I am an eighteen year old African American high school senior. I attend Rufus King International Baccalaureate High School where I am currently a Full IB Diploma candidate. My current grade point average is a 5.0 on a 5.0 scale. I am currently serving as manager of the Rufus King High School boys track team. I serve well in this position because I have natural leadership abilities. Outside of school, I regularly volunteer with several local organizations/agencies. My faith is also very important to me, I attend church regularly. Hopefully, this overview will give you insight into who I am. My plan for college is to major in Legal Studies. I have chosen Legal Studies for my major because my ultimate goal in life, after completing both my undergraduate and law school degrees, is to have my own law firm with branches located across the country. My love for law and attorney work stems from three main influences in my life. Firstly, since I was a child I have always loved to debate about any and everything. When debating with someone, I am opening myself up to new ideas and perspectives. Debating also challenges me to find evidence and ways to support my position. Debating brings out the passion in me and I am a firm believer in when I find my passion, I can find a way to make money at it. Secondly, overtime I have become aware of the growing number of African American citizens across the country who have been underrepresented in the court systems. African Americans are among the top group of citizens who are found in the American prison system with sentences beyond comprehension. This is due to African Americans being appointed inadequate attorneys from the court because they are financially unable to afford a top-notch attorney. This oftentimes affects African Americans far more than White Americans. My goal when going into legal studies and owning my own law practice would be to provide affordable representation for African Americans in the court system so that no matter what, African Americans have a voice as well. Lastly, two of my greatest influences are my friends and family. I have been fortunate enough to surround myself with a group of friends that are supportive, motivating, and inspiring. We challenge each other to ensure that we are doing and being our best. Our support for each other extends to the spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical aspects of life. With this type of motivation, my friends have taught me that no matter what I should never give up on my dreams. Also, my grandfather always said before he passed that there would be a lawyer in our family. This had a significant impact on me personally because once I truly realized what I wanted to be, I felt as though it was my grandfather who placed the idea in my mind. Along with this, my mother always encouraged me to follow my dreams, and I believe that I can do just that.

Giving back to the community, in my eyes, means volunteering to help people in my community. Giving back to the community is important in my life because it provides me with a sense of purpose. Growing up, I was blessed to be born into a family where I never had to experience any instances of struggle. My mother made it her goal to ensure that I would be able to explore things that interest me . Seeing how much my mom provided for me only saddened me when I saw how children in my community weren't afforded the same opportunities. As I got older, I knew that a purpose of my life was to take the blessings that I received and pass those blessings forward. This inspired me to get actively involved in my community and create an acting class for under privileged children in my community. Before creating my acting class, I thought of all the things around my community that I could do to have a positive impact. Things such as donation drives, reading to children, etc. After doing some research, I realized that none of those ideas appealed to me. I wanted to create something that was both fun for me as well as fun for the people that I would be helping in the process. Being a performer myself, I personally know the thrill of performing in front of a cheering live audience. You oftentimes find that inner-city children aren't afforded these types of opportunities based off the fact that they are raised in areas where priorities are more trying to get by than children's future and/or there is a lack of funding. This acted as a motivating factor for the creation of Cody's Acting Class (CAC). The reason behind an acting class is because I believe that there are several underlying advantages to getting involved with acting at such an impressionable age. Getting involved with the acting can help a child build their confidence up, improve professionalism, increase teamwork mentality, develop their public speaking skills, and help the youth understand it's ok to be vulnerable. Getting involved with acting at a young age helped me as I got older so I wanted to pass that skill set on to other children. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, I was unable to conduct an in person acting class, but made adjustments to where it could be held virtually. I was able to create a Google Meets with about 16 to 20 kids ranging in ages 10 to 13. Throughout the entire day with the children, I provided them with extensive training on various acting techniques and styles that would benefit them in their future adulthood such as mock interviews, goofy speeches, etc. The planning process was very extensive due to the fact that I had to take the techniques I learned and find fun and unique ways to teach them to children. At the end of the day, I asked the kids what they felt about the class and I am happy to announce that I received a glowing report and most kids enjoyed the experience. Even-though it was a tiring process, I was able to learn an abundance of life lessons when working with these children. When I started this process I believed I would be teaching the children, however, in the end, the children taught me as much, if not more than I taught them. I look to do more acting classes in the future to potentially change the lives of young people.

Across the world, the growing epidemic of children growing up without the attentiveness and overall love of their father has reached monumental levels. In return, the underlying effects and emotional and developmental problems of rising generations are being put at risk and are causing the children in our society to become victims of consequences children with in-home fathers are less likely to have experienced. Some of the insufferable effects caused by fatherlessness are, but not limited to, behavioral difficulties, educational achievement, and sexual activity/teen pregnancy. Even though I was able to avoid these pitfalls, I still had my own form of setbacks that could be attributed to my father’s absence. This issue has had a significant impact on me personally and has inspired me to seek change. Growing up, I experienced a relationship with my father where I knew who he was and he was present in my life, but there was a constant in and out factor that negatively affected me. This caused an eventual lack of emotional connection between us. This left me seeking a father's knowledge from either my peers, who knew about as much as I knew, or my mother who could only provide a female’s perspective on situations. My knowledge on basic needs such as shaving, driving, etc were searched on the internet rather than obtained by my own father. Two prominent examples that truly stand out in my mind would be not having a conversation with my father about the black male experience and not having a conversation about being in a positive male/female relationship. As a black male in society, there are certain lessons and information that should be passed along from father to son about how to navigate life as a black male. Lessons involving interactions with the police and confronting racism appropriately are crucial at a time where black men are being gunned down everyday based on the color of their skin. My mother taught me all she could, but there is only so much information she could pass on due to her being a black female, it's a different experience. With my father constantly being in and out of my life, I felt unprepared in many situations dealing with racism and discrimination. If my father was involved, I believe he could have provided me with some insight into the black male experience. When it comes to relationships, fathers should teach their sons about how to treat a woman and how to conduct themselves with honor and integrity regardless of the situation. Throughout my life, my father treated my mother with disrespect and provided an awful example of how to treat a woman. Without this form of paternal guidance and leadership, I was left with very little information on how to be in a successful and healthy relationship. Thanks to my mother’s strength, I was able to understand that my father's actions were unacceptable and my goal is to break the cycle of disrespect towards women in not only my family, but the community as well. Fatherlessness acted as a motivating force for my future plans. Since I was a child, I have been a firm believer in the idea of passing it forward. With this in mind, my goal would be to create a mentorship program for at risk African American youth who have been negatively impacted by fatherlessness. By providing this type of mentorship, the goal would be to empower and prepare youth for their future.

I was eleven years old when I first heard a recording of Malcolm X's most notorious speech entitled “The Ballot or the Bullet”. In the speech Malcolm X stated, "So our people not only have to be reeducated to the importance of supporting black business, but the black man himself has to be made aware of the importance of going into business. And once you and I go into business, we own and operate at least the businesses in our community." Hearing these words for the first time as a young boy initially didn’t have a tremendous impact on me due to the fact I didn’t have much life experience to go off of. I thought that everyone around me was granted the same opportunities regardless of race, gender, sexuality, etc and that as long as we worked hard, everything would work out perfectly in the end. Growing up, I witnessed instances of discrimination and segregation in the job field and work force that instantly made me realize that these ideas that everything is equal for all is far from accurate. I learned that certain groups of people have to ultimately work harder for everything they aspire to have in life. Malcolm X preached all throughout his life that we as the African American race must look out for our people. It is our duty to create opportunities for our people even when faced with adversity. Going into my college career I can’t but help reference Malcolm X’s words in his speech when thinking about and executing my future plans. Over the past couple of years, I have become aware of the growing number of African American citizens across the country who have been underrepresented in the court systems. African Americans are among the top group of citizens who are found in the American prison system with sentences beyond comprehension. This is due to African Americans being appointed inadequate attorneys from the court because they are financially unable to afford a top-notch attorney. This oftentimes affects African Americans far more than White Americans. My goal when owning my own law practice would be to provide affordable representation for African Americans in the court system so that no matter what, African Americans have a voice as well. Owning this law firm will honor the likes of Malcolm X and all that he and his legacy has done for me and my fellow African American people. His activism and no surrender attitude has paved the way for little black boys like me to grow up knowing that there is something worth fighting for in life.

From the time I was a young boy, I have always been passionate about the fine arts, specifically acting. It wasn't always easy for me to pursue my acting dreams. The environment I was raised in, along with family members who didn't see acting as a realistic dream made it difficult for me to pursue my passion. I, however, was not willing to give up on something I felt so passionate about. My journey to acting dates back to the third grade when I played the role of Baloo the bear in my elementary school play. Some children might not have taken it serious, but I took it very serious. This was my first time being bitten by the acting bug. I knew acting had to be a part of my life. I had to overcome many hurdles including, my environment, my family, being given equal consideration for certain roles, etc. Acting was in my blood so I knew I would have to work hard and convince everyone that I was a good actor. I was a part of every play from elementary school through high school. I also discovered the exciting world of Forensics during middle school. Forensics afforded me another opportunity to showcase my acting skills. I never felt better and more at home than when I was on stage. I spent all my spare time fine tuning my acting skills. As I began to win competitions and awards for my acting, I also began to when over the support of family members and people in my community. Once I had the additional support, I felt as though I was unstoppable. My confidence level really soared. I was a force to be reckoned with. To take steps towards a career in acting, I began doing plays with my local theater. This taught me additional skills and I spent a lot of time with other actors. I really enjoyed this because I was amongst other skilled actors with a similar passion. It was my junior year of high school that my hard work aligned with an opportunity. I was participating in Forensics in the category of Dramatic Interpretation. I practiced everyday, any spare time I had was spent practicing my piece. That was another thing, I had to choose the right piece that would allow me to highlight my skill set. I wanted something that would allow me to show the judges my range, just how good an actor I really was. I chose to reenact the life story of Rodney King. Rodney King was really a stretch for me, but I knew I could do it and do it well. During the entire regular season of Forensics I never placed below second place. Now it was time for the State meet and I knew this was the time for me to shine and shine I did. I won the State championship!!! My hard work had finally aligned with the opportunity to be the State champion in the category of Dramatic Interpretation.

Since I was a boy, I have always been passionate about the fine arts, specifically acting. It wasn't always easy for me to pursue my acting dreams. The environment I was raised in, along with family members who didn't see acting as a realistic dream made it difficult for me to pursue my passion. I, however, was not willing to give up on something I felt so passionate about. My journey to acting dates back to the third grade when I played the role of Baloo the bear in my elementary school play. Some children might not have taken it serious, but I took it very serious. This was my first time being bitten by the acting bug. I knew acting had to be a part of my life. I had to overcome many hurdles including, my environment, my family, being given equal consideration for certain roles, etc. Acting was in my blood so I knew I would have to work hard and convince everyone that I was a good actor. I was a part of every play from elementary school through high school. I also discovered the exciting world of Forensics during middle school. Forensics afforded me another opportunity to showcase my acting skills. I never felt better and more at home than when I was on stage. I spent all my spare time fine tuning my acting skills. As I began to win competitions and awards for my acting, I also began to when over the support of family members and people in my community. Once I had the additional support, I felt as though I was unstoppable. My confidence level really soared. I was a force to be reckoned with. To take steps towards a career in acting, I began doing plays with my local theater. This taught me additional skills and I spent a lot of time with other actors. I really enjoyed this because I was amongst other skilled actors with a similar passion. It was my junior year of high school that my hard work aligned with an opportunity. I was participating in Forensics in the category of Dramatic Interpretation. I practiced everyday, any spare time I had was spent practicing my piece. That was another thing, I had to choose the right piece that would allow me to highlight my skill set. I wanted something that would allow me to show the judges my range, just how good an actor I really was. I chose to reenact the life story of Rodney King. Rodney King was really a stretch for me, but I knew I could do it and do it well. During the entire regular season of Forensics I never placed below second place. Now it was time for the State meet and I knew this was the time for me to shine and shine I did. I won the State championship!!! My hard work had finally aligned with the opportunity to be the State champion in the category of Dramatic Interpretation.

My plan for college is to major in Legal Studies. I have chosen Legal Studies for my major because my ultimate goal in life, after completing both my undergraduate and law school degrees, is to have my own law firm with branches located across the country. My love for law and attorney work stems from three main influences in my life. Firstly, since I was a child I have always loved to debate about any and everything. When debating with someone, I am opening myself up to new ideas and perspectives. Debating also challenges me to find evidence and ways to support my position. Debating brings out the passion in me and I am a firm believer in when I find my passion, I can find a way to make money at it. Secondly, overtime I have become aware of the growing number of African American citizens across the country who have been underrepresented in the court systems. African Americans are among the top group of citizens who are found in the American prison system with sentences beyond comprehension. This is due to African Americans being appointed inadequate attorneys from the court because they are financially unable to afford a top-notch attorney. This oftentimes affects African Americans far more than White Americans. My goal when going into legal studies and owning my own law practice would be to provide affordable representation for African Americans in the court system so that no matter what, African Americans have a voice as well. Lastly, two of my greatest influences are my friends and family. I have been fortunate enough to surround myself with a group of friends that are supportive, motivating, and inspiring. We challenge each other to ensure that we are doing and being our best. Our support for each other extends to the spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical aspects of life. With this type of motivation, my friends have taught me that no matter what I should never give up on my dreams. Also, my grandfather always said before he passed that there would be a lawyer in our family. This had a significant impact on me personally because once I truly realized what I wanted to be, I felt as though it was my grandfather who placed the idea in my mind. Along with this, my mother always encouraged me to follow my dreams, and I believe that I can do just that.

I was eleven years old when I first heard a recording of Malcolm X's most notorious speeches entitled “The Ballot or the Bullet”. In the speech Malcolm X stated, "So our people not only have to be reeducated to the importance of supporting black business, but the black man himself has to be made aware of the importance of going into business. And once you and I go into business, we own and operate at least the businesses in our community." Hearing these words for the first time as a young boy initially didn’t have a tremendous impact on me due to the fact I didn’t have much life experience to go off of. I thought that everyone around me was granted the same opportunities regardless of race, gender, sexuality, etc and that as long as we worked hard, everything would work out perfectly in the end. Growing up, I witnessed instances of discrimination and segregation in the job field and work force that instantly made me realize that these ideas that everything is equal for all is far from accurate. I learned that certain groups of people have to ultimately work harder for everything they aspire to have in life. Malcolm X preached all throughout his life that we as the African American race must look out for our people. It is our duty to create opportunities for our people even when faced with adversity. Going into my college career I can’t but help reference Malcolm X’s words in his speech when thinking about and executing my future plans. Over the past couple of years, I have become aware of the growing number of African American citizens across the country who have been underrepresented in the court systems. African Americans are among the top group of citizens who are found in the American prison system with sentences beyond comprehension. This is due to African Americans being appointed inadequate attorneys from the court because they are financially unable to afford a top-notch attorney. This oftentimes affects African Americans far more than White Americans. My goal when owning my own law practice would be to provide affordable representation for African Americans in the court system so that no matter what, African Americans have a voice as well. Owning this law firm will honor the likes of Malcolm X and all that he and his legacy has done for me and my fellow African American people. His activism and no surrender attitude has paved the way for little black boys like me to grow up knowing that there is something worth fighting for in life.

The loss of my maternal grandmother when I was ten (10) years old had a significant impact on my life. My grandmother and I were very close, we spent a lot of time together. My grandmother was a widow and she spent a lot of time alone, until I arrived on the scene. My grandmother immediately saw me as an opportunity to bring life back into her life. According to my grandmother, babies had a way of doing that, and I was no exception. As I got older, my grandmother made it her mission to instill some what I called "old school knowledge" in me. An example of this would be introducing her ideas on faith and spirituality. My grandmother introduced the concept of spirituality to me when I was very young. I was taught how to pray and meditate, we would attend church with other like-minded people, and we would read the Bible. Spirituality not only developed our connection to God, but our connection with each other. Having a strong connection and relationship with my grandmother brought about some of the best memories in my life. A memory that instantly comes to mind would be going to the movies every Saturday . I would wake up every Saturday morning bright eyed and anxious to go over to my grandmother's house because I knew fun was on the horizon. When I got to my grandmother's house, I would immediately jump on her lap and turn to the movie section in the morning newspaper. As a joke, she would always say that we weren't going. I never took her serious though because I knew I was her little man. She would let me pick any movie my little heart desired and we would set off on a day of fun and bonding. Sometimes, I can still hear her quiet, but rhythmic hum that she would do on the car rides to and from the movies. Losing my grandmother at such a pivotal time in my life only motivated me for my future plans. My grandmother was all about the idea of legacy, passing down wisdom, knowledge, and success to future generations. In honor of my grandmother, I plan to own my own law firm, focusing on black representation. Owning my own law firm is important because my grandparents owned their own business for over twenty (20) years. Black representation is important because my grandmother often shared stories of her youth which included segregation and racism. Being able to pass down that same amount of wisdom and success to my own children and grandchildren will allow me to fully live up to my grandmother's legacy and ultimately make her proud.

My spirituality is my everything. Spirituality for me is the feeling that there is something greater than myself, something that can't be experienced through the five senses. My mother and grandmother introduced the concept of spirituality to me when I was a young boy. I was taught how to pray and meditate, we would attend church with other like-minded people, and we would read the Bible. Spirituality was our connection to God. My spirituality has evolved over the years. When I was younger, my spirituality was very simple. I would pray the simple prayers "God is good, God is great, thank you for our food, Amen." But as I got older and life became more difficult, by necessity, I had to step up my spirituality game. For me, that meant slowing down, making the most out of my life, and making sure that I was staying connected to God. I began praying and meditating more. When I prayed, I was talking to God, when I meditated, God was talking to me. I make sure that some time is set aside everyday to communicate and hear from God. Prayer and meditation has been done in my car, in the shower, walking to class, etc. I also, look for God within myself and others. I know God is my breath and God is my heartbeat. Going within helps me to experience my oneness with God. And when I try to see God in everyone I meet, that changes the way I see the world. Lastly, I listen to music that inspires me!!! Music is universal.

From the time I was a young boy, I have always enjoyed the fine arts, specifically acting. It wasn't always easy for me to pursue my acting dreams. The environment I was raised in, along with family members who didn't see acting as a realistic dream made it difficult for me to pursue my passion. I, however, was not willing to give up on something I felt so passionate about. My journey to acting dates back to the third grade when I played the role of Baloo the bear in my elementary school play. Some children might not have taken it serious, but I took it very serious. This was my first time being bitten by the acting bug. I knew acting had to be a part of my life. I had to overcome many hurdles including, my environment, my family, being given equal consideration for certain roles, etc. Acting was in my blood so I knew I would have to work hard and convince everyone that I was a good actor. I was a part of every play from elementary school through high school. I also discovered the exciting world of Forensics during middle school. Forensics afforded me another opportunity to showcase my acting skills. I never felt better and more at home than when I was on stage. I spent all my spare time fine tuning my acting skills. As I began to win competitions and awards for my acting, I also began to when over the support of family members and people in my community. Once I had the additional support, I felt as though I was unstoppable. My confidence level really soared. I was a force to be reckoned with. I began doing plays with my local theater. This taught me additional skills and I spent a lot of time with other actors. I really enjoyed this because I was amongst other skilled actors with a similar passion. It was my junior year of high school that my hard work aligned with an opportunity. I was participating in Forensics in the category of Dramatic Interpretation. I practiced everyday, any spare time I had was spent practicing my piece. That was another thing, I had to choose the right piece that would allow me to highlight my skill set. I wanted something that would allow me to show the judges my range, just how good an actor I really was. I chose to reenact the life story of Rodney King. Rodney King was really a stretch for me, but I knew I could do it and do it well. During the entire regular season of Forensics I never placed below second place. Now it was time for the State meet and I knew this was the time for me to shine and shine I did. I won the State championship!!! My hard work had finally aligned with the opportunity to be the State champion in the category of Dramatic Interpretation. With this scholarship, I will be able to alleviate some of the financial stress from my mother and go into a career I am truly proud of.

I am an eighteen year old African American high school senior. I attend Rufus King International Baccalaureate High School where I am currently a Full IB Diploma candidate. My current grade point average is a 5.0 on a 5.0 scale. I am currently serving as manager of the Rufus King High School boys track team. I serve well in this position because I have natural leadership abilities. Outside of school, I regularly volunteer with several local organizations/agencies. My faith is also very important to me, I attend church regularly. Hopefully, this overview will give you insight into who I am. My plan for college is to major in Legal Studies. I have chosen Legal Studies for my major because my ultimate goal in life, after completing both my undergraduate and law school degrees, is to have my own law firm with branches located across the country. My love for law and attorney work stems from three main influences in my life. Firstly, since I was a child I have always loved to debate about any and everything. When debating with someone, I am opening myself up to new ideas and perspectives. Debating also challenges me to find evidence and ways to support my position. Debating brings out the passion in me and I am a firm believer in when I find my passion, I can find a way to make money at it. Secondly, overtime I have become aware of the growing number of African American citizens across the country who have been underrepresented in the court systems. African Americans are among the top group of citizens who are found in the American prison system with sentences beyond comprehension. This is due to African Americans being appointed inadequate attorneys from the court because they are financially unable to afford a top-notch attorney. This oftentimes affects African Americans far more than White Americans. My goal when going into legal studies and owning my own law practice would be to provide affordable representation for African Americans in the court system so that no matter what, African Americans have a voice as well. Lastly, two of my greatest influences are my friends and family. I have been fortunate enough to surround myself with a group of friends that are supportive, motivating, and inspiring. We challenge each other to ensure that we are doing and being our best. Our support for each other extends to the spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical aspects of life. With this type of motivation, my friends have taught me that no matter what I should never give up on my dreams. Also, my grandfather always said before he passed that there would be a lawyer in our family. This had a significant impact on me personally because once I truly realized what I wanted to be, I felt as though it was my grandfather who placed the idea in my mind. Along with this, my mother always encouraged me to follow my dreams, and I believe that I can do just that.

Participating in Forensics in the category of Dramatic Interpretation my junior year was one on my bold moments. I practiced everyday, any spare time I had was spent practicing my piece. I chose to reenact the life story of Rodney King. During the entire regular season of Forensics I never placed below second place. Now it was time for the State meet and I knew this was my time to shine and shine I did. I won the State championship!!! My hard work had finally aligned with the opportunity to be the State champion in the category of Dramatic Interpretation.

From the time I was a young boy, I have always been passionate about the fine arts, specifically acting. It wasn't always easy for me to pursue my acting dreams. The environment I was raised in, along with family members who didn't see acting as a realistic dream made it difficult for me to pursue my passion. I, however, was not willing to give up on something I felt so passionate about. My journey to acting dates back to the third grade when I played the role of Baloo the bear in my elementary school play. Some children might not have taken it serious, but I took it very serious. This was my first time being bitten by the acting bug. I knew acting had to be a part of my life. I had to overcome many hurdles including, my environment, my family, being given equal consideration for certain roles, etc. Acting was in my blood so I knew I would have to work hard and convince everyone that I was a good actor. I was a part of every play from elementary school through high school. I also discovered the exciting world of Forensics during middle school. Forensics afforded me another opportunity to showcase my acting skills. I never felt better and more at home than when I was on stage. I spent all my spare time fine tuning my acting skills. As I began to win competitions and awards for my acting, I also began to when over the support of family members and people in my community. Once I had the additional support, I felt as though I was unstoppable. My confidence level really soared. I was a force to be reckoned with. To take steps towards a career in acting, I began doing plays with my local theater. This taught me additional skills and I spent a lot of time with other actors. I really enjoyed this because I was amongst other skilled actors with a similar passion. It was my junior year of high school that my hard work aligned with an opportunity. I was participating in Forensics in the category of Dramatic Interpretation. I practiced everyday, any spare time I had was spent practicing my piece. That was another thing, I had to choose the right piece that would allow me to highlight my skill set. I wanted something that would allow me to show the judges my range, just how good an actor I really was. I chose to reenact the life story of Rodney King. Rodney King was really a stretch for me, but I knew I could do it and do it well. During the entire regular season of Forensics I never placed below second place. Now it was time for the State meet and I knew this was the time for me to shine and shine I did. I won the State championship!!! My hard work had finally aligned with the opportunity to be the State champion in the category of Dramatic Interpretation.

From the time I was a young boy, I have always enjoyed the fine arts, specifically acting. It wasn't always easy for me to pursue my acting dreams. The environment I was raised in, along with family members who didn't see acting as a realistic dream made it difficult for me to pursue my passion. I, however, was not willing to give up on something I felt so passionate about. My journey to acting dates back to the third grade when I played the role of Baloo the bear in my elementary school play. Some children might not have taken it serious, but I took it very serious. This was my first time being bitten by the acting bug. I knew acting had to be a part of my life. I had to overcome many hurdles including, my environment, my family, being given equal consideration for certain roles, etc. Acting was in my blood so I knew I would have to work hard and convince everyone that I was a good actor. I was a part of every play from elementary school through high school. I also discovered the exciting world of Forensics during middle school. Forensics afforded me another opportunity to showcase my acting skills. I never felt better and more at home than when I was on stage. I spent all my spare time fine tuning my acting skills. As I began to win competitions and awards for my acting, I also began to when over the support of family members and people in my community. Once I had the additional support, I felt as though I was unstoppable. My confidence level really soared. I was a force to be reckoned with. I began doing plays with my local theater. This taught me additional skills and I spent a lot of time with other actors. I really enjoyed this because I was amongst other skilled actors with a similar passion. It was my junior year of high school that my hard work aligned with an opportunity. I was participating in Forensics in the category of Dramatic Interpretation. I practiced everyday, any spare time I had was spent practicing my piece. That was another thing, I had to choose the right piece that would allow me to highlight my skill set. I wanted something that would allow me to show the judges my range, just how good an actor I really was. I chose to reenact the life story of Rodney King. Rodney King was really a stretch for me, but I knew I could do it and do it well. During the entire regular season of Forensics I never placed below second place. Now it was time for the State meet and I knew this was the time for me to shine and shine I did. I won the State championship!!! My hard work had finally aligned with the opportunity to be the State champion in the category of Dramatic Interpretation.