My experience with mental has impacted my life in many extreme ways. For starters, my goals have been altered tremendously. I had always dreamed of going far away for college, if I even made it long enough to go to college. Now, due to my ongoing mental health stuggles, I mainly applied in state only. I struggled to find something worth continuing for and I struggled to find a passion. As I began to really focus on my mental health I did eventually find a passion in writing but I was falling behind in so many other aspects of life. I was homebound for almost three entire years of my high school life due to mental health and I missed out on so many things. Despite this, I was able to maintain a 3.5 GPA and I accumulated almost double the graduating requirement credits. My struggle with mental health made me want to have a future more because it took so much for me to get to where I am now. Mental health struggles have affected my relationships in fairly negative ways. I've never found a friend that fully understood what was going on. I never expected them to but it always ended with my mental health issues being too much despite how much I tried to keep them out of the relationship. Additionally, I have indirectly lost so many relationships due to my mental health because of my absence from school. My mental health has altered my understanding of the world by making me a more empathetic person. If someone treats me negatively, I try my best to feel for them instead of immediately hate them because they could be struggling in the same ways that I am. I am more understanding of people views on life situations because I know that so many aspects of mental health can change how you perceive things. I hope that in the future, I am able to help people who have struggled like me through my passion for writing and I hope that I can make the world a better place and get some of the stigma away from mental health.

Making a positive impact on the world is a very important goal of mine. For years, while I tried to find my passion, I knew I wanted to do something that could make the world a better place. If I couldn't make a group of people happier, I knew I could at least make one more person feel better. When I re-discovered my love and passion for writing, something just clicked in my head. I knew that this is what I wanted to do for the rest of my life the first time that I wrote my first serious piece of literature. It was a fictional piece of work that I wrote about a former friend's characters. I saw her reaction and immediately knew I wanted to get it out to more people. I ended up showing my friend group and they immediately loved it. From there, I wrote about seven fictional works for this friend and seeing her reaction each time made the countless hours, spelling mistakes, and writers blocks worth it. I loved seeing my friends come together because of my work and I loved seeming them talk about it because I knew that it made them happy. This was the first time that I realized I could maybe make a difference with the words that I write. I am currently in the process of writing my first book and I also write and publish smaller essays and articles on Substack in my free time. I will make a difference with my writings because my book and the other things that I write contain deep and heavy topics. If I am able to make at least one person feel and know that they aren't alone, it will all be worth it in my opinion. I want to break stigmas in the world of literature and show that despite how uncomfortable the topics are, they need to be talked about and attention needs to be brought to them. I want people all over the world to know my name. Not for any type of fame or fortune but I want people to know me as someone who writes inspirational works. I want to be known as a writer who helps many people rather than someone who writes things that are just surface level good. I hope my deep and sometimes taboo topics make a big difference on people no matter their age or situation.

I have been impacted by mental health for many years of my life. Most of my formative years were spent with me struggling due to my mental health. I am diagnosed with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, and Major Depressive Disorder. When I first realized that something was not right, I was nine years old. I was watching Youtube when I felt the first of many panic attacks come on due to anxiety. Before I knew what was truly going on with my mental health, I managed to get by until the age of eleven or twelve. I maintained good grades through the rest of elementary school but tings changed in sixth grade when Covid-19 hit. For the first time I was alone with my mental health and I had realized how bad it had gotten. This was the first time I, and my parents became concerned with my mental wellbeing. Eventually, I went back to school in eighth grade but I was absent a lot due to mental health. During this time, I was also getting bullied for my appearance and because of the fact that I was pretty much openly bisexual in my small New Jersey town. I made it through the bullying but my struggling mental health followed me wherever I went. My freshman year of high school, I ended up in the emergency room three separate times due to mental health crises. My sophomore and junior year, I was homebound most of the year due to the awful state my mental health was in due to the high school I was attending at time time (a performing arts high school). My senior year (current year), I transferred back to my regular high school because I knew I needed to put myself first for once and focus on getting better so that I could strive in college. I can slowly feel myself gaining my life back now. My medication is finally working after four years of trial and error, I finally have a team of doctors that understands my needs and mental health, and I finally took myself away from the people and place that was stunting me from getting better and back to where I needed to be. I know I have a long journey ahead of me but for the first time in a very long time, I am excited for the future and I can finally see it in a positive light instead of not seeing one at all. I want to pursue a degree and future career in writing and make the world a better place through my words.

A high school teacher who influenced and changed my approach on life was my freshman and junior math teacher, Mr. Andrew Dennison. We all call him "D-Dogg" and he is the funniest teacher in the school without even trying to be. I have never been good with math, ever. My entire life I struggled no matter the teacher or the material. It was very different in Mr. Dennison's class. He was able to help me understand the materials I was learning and he made sure I understood. He was one of the first teachers that never made me feel stupid for not knowing the answers. During my time in high school, I struggled tremendously with my mental health. During freshman year, he always made sure that I was doing okay without making it obvious he knew that I was struggling. Despite my struggles, I was always happy to be in his class. During my junior year, my mental health slipped even more and it became obvious to everyone that I was struggling. On top of this, my then best friend was residentially hospitalized. I felt like I had nobody to care about me. I ended up having to go on homebound instruction. During this time, I got absolutely no guidance from anyone even though I was supposed to be getting tutored. The only teacher that was there was Mr. Dennison. He set up daily Zoom calls for me so I could join during class, this was something he didn't have to do and I later found out something he was not supposed to be doing. He also made sure I was doing okay mentally along with assisting me with math. When I went back to school my senior year, he checked in on me to make sure that I was doing okay and he made sure I knew that he cared and I could come to him if I ever needed anything during the year. He changed my approach on life because he taught me that someone will care for you during the worst times even if it is in the most unexpected places. He also taught me that in the worst days of your life, you will always be able to find some type of light and relief. His class was the only part of my day that I actually looked forward to for those two years. He made me feel smart for the first time math wise and never made me feel like I was less then others around me. I will always cherish the support that was given to me by him and will never forget his kind actions and help. I am very grateful to be his former student. I don't want math as my future career at all but if I did, I think I wouldn't be half as bad now that he taught me all that I know.

Incarceration has impacted my life tremendously over the years. I have never been incarcerated but my cousin, Brandon, has been multiple times over the past few years. Brandon and I have a six year ago gap and he lives a few states away from me. We were never the closest cousins in our younger years but as we both got older, our relationship began to blossom. He and I got close at one point but then one day, he stopped answering texts. I found out that he had been incarcerated (for the first time that I know of). The first time that this happened, it was very hard for me to deal with as I felt he had gotten ripped away with no warning. From then on, he began a cycle. He would be incarcerated, be released, then end up incarcerated again. It was extremely difficult to deal with and left me with even deeper abandonment issues than I already had. I never knew when I would see him or speak to him again and all communication had to go through my aunt which was never much communication at all. In March of 2025, Brandon went missing after he was released from custody. He was missing until September when they eventually picked him up on multiple charges. He is now being incarcerated for about a year and is expected to get out between December of 2026 and early 2027. From this experience, I have also learned many things within the pain. I have learned how important it is to follow laws and have become very cautious of everything that I do. It has impacted my career and academic ambitions because before his multiple arrests, I was almost carefree for lack of better terms, I barely had any type of passions or drive. Now, I know I don't want that to be my future and maybe it is fear driving me towards passion but I started doing better in school and I want to make the world a better place through my writing. I want people to know that they are never alone within their struggles with addiction because I know that is how my cousin felt. I hope that in the future my cousin continues to recover and re-build a life for himself like I know he is able to do deep down.

In 2020, I lost a close family member. She was technically a very close family friend but my whole life I saw her as a grandmother to me. We always called her "Mimi" and she was always the absolute life of the party. My mother saw her as another mother because she also grew up very close to her. She was my mother's best friend's mother. We don't exactly know how we lost her but the hospital and we thought it was due to Covid-19. I would go to her house before she died and sit with her as we played Mahjong together. Losing her shaped who I am as a person because I lost the person who taught me so much in such little time. She was my first and only loss from Covid and I think that hurt more because I constantly wondered if the virus never started, would she have been okay. The loneliness in her home was much louder than I ever thought it would be and suddenly, I was playing Mahjong alone at her very familiar kitchen table. This experience influenced my goals and outlook on life because I try to keep her in everything that I do. She was very big into theater and so am I. Every time I see a show or perform, I know she would have loved to see it and I give my all plus 110 for her. Losing her has made me work harder than I ever have for my future because I know she would have loved to see it. The way I live my life has changed a lot because in everything I do I always want her to be proud of me. Every time I have wanted to give up, I knew I had to keep going and persevere because that is what she would want for me. I keep her with me in as many ways as I can. Whenever I am feeling upset or any type of negative emotion, I always remember a quote that she always used to say. She always said "It's nice to be nice". It is such a simple quote but because it was said by her, it means the world to me. It is words of hers that I can always cherish and take with me wherever I go in life. I only knew her for about eleven years but even in that short time, she left a huge mark on my life and that mark will always be there.

I am a fan of Wicked for many reasons. I have a deep love for musical theater as I am a performer and singer myself. I love the music and plot of Wicked and it is deeply special to me and has been for years. My life changed when I watched Wicked: Part One and I was able to see an early showing of Wicked: For Good. My favorite thing about Wicked and why I am such a huge fan of it is Elphaba and Glinda's friendship. They had such a rough time together in the beginning but their relationship eventually blossomed into something beautiful. They have such a deep love and understanding of each other despite being drastically different. Despite their extreme differences, they are so alike internally. They may come from completely different backgrounds and have completely different life experiences but they share some of the same traits. Their deep friendship is so unexpected but so real and raw and that is the thing I love the absolute most about Wicked. They were able to find each other no matter what and even in the end, they thought of each other in the final moments that they had together. Wicked is overall so special to me and has been for such a long time.

My name is Christina and I am from a small town in New Jersey. I have resided here my whole life and for most of high school, I attended a prestigious performing arts academy a few towns over from my hometown. I will be a college freshman in the fall with the intended major of English with a concentration in writing. I am and have been a part of many extracurricular activities whilst in high school including the following: vocal ensemble, vocal club, acapella club (The Phantastix), select choir, GSA (Gay Straight Alliance Club), Wasabi (literary magazine club), and I have the honor of being the president of Spanish club! During high school, I re-discovered my passion for writing and literature. I have loved writing my whole life but my junior year, I felt passionate for it in a way that I had never felt before. I began writing whatever I could think of such as songs, essays, articles, fictional works for friends, non-fictional works, etc. I knew that this is what I wanted to do for my entire life because of the passion and drive I feel for it. I am currently in the process of writing my first book which brings me to the adversity I have faced. My book has quite a few heavy and deep themes, all of which are things I have experienced personally. For majority of my life I have struggled with my health, mental and physical. When I fell back in love with writing, it was the first time I had felt true passion in a long time and the first time I was able to see a future for myself that I actually loved. I won't stray from the fact that it was very hard in the height of my struggles. It seemed like nothing was working for so long despite the hundreds of doctors visits and trial and errors with medications. Every time that I wanted to give up, I knew that I couldn't. I knew that I had worked so hard to get here and I just needed to work a little harder to get somewhere else. As of now, I still struggle a lot and I know that this will always be a part of my life but I have gotten better. It took very very hard work and so much perseverance but I was able to find at least a little bit of light in things that seemed completely dark before. I want to continue my journey with writing because these deep topics that I write about and have experienced help me make people feel like they aren't alone in them. I want to make a positive impact on the world by not only helping people get through things while feeling seen and heard but I also want people to know that even when you think there is nothing left, there is something out there, near or far, that will make you feel passionate and fall back in love with something.

My name is Christina and I am from a small town in New Jersey. I have resided here my whole life and have completed majority of my schooling here. For 75% of my high school journey, I attended a performing arts school a few towns over where I was able to grow as a person in many ways. I have been a part of many extracurricular activities in high school such as vocal club, vocal ensemble, select choir, and I was the president of Spanish club. My community involvement consists of me being a part of Girl Scouts for around four years of my life, and playing softball for five years in my hometown. My main aspect of community involvement is working with my local middle school. When I was in the eighth grade, I was involved in the drama play and every year since then, I have went back to the school to assist with the drama plays. I helped students grades sixth through eighth with musical and performance techniques. Additionally, I photographed their final dress rehearsals and those photos were then made into memory book by me and sold at the night time performances of the drama play. I have assisted with their musicals of Matilda, Legally Blonde, and Frozen. All proceeds were donated to the middle school for the next years performance. My plans post-high school are college. I have been adamant about attending college for years. I intend to major in English with a concentration in writing which has always been the biggest passion of mine. With this degree and further education experience, I would love to become a creative writer and/or author. I am currently in the process of writing my first book and I also publish smaller articles and essays in my free time. College experience would greatly excel my knowledge in literature and writing skill and help me advance into being a stronger writer. I want to help people through my writing in whatever ways I possible can. If I could start my own charity, my mission would be helping those who are in domestic abuse situations. I would serve all genders, ages, and demographics of people who are currently in or have been in domestic abuse situations, whether it is family, relationships, etc. Volunteers would help these individuals with basic necessities such as getting clothes, food, and even housing when possible or when needed. Additionally, mental and psychical help would be provided for the victims. The goal for this charity would be to get victims of domestic abuse out of the situation that they are in and back on their feet in a healthy manor. The main goal would be comfortability and safety for these individuals.

Diabetes has always been something that was a part of my life. Even before I was old enough to comprehend what the word meant or what it was, I always heard it being said. I personally do not have diabetes but several family members of mine have struggled with it for years. My maternal grandfather had type one, my father has type two, my paternal grandfather had type one, my paternal grandmother has type one, my paternal uncle has type one, and my paternal aunt has type one. I always remember being constantly worried about being around my family and their sugar levels especially because most of them didn't care at one point about how much or how little they consumed. I learned and adapted what my family needed when their blood sugar was too high or low and how scary it was when one of them wasn't able to get what they needed immediately. Due to so many people in my family being affected my diabetes, I am always on eggshells about my health. I have been tested for diabetes many times before as a precaution but the test was always negative. Despite all of the negative tests, I am always frightened of developing diabetes because of my long family history with it. I have definitely become more responsible because of this and I keep juice boxes and snacks close to me incase some of my family members need one as soon as possible. I think this experience will impact my future my giving me a better understanding than the average person about diabetes. I am able to pay attention to cues more and I hope that my knowledge will help people who are struggling with diabetes in the future. I also know that this experience will impact my future because of the health anxiety I have developed because of my family's history. I have and will continue to be more conscious of my symptoms and the way my body feels in certain situations such as when my sugar is too high or low, etc. I also have a friend that is a type one diabetic so seeing someone who isn't my family struggle with it has been a different type of experience for me because I have to give her a different level of support than I give my family and I can help her in different ways if she needs it. Overall, I am very familiar with the struggle people with diabetes face in their day to day lives. It is very difficult to watch someone close to you struggle with something that can be so debilitating at time but my family manages pretty well with the condition that they have an I am so grateful for that.

My name is Christina and I am from a small town in New Jersey. I am a high school senior who will begin college in the fall of 2026 with the intended major of English with a concentration in writing. For the past few years, I went back and volunteered at my local middle school during their drama play season. I assisted the middle schoolers with musical knowledge and I also took photographs which I made photo memento books out of. During this time, I struggled with finding my passion and what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I knew that I wanted to help people but I couldn't figure out what my passion was. Towards the end of my junior year of high school, I fell in love with writing all over again. I knew that this was what I was supposed to do and this was how I was going to help people. I want to make a difference on the world with my words and I will try my absolute best to do just that. I have struggled with mental health for a very long time so being able to confidently say that I see a future in something is a very big thing for me as I thought I would never get the chance to experience the type of passion that I have heard people talk about for so many years. I have a very strong work ethic and drive for my future career. When I put my mind to something, I am sure to achieve it despite what challenges get in my way. I am currently in the process of writing my first book and I also publish small articles and essays on Substack in my free time. My passions have pushed me farther than I have ever dreamed of going and I know that college will help me even more. Very few people in my family have gotten a college education so I would love the chance to add another person to that growing list. This scholarship will help me tremendously in contributing to my further education. I know that by continuing my education, I will be able to succeed more in my future career. It will not only help my education but also myself in general. College has always been a very important goal for me and will continue to be. It would be an absolute honor to be granted with this scholarship.

I have been a fan of Sabrina Carpenter even since she starred on Girl Meets World. Since that time, I have followed her musical and acting career and I have seen her blossom into the star she is today. I adore her music and her album "Emails I Can't Send" changed my life when I first listened to it. Her career has impacted me in quite a few ways. I myself am a musician and songwriter. Watching her grow so much in her musical career has inspired me to keep writing and to never give up on what I want. Her music brings me a peace of mind because I know every single song by heart. If I am ever in a stressful situation, I play her music to help ground me again because it is something I know I can focus on. The way her career has impacted me the most is she is unapologetically herself. Her lyrics are a reflection of what she feels in her heart and what she experiences. She doesn't write for anybody else but herself. Her whole career isn't focused on a relationship, it is focused on her love of different things. A few weeks ago, I read an article saying that she wears her heart on her "ruffled, babydoll sleeves" and that could not be more true. I absolutely love her and her music and will always continue to support her career. She is so intelligent with her marketing and I can't wait to see what the future of her career holds.

My name is Christina and I am from a small town in New Jersey. Over the years I have faced many challenges with my identity, not only with bullying but figuring out who I am. I knew that I was LGBTQIA+ when I was in the sixth grade but I felt too ashamed to admit it to others and sometimes, even myself. My sixth grade year was cut short due to Covid so I had two years of pure self discovery. I went back and forth with questioning my sexuality and the toll and pressure of figuring out who I was weighed down on me at this time. When I started the eighth grade, I came out to most people in school. Despite me living in a town that is primarily homophobic, I knew I had people who were just like me. I was bullied for my identity that year quite a bit. Not only myself but my best friend at the time was too. Despite all of the bullying we faced, we knew we had each other and were able to come out stronger in the end. The next year we started at a high school that was predominantly LGBTQIA+ people. It felt almost foreign to be around so many people just like me at school. Unfortunately, this year I had to transfer back to my old high school due to severe mental health reasons. Despite this, while I was in that school I was never afraid to be myself and accept the person I had hid for so long. At this school, I re-discovered my love for writing. While I struggled with mental health, I turned to writing as an escape from the world. I wrote songs, stories, useless essays that nobody would ever see, etc. Writing gave me a piece of my life back that I thought was gone. It made me feel passionate about something for the first time in a very long time and instead of feeling hopeless and lost for the future, I finally had a glimpse of what I wanted the rest of my life to be like. I recently began writing my first book and I continue to write songs and publish small essays and articles on Substack in my free time. I am so excited for the future and to continue my writing journey because I want to make a positive impact. I write about deep and personal topics and with doing that I hope to show people that they are never alone in the things that they are going through in life. For the first time, I can't wait for the future and that is all due to my passion for writing.

The performance done by Taylor Swift that I found the most moving was her performance at the "Stand Up To Cancer Telethon" in 2012. This was a televised event that many stars attend in hopes to raise money for cancer research. Taylor performed her song "Ronan" at the event in 2012. This song is very deep and meaningful as it was co-written by Maya Thompson after Swift came across her blog. Thompson's blog was a documentation of her four year old son Ronan's journey with cancer. In August of 2010, three year old Ronan was diagnosed with stage four Neuroblastoma. This song was written in memoriam of him. This performance of Taylor's was the most moving not only because of the song she was singing but because of the event she was at. This song became one of strength and resilience and is a very special song in her discography. This was the first time that Taylor played the song and later that night it was released on streaming platforms. All proceeds from the streams were donated to cancer research. It is said that the entire audience was in tears and that they were extremely touched and moved by Ronan's story. This song is very heartfelt and this event is very important for so many people around the world. This is why I think that this was Taylor Swift's most heartfelt performance.

For a very long time, I have always had an aspiration for writing. The first time I remember being completely captivated by the words I was writing was when I was in the fourth grade and ever since that time, I have not stopped writing. The future of writing is very important to me. It has always been one of the most important things to me but the level of its importance has gotten higher in recent years. The reason why my future plans in writing are so important is for two reasons. The first of those reasons being the recent rise of artificial intelligence within the fine arts. Artificial intelligence has taken the world by storm but it is beginning to become more prominent in the job market, especially for artists and writers. It is so important that literature is kept alive, human written literature. Due to this, I want to make in impact on the world of literature to show that humans are more capable than robots. The second reason why my future plans in writing are extremely important is because I want to make a positive impact on the world. I'm currently in the process of writing my first book and it has many heavy and impactful themes in it. These themes are uncomfortable but they need to be talked about in order to help people show that they aren't alone and that these are real issues. I want to show people that things will be alright in the end. Different projects I am working on to make a positive impact through my future career are writing personal and non-fiction articles which I publish on Substack. Substack is an online media website with tons of different types of art, some of that includes writing. It is a place where I have had positive things rub off on me from the media that I have consumed on there. I hope that through my publications, I am able to make that positive impact on others as well. Ways I know that I have made a positive impact on people through my writing is because I have written things for others before about topics they are passionate about. Through these writings, I was able to bring out deep emotions from these people and they have shown me that my writing meant a lot to them. Whenever they weren't feeling well, they have told me that they go back and read my writing and it puts them in a more positive headspace. I hope that I can continue to make a positive impact on people, near and far, with my writing. I can't wait to see what the future hold for my future career but I know that I will do my absolute best to try and make a difference in this world by using my words in the best ways that I possibly can.