the future I am happy and comfortable with identifying what I feel right now. One of my aspirations is to earn my bachelor's degree in vocal performance. Though it may not be associated with advocating I believe music can send a message. Through performing and writing I plan to showcase the love and power of the LGBTQ+ community and what it truly represents. Additionally, being a part of a school that welcomes the community will allow me to learn more of current dangers and challenges we are facing and different ways to protest and show support. With that I would also use my possible success and financial gain to support the community even further. Due to the costs of university, I may be forced to leave my school. Receiving this scholarship would allow me to have the best education possible and allow me to showcase and give back to the community that has given me so much.

My experience with mental health has definitely been complicated and affected my life in many different ways. Still, I feel that it has been beneficial for me though a bit challenging. I feel my experience with mental health has shaped my goals by showing me what I can handle and what I want to do in the future. All my life I was set to have music as my career. But as I got older specifically in high school I started to go in different paths. Music being what some would say an unrealistic career I started to rethink what I wanted to do and thought of other careers to go into. However, every time I started to go towards a different career, I was yet again pulled away from it. From being told I wasn't right for a career to being told the career wasn't financially stable and I only became more overwhelmed and confused about my future. As college approached and I had to settle on a major, I decided to focus on what made me happy and what I had always been passionate about. I realized I didn't have to be stressed about knowing the answers right now and at the moment to focus on what I felt was best for me. Now as a vocal performance major I have even more of a drive to continue and have no regrets about my decision. Mental health has shaped my relationships in complicated ways. My family has never been as emotional or anxious as I am, so they often struggled to understand me and take my feelings seriously. Growing up I often got labeled as sensitive because things that completely overwhelmed me felt like nothing for them. This made it hard to be open with my family about my mental health and as I got older, I hid when I would go to counseling, have breakdowns, or opted out of events. Though this was a difficult time recently my family has been more accepting of my problems as well as starting to open up about their mental problems as well. However mental health has also positively helped shape my relationships. Learning about mental health and the problems other may face has helped me as a person. Though I have trouble beginning relationships and friendships as I get to know people, I have an easier time to connect with them since I'm able to relate to what they're going through. Because of this I feel I have become more empathetic and a better person for others overall. Learning more about mental health had a large impact on my understanding of the world. Growing up I dealt with a bit of anxiety and often had emotional breakdowns but since I was never told about mental health, I often felt like something was wrong with me. Over the years, though I got better I still struggled with my mental health and emotions. I still had breakdowns over seemingly small things, I still got anxiety, and I still was affected by my environment in ways that my peers never seemed to be. When I got older and got introduced to what mental health was and how it can affect one's life, my eyes felt opened. I started to discover why I have these feelings, how to treat them, and how much damage not treating them cause. This allowed me to be more open about my problems and learn how to handle them in day-to-day life. Since I often dealt with feeling like the world was not open to someone like me, I was relieved to learn that I had more options than I thought. Though my journey with mental health has been complex and challenging in many ways I'm glad I discovered and learned more about it. Managing and treating my mental health has made me happier, more driven, and overall, a better person. This has made me grateful that I've had my experiences with mental health.

Growing up with a single mother has impacted me in so many different ways. When my parents separated and later divorced, I felt my life changed a lot very fast. I had to change schools, move to a new area, and adjust to not seeing my dad every day. At first it was not that hard to handle, but soon my dad found someone else and with that I saw him less and less. He started to not come around except for holidays and the occasional times he remembered us. This was the beginning of my mom raising us alone. During this time my mom was raising three kids by herself with no help from my dad, family, or friends. With a teacher's salary she could barely keep up with the bills and buy food but also made too much money to get any government assistance. Faced with all these problems my mom had no choice but to put my dad on child support so she could afford to raise her kids. However, though he did not have much to pay my dad seemed to use this as an excuse to see us as little as possible. As I got a little older, I started to learn more about what my dad was doing. And eventually learned that he stopped paying child support. Without that money my mom could barely afford many things. She started to avoid eating to feed us and continued to do all she could to raise us and keep us happy. However, even still my mom persevered. Even though we struggled a lot throughout my childhood I still look back fondly on my memories. Though my mom knew how little she had she still did everything to make us feel happy. When I think of the Christmas mornings when she put our presents under the tv with a Christmas tree on the screen I smile. We ate a lot of cheap meals and drove in rental cars when we lost ours, but I never saw that. All I saw was my mom doing everything to make us happy and us spending time together. Though my childhood was not perfect I still look on it fondly and take in all I learned from my mom. My mom showed me what strength, love, and wisdom is. Anytime something was taken from her whether it be an opportunity or a resource she always found a solution for it. She never let anything, or anyone stop her from giving her kids the love and childhood they deserved. Watching her and learning from her taught me how to be independent and utilize what I have to overcome anything that tries to stop me from achieving my goals. My mom is my hero, my best friend, and the best part of my life. And will always be grateful to have been raised by such an amazing mom.

I have loved music my whole life with my first performance being when I was six years old. As I grew, I wanted to become a singer and only became more passionate about music overtime. While pursuing music, I have had many different opportunities. While in middle and high school I participated in All-County, ACDA, Districts and State Solo and Ensemble. I started to develop my voice and through the Visual Performing Arts magnet at my high school I gained a lot of skills and information to help me in my future career. For a few years I was confused about what I would study and pursue as a career. Though I loved performing since I was young, I started to face some conflicts. In high school as college and deciding my future came closer, I started to get sent in different directions. Since performing is seen as a risky career, as I got older, I was encouraged to consider what some would say were more realistic jobs. Some of these jobs were a music teacher, a writer, and a journalist. Though I tried to find the passion for these careers that I had for performing, they never felt the same. Additionally, I got told by my peers, family, and some mentors that I wouldn't be good at other careers. All of these factors had me reeling. I was lost and even more upset that I seemed to have nowhere to go. However, as the year went on, I realized that at the time I needed to focus on what I felt passionate about and consider what other people consider is best at another time. Now I am studying Classical Vocal Performance at the University of North Florida. In my first year I learned many new skills and information that will help me pursue music as my career. I gave my best effort this past year and had a wide range of opportunities with multiple solos, special performances, and being in my first opera. Seeing my voice develop has made me realize my love for classical music and opera singing, reaffirming my love for performance and plan to pursue it. After I complete my degree, I want to perform in operas and concerts at different venues to share my love for music to the world. Becoming a professional would allow me to achieve my life goal and showcase my art to others.

I have loved music my whole life with my first performance being when I was six years old. As I grew, I wanted to become a singer and only became more passionate about music overtime. Music has always made me happy and has been one of the most important parts of my life. It has impacted my happiness, my confidence, and overall mental health. Music and performing has helped me in so many ways that my drive to pursue it as a career grew tremendously. Through pursuing music, I had many different opportunities. While in middle and high school I participated in All-County, ACDA, Districts and State Solo and Ensemble. I started to develop my voice and through my Visual Performing Arts magnet I gained a lot of skills and information to help me in my future career. For a few years I was confused about what I would study and pursue as a career. Though I loved performing since I was young, I started to face barriers later on. In high school as college and deciding my future came closer, I started to get sent in different directions. Since performing is seen as a risky career as I got older, I was encouraged to consider what some would say were more realistic jobs. Some of these jobs were a music teacher, a writer, and a journalist. Though I tried to find the same passion for these careers that I had for performing, they never felt the same. Additionally, I got told by my peers, family, and some mentors that I wouldn't be good at the other careers. All of these factors had me reeling. I was lost and even more upset that I seemed to have nowhere to go. However, as the year went on, I realized that at the time I needed to focus on what I felt passionate about and consider what other people consider is best at another time. Now I am studying Classical Vocal Performance at the University of North Florida. In my first year I learned many new skills and information that will help me pursue music as my career. I gave my best effort this past year and had a wide range of opportunities with multiple solos, special performances, and being in my first opera. Seeing my voice develop has made me realize my love for classical music and opera singing, reaffirming my plan to pursue performance as my career.

Music has impacted my life in a variety of ways. From helping my mental health, confidence, and overall work ethic, music has made me better in every way. Through performing I want to bring people the joy and confidence I feel every time I perform. As well as inspire and spread a message to others. One of the biggest ways music has impacted my life is by helping my mental health. Throughout my life I have had some difficult and stressful times and music was one of the main things that helped me out of them. The most recent example of this is from my senior year of high school. At the beginning of the year my mom suddenly got diagnosed with an autoimmune disease and lost the ability to move in most of her body. She was in the hospital for months and I had to not only live without her but also take care of family, the household, and my job. During this time, I was not happy and barely smiled. One of the only times I was happy was when I was singing with my peers and performing. Making music made me feel comfortable and happy and helped me forget about the horrible situation I was in. Overtime as I've dealt with anxiety, and depression, performing has continued to be what brought me joy. Music has not only impacted my mental health but my confidence and happiness overall. When I was younger, I lost my confidence after I moved to a different school. I became very shy and reserved to the point where I could barely talk to my peers. However, when I performed, I felt strong and confident and overtime as I performed more and more, I started to become happier and more confident in my day-to-day life. Since music has helped my happiness so much, I would love to help others feel the same way. I want to impact the world by making others feel happy, confident, and even inspired when I perform. With that I would love to use my experience and influence to help people in need. Growing up I often felt guilty of all the things I wanted to do but couldn't because of my lack of resources and availability. Using the art I love to do what I dreamed of doing for years would allow me to give back to music.

The area of performing arts I am going into is vocal performance. Specifically, I plan to be an opera performer and possibly a voice teacher as well. This fall will be my second year of studying at my university. However, I have been working towards a career in music all my life. One example of this would be participating in the Visual Performing Arts magnet at Dr. Phillips High School. This program helped develop my skills in music and prepared me for my future classes in college.  For a long time, I was confused about what I wanted to do with this passion. When I was young, I always said I was going to be a singer but as I got older and learned more about the professional world I got sent in different directions. In high school as college got closer, I started to consider pursuing what people would say were more realistic careers such as a music teacher, a voice teacher, a writer and a journalist. Due to this I tried to find passion in some of these only to be told by peers, family, and some mentors that I wasn't good for any of them. Being turned in all these directions only frustrated me more and I started to think I may have to give up performing. However, after a while I started to realize I didn't need to know the answers right away. And at this time, I needed to pursue what I was passionate about and save what other people thought was right for a later time. This realization led me back to performing and I decided to major in Classical Vocal Performance at the University of North Florida. Throughout my first semester I have learned many new skills and information from my professors. Due to this I managed to have multiple solos and great performances. From choir concerts to my first opera, I discovered my love for classical singing again and how I wanted to pursue it as a career. Now I not only had a passion for a career goal but through my professors I discovered ways to join the industry and the expectations to live up to. Being professionals themselves they have been great examples for me and has helped mentor me in how to become a professional performer. As I continue my education I plan to grow and develop more to pursue my career.

Music has changed my life in a variety of ways. From impacting my work ethic, mental health, confidence, and happiness it has been one of the best things for my life. I have loved music since I was young, with my first performance being when I was six years old. As I've gotten older and progressed my drive and passion for music has only gotten stronger. And throughout my life music has proved to give as much love to me as I give to it. One of the biggest impacts music has had on my life is through my mental health. I have dealt with a lot of stressful and hard times and singing and performing were one of the few things that brought me out of them. An example of this would be from my senior year of high school. At the beginning of the school year my mom suddenly got diagnosed with an auto immune disease and lost her ability to move in most of her body. Because of her condition she was in the hospital for months and I not only had to manage without her but also take care of family members and work. I barely got any sleep and often had trouble not crying from stress alone. One of the few things that made me happy, and calm again was singing in choir and performing in front of others. I felt comfortable when I performed, and it often helped me forget about the situation I was in and simply enjoy making music. Through my anxiety, depression, and overall mental problems, music helped me persevere every time. Music has also impacted my overall work ethic. Though I was always passionate about music, I didn't realize how much effort goes into it at first. However, when I joined the Visual Performing Arts magnet at my high school, I started to see all that factors into music. I had a lot of requirements to complete and special classes to manage so I had to put all my effort in. My love for music and desire to pursue it as a career made my drive to do my best even stronger. Due to that I developed a work ethic due to music that I was also able to utilize for my other classes and part time job. As I've gotten older, I've also realized how music has impacted my confidence and happiness overall. When I was really young, I was happy and fairly confident in myself. I had a great amount of faith in myself and never thought I would have to do anything but perform. However, after my parents' divorce, I had to go to a new school that was more affordable. When I was thrusted into that new environment all the confidence, I had in me completely disappeared. I became extremely reserved and shy and was nothing like my former self. Even though I am still fairly reserved one of the things that made me feel confident was performing. Every time I performed, I felt strong, happy, and confident. Because of this overtime I was able to get some of my confidence back and become myself again. Music has impacted my life in so many ways that I honestly could never imagine living without it.

I have dealt and partly struggled with mental health all my life though at first I did not know what it was. I have always been really sensitive and seemed to cry and get overwhelmed very easily over very little things. Because of this I tended to be very frustrated and simply thought there was something wrong with me. I worried about talking to others and trying new things because I thought the smallest thing could cause me to break down and doing that in front of others was a constant fear I had. When I got older and started to learn about mental health and problems I believe it helped me. I began to realize what I struggled with and some of the ways and techniques to help control it. Realizing that people were experiencing the same symptoms I was and realizing there were some answers to the questions I had made me feel safer and more comfortable. One of the biggest struggles I have had with mental health is social anxiety. Due to this, I have always had trouble making friends and getting close to others in general. Other than my family simply making eye contact with someone would make me jump and my heart speed up. I believe my anxiety and shyness are why I am so close to my family. Home and my family have always been a safe space for me which I think is why I tend to be very open about my emotions and affectionate. As I have gotten older and been put in many different and new environments I have started to slowly become more comfortable with talking with others. I began to remind myself that I cannot read the minds of others and cannot worry and get overwhelmed by what I believe others are thinking of me. Though I would not say I am an extrovert at this point, I have gotten to a place where I know why my reactions happen and how to talk myself out of that mindset. Learning to calm myself is one of the techniques that has helped benefit me and has made it easier to communicate with others. I honestly believe that my mental health is one of the largest reasons I have aspirations to work in music. All my life from my first performance in kindergarten to performing in front of peers and working for a degree in vocal performance, music has been one of the few things that calms me. Singing and performing has never been scary to me and it has never triggered my anxiety. It has always been a calm and comfortable place to be in which is why I love it so much. Performing has remained constant in my life because of how happy it makes me feel. It makes me feel powerful, calm, sweet, and talented and due to this, I have always wanted to have it as my career. The benefits that music gives to my mental health have greatly impacted my work ethic and aspirations. Overall it is one of the most important factors in both my career and my life.