Coming from parents where knowledge of finances was crucial they taught me a lot about how to separate my money. One of the first things they taught me was how to separate my income into savings, spending, and tithe. While this was a good base for a financial lesson it’s not the main point. The most important lesson I learned early on was investing in the stock market. I first applied this in real life when I was 12 years old. At 12 I had made a little bit of money from mowing my neighbor's yards. Remembering the lessons my parents taught me about how it’s more beneficial to invest in stock rather than letting your money sit in a bank I made a bold move. While most kids my age would’ve blown their money on toys and candy I asked my parents to put it in the stock market where I knew what would benefit me in the long run. In conclusion, the most important lesson in finance you can learn is how to invest in stock. Due to recent events such as covid, this has made getting into the stock market a little easier due to price drops in certain products. The best thing about the stock market though is you will increase your money by leaving it alone for a period of time.

Growing up in a household where both my parents went to college it was expected that I would pursue college as well. Over the course of my childhood, I was taught the importance of saving money. I’ve made sure to apply the lessons I learned early on in life to my daily and weekly routine. Learning over time some tips and tricks on how to avoid college debt. When I was 4 years old I was placed in foster care for 3 years. In this time period, I had to grow up quickly and learn how to take care of myself. When I was about 7 or 8 I was adopted, it was at this age I learned the importance of money. Being the first lesson that was taught to me I knew the importance of it then and to this day. I was taught how to separate money into 3 stacks as soon as I get it; savings, tithe, and spending. Due to my knowledge of how to save, spend, and tithe I believe I would be a great fit for this scholarship. Having won a scholarship on how to save money when I was 10 I immediately made sure to keep the money I won in a bank instead of spending it like most children my age would’ve done. This book opened up my eyes and made sure I knew the importance of savings. While I may have been written in a way for kids to understand the importance of money it’s still applicable to this day. One of the biggest problems most young adults have after high school is a lack of self-control. Now having access to credit cards and loans many of them don’t realize how much more they’ll have to pay in loans. It’s easy to get pulled into the “debt trap” if you don’t know how to manage your money younger. I’ve had years of first and second-hand experience of how to keep control of money. My parents make sure I witness big transactions and understand the importance of the purchases. In conclusion, I would be a great candidate for this scholarship due to my extensive knowledge of how to manage money. I’ve had years of experience managing money and budgeting. Having knowledge of how most students go into debt I’ve made sure to set myself up as best as possible to get through college debt-free.

My educational goals include me graduating from college and also law school. I’ve envisioned this from a young age due to some obstacles I had to face and what I saw growing up. Due to me growing up the oldest of 4 I had to learn how to be a leader and how to be a responsible person quickly. Due to my upbringing, I would learn how to be a disciplined person, get through high school and search for a higher education, and overcome the odds that were stacked against me. When I was 4 years old my sisters I were placed in foster care for 3 years. In this time period, I had to grow up quickly and learn how to take care of myself. When I was about 7 or 8 I was adopted and finally taught skills that most kids had already learned. The biggest obstacle at the time was not knowing how to do anything for myself and others having to take care of me. A secondary challenge I had to overcome was knowing that the odds of me even graduating college were going to be low. With only 50% of kids from foster care even graduating from, it’s a blessing that I’ve been able to come so far and to realistically say I want to go beyond college. I learned a lot considering the fact that I was in foster care for years. Some of the skills I picked up were difficult at first. Though, by the time I was about 12 I was able to fully take care of myself without assistance. I had learned to cook, clean, wash and fold laundry, etc. This was something I had previously thought wouldn’t be possible. They would also teach me discipline and respect that I would eventually incorporate into my personality. Due to my situational experience, I want to get the best educational experience, especially as someone who started from the bottom. I know that if I, who started at the bottom got this far I can get even further if I just push a little harder. I’m currently about to go to college but after that, I would like to pursue further education, one that involves me graduating from law school. In conclusion, the biggest challenge for me was coming from foster care and not knowing the basics of surviving. I overcame this obstacle by learning how to take care of myself and my siblings from my parents. I'm also glad to have come this far for someone who people didn't expect much from.

Being a Texan isn't just wearing cowboys boots and a belt buckle. Nor, is it having to necessarily be born and living here your whole life. Though as someone who has spent their whole life in texas I can accurately say a true Texan is someone with a strong spirit, knows how to some criticism, and is friendly even with strangers. Not only that but we're also known for our great music taste and barbecue. I believe I fit this description perfectly and show the true dedication of a Texan. With this scholarship, I will use it for my enrollment to Texas Lutheran University.

The most inspiring book I've read thus far is called "Now is the time for Running" this book explained the life of a South African boy from a small town who was good at soccer. Having a mentally handicapped brother his soccer ball full of money and his wits he was forced to leave his home one eventful and bloody day. With his grandfather's last words telling him to flee to a safe haven he doesn't know of in another country that same day his world turned upside down. Using the money his grandfather had saved up and taking his brother with him he leaves in search of this safe haven. For me this book was deep it's speaking about how even when you hit the lowest point in your life how you can bounce back with the skills you've always had. Soccer was all he knew but that wasn't what he needed to survive, he picked up survival skills along his journey and put them to use. I've applied this book to my life by doing what I'm good at which is track and field and combining it with my other skills. "Now is the time for running"

Being patient is an important virtue that people should have. People with patience often find themselves with more time to focus on the most important things to them. For example, if you're waiting in a line at a coffee shop, you could try thinking about other things such as what you want to accomplish that day or what you've done that week instead of being angry. Instead of blowing at the barista, you could take a deep breath and relax. Being patient is important to me because showing patience is also a sign that you have your emotions under control. Being calm in an emergency is another way of showing your patience, a leader is someone who must remain calm under distress, and just having experience counts for a lot. For me, the 3 qualities I look for in a friend are Patience, honesty, and a sense of humor. With these traits, I believe that person I'm spending my time with is a good person.

Some changes I would like to see in the community include people being more physically active, having more meet and greets with local first responders, and helping the homeless. I would start off on a local level and let it spread nationally with this method I believe I can make the biggest difference in communities.` Health is important, and I’m glad the U.S government requires schools to give students an hour of physical activity. As an athlete myself, I see the importance of keeping in shape and having a healthy lifestyle. I would like to do an event where once a month, everyone can gather or you could have a public gym. The main reason why many people decide not to go to gyms even though they want to is they can’t afford the membership. With a public gym, I hope that this would encourage more people to want to keep in shape. A goal that I wish would come to pass is more meet and greets with First Responders. Due to Covid-19, we haven’t been able to express how much first responders are helpful to us. Getting to meet those who protect and serve our communities would be an eye-opener to what they have to go through each day. It is also helpful for them as they can now see the people they’re supposed to protect. Communities that have more police presence and the residents know them are more likely to be cooperative with police. Most of the time you only hear the bad things about the police. Whenever an officer does something good news rarely gets out about that. The last goal of mine that I want to talk about is helping the homeless. Recently there have been more problems with homeless people in Central Texas. It has been painful to watch them forced out of where they live. Homeless people are 10x more likely to commit suicide than the average person. They are more likely to suffer from bipolar disorder and depression, and they’re not getting the help they need because they can’t afford it. I Believe we could do something simple such as giving them a sandwich or some water it could mean a lot to them. Don’t be so quick to condemn or judge them when you could take 5 minutes out of your day to help them. Most people believe you have to do something as complex as going to another country for a year to help locals when you can make a difference in your community that is just as good. With my goals being completed, I’m sure that it will make the community a better place, both mentally and physically for everyone. Having a gym helps people work out their stress while also helping their bodies. Talking and spending time with first responders is a good; way to build a relationship with those who help the community. While; helping the homeless affects them mentally and physically. You don’t know if you saved their life by giving them something you think is simple. As they say “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure”. I hope that this starts on a community level and later becomes something national.

Dealing with the loss of a loved one has been tough on me. My grandmother has been fighting to stay alive for the past three years. After she passed away I realized how I wanted others to have a second chance with their families. I strive to become someone in the community that people look to when they feel like everything they’ve worked for is slipping away. My grandmother was your classic grandma she would spoil me with treats, help me with my homework, and was there for me when I needed someone to talk to. I can remember all the times we would talk and play cards together and how she would teach me how to play. We both loved to read books so she would recommend a book to me and if I had a book I was reading we would talk about it. However, this would all change on the first day of summer in my last year of middle school. My mother got a call that morning about my grandmother being in the hospital. I remember getting there and thinking about how she was going to be able to come home with us later on. What didn’t know at the time was that she was going to be in a position where she wouldn’t be able to talk and could barely move. For three years she would stay in this position until she passed away earlier this year. After she passed away it took me some time to recover because everything I did remind me of her. Knowing that the last time I would ever see her was at the funeral home was devastating. A few months went by when I finally made a decision to spend as much time with my family as I could. I wanted to spend time with those who are the most important in my life. I know that some people my age aren’t spending their last years of high school with their parents because they want to party while they’re young. I believe that they just need a healthy family, school, extracurricular lifestyle. I plan on fighting to achieve a community where people can go when they feel stuck. I want to be a role model to those who had to watch a loved one’s condition get worse. I want those around me to see, that even though I had to endure seeing her in a terrible condition for years, I still did something great with my life. I never wanted to be one of those people who break down and can’t function correctly for years. I know that if she were here right now she would want me to keep going and focus on the important things in my life. The loss of a loved one (my grandmother) has caused me to focus on spending time with my family members while they’re still here. For those who have lost someone, they need to not lose those who are still close to them. Yes, we can grieve but don’t let it stop you from opening your heart to other people. My fight is to help others get through their burdens and know that they’re not alone. That is how losing my grandmother has taught me a lot in just a few months.

“I heard you die twice, once when they bury you in the grave and the second time is the last time that somebody mentions your name” -Macklemore. This quote means a lot to me because this is deeper than it appears on the surface. We all die once, and when that happens, we will be buried by our loved ones. But when people have done something good, they are remembered for it forever. There are people who have died hundreds or thousands of years ago though we still know their names because they have done remarkable deeds. People such as Julius Caesar, George Washington, and Martin Luther King live on through history books for their actions. I would love to have my name remembered for my good deeds throughout the community. Some of the good deeds I want to do include helping the disabled, spending time with my family, and giving back to charities. My first life will be short compared to my second life, where people remember my name. That is what this quote means to me.

Throughout my life, I’ve had hardships but one of the biggest hardships I’ve had to face was my grandmother passing away. After spending half my life bonding with her and being by her side it was a tough pill to swallow. She spent 3 years in a nursing home barely able to move and unable to talk with my family and me. She wasn’t always like this, however, because there was a time when I could just go to her with a problem and she would tell me how I could find the answer. I remember the first time I saw my grandmother I was just 7 years old. I woke up on a Saturday morning to the smell of food. This was my first memory of her but the second we met and I knew we had a deep bond. On weekends she would often come to visit my family to cheer me on for basketball or football games. In the summer we would go spend a couple of weeks with her where we would run around her yard with water balloons trying (and failing) to hit one another. In the evenings after we were tired we would fall asleep watching a movie. When it was time to go back home we resisted as much as we could but she would tell us she’ll see us next week. When I entered middle school she would continue to go to my sporting events and when cross country season came around she would wake up at 7 am just to come watch me run. As a middle schooler now that I was doing harder school work I was now able to go to her for help when my parents weren’t available. By the time my last year of middle school came around, I was used to going to my grandma’s house for the summer but fate had other plans. The summer of my first year in high school was the first time I wouldn’t be able to spend time with her. I remember waking up on the first day of summer to my mother telling me we need to head to the hospital. When we got there I was confused about the whole situation I would later find out my grandmother was in the hospital and that she couldn’t speak and she could barely move. My family and I were panicked and confused about what was happening. What we didn’t know at the time was she was going to be in this state for the next 3 years. We ended up having to move her to a nursing home where we would visit her as often as we could for the next few years. But since there were so few nursing homes that would take care of a person in her condition my family couldn’t be too picky about where she should go. For 3 years we moved from one nursing home to another until finally, she passed away. With the money from the scholarship, I believe I can make a difference in the community by becoming a lawyer and guiding people. I intend to stand up for the less fortunate. Help families, like mine, who are confused about certain situations. Also with the money, I plan on getting through college and then through law school. I plan to use the scholarship money to assist in your future endeavors by not allowing my hardship to be passed on to others, ease community burdens, and help the less fortunate.