The way I stay committed to being selfless and helping others is by treating them how they want to be treated. It was a well-known principle that I was taught at a young age. Of course, it would be a lot easier to just walk past them and ignore their entire existence. But why not be there for them when no one else was? I remembered what it was like playing volleyball my freshman year. Our varsity volleyball team was amazing. They were like dominating women and I was this scrawny little girl on the freshman team that looked up to them. I wanted to be just like them - more athletic and skillful. Unfortunately, they looked at freshmen as if we were nothing. They wouldn't even want to practice with us. At that point, I made a mental note to myself that I would never be like them. When I made the varsity volleyball team, I was supportive of every player. Every time a freshman asked for help - I was there. I gave them tips on how to spike or serve. Before every game, they would hold out their hands and ask for high fives. The rest of the varsity team would ignore them because they felt like they weren't worthy of their time, but I felt different. I would run over and give all twenty of them high fives, even if I missed the warm-up. I thought back to my freshman self, I knew they were satisfied. I could only imagine how excited they were to be acknowledged by a varsity player. Being treated as if you weren't just a freshman made you feel like you belonged. It let them know that being a freshman was just a bigger step to becoming a great varsity player.

Never have I ever felt so compelled to read a book before. To be captivated by the lines of dialogue in a piece of literature. Decoding every sentence of text to unlock a door to the big picture. As simple as it sounds, I am fascinated by the idea of reading a book. To be able to find the hidden meanings behind the metaphorical and symbolic paragraphs. The first time I ever read a book out loud, I was involved. I wasn't reading the book anymore. I had become a part of the book. It was like the ideas that the author had written down were unwoken forms of life, and I was the one who was reviving it. Making those ideas into a reality. Therefore, reading is my why. It's the reason why I am majoring in creative writing. I want to become an author that has the ability to make anyone imagine the idea that I write on a paper. I want to make the brain ponder in apprehension as it tries to interpret my perspective. My goal in life is to become a famous novelist. Whether it's during college or after, I want to be known to the public. I don’t mean being a #1 Best selling author for two books. I intend on being a #1 best seller for multiple books. Imagine an author more known than Steven King. An author who has written more books than him - that's the type of writer I want to become. Right now, it only sounds like a fantasy, but I know that with hard work I can make it a reality. Not only would I be creating books that will change the generation, I will be changing the world. I want to write horror novels like Steven King and romance novels like Danielle Steel. As well as a few books about my personal experiences. My vision is "learn to become and then enlighten the generation". Being able to go to college and learn how to become a better writer will help me with expressing my personal experiences with the world. I would create a positive impact by teaching the younger generations things I wish I had known when I was their age. Helping to develop a strong mindset of thinking "I can do this!". If all things go right, when I get out of college I want to have the credibility to say that I am a novelist. I will be inspiring young souls to achieve their dreams. Creating books that will make other people fall in love with reading. Creating pieces of dialogue to be revived into a reality.

So far my life has been a roller coaster ride. There were ups and downs, even unexpected turns, putting me in a different direction. I started my sophomore year of high school playing volleyball, thinking I wanted to play in college. I suffered every year with bad coaching, players that didn’t even want to win, and then Covid-19. When Covid-19 had arrived, we were released for our Spring Break and didn't come back to school until the next year. Meaning everyone automatically went to the next grade since we didn’t have to take a STAAR test. I was going through a lot at home, and playing volleyball was too much at the time. I told my coach that I was going to be home-schooled. I missed my opportunity in being the libero on the JV team. After a week, I realized that despite what was going on at home, I wanted to give up my dream. I ended up telling my coach, and she let me come back to the team. Only this time, I wasn’t going to be the libero anymore. Someone else had taken my spot. I thought the team would be different when I was a senior and on varsity, but it wasn't. The coaching got worse. He decided that he wanted only his favorites to play and set all of the seniors on the bench. My love for the sport was soon vanishing. But, instead of hating the sport entirely, I realized that the problem wasn’t the sport, it was the coach. I decided that when I did play I was going to leave everything I had on the court. I thought that if he saw how hard I worked - I would play. Unfortunately, life wasn’t that simple. The problem was he just simply had favorites. I dislike him for the rest of the season. Throughout the volleyball season, my plans started to change. My interest was moving closer to playing college soccer. During the recruiting process, I had been playing both sides: volleyball and soccer. It wasn’t until the mistreatment in volleyball that made me swing closer to playing soccer. I went to ID Camps and got a former professional soccer player to coach me. I had developed raw confidence after getting so much experience. I never wanted to be a bench warmer again. When soccer started, I was in a great place. I was going places. My former volleyball coach told me that he was proud of what I was doing. He told me that if I had any questions about the college process I could talk to him because he played sports in college. It felt like a joke. He was never really involved in what I was doing until he saw that he could get something out of it. I smiled at him, trying not to be disrespectful. Meanwhile, I continued to do my own thing. I promoted myself on social media. College coaches found me, and I set up phone calls. Soon, I was offered a partial scholarship to play college soccer. I ended up taking an official visit to that same college then I committed a month later. Now, I am a committed athlete training - to be ready for the next level! Playing the sport that you loved and not being able to enjoy was the most difficult situation I was ever in. I made the most out of it by using that anger to build myself. Despite, all of the literal pain, sweat, and tears - I have accomplished my dream of playing a college sport.

My artistic vision is a character from a horror story that I have created. I intend to go to college and study creative writing to further help my knowledge of writing. My primary focus in doing this major is to help me as a novelist. I want to continue writing horror novels. I will use the drawing that I have created for the covers of my horror stories. As well as making horror covers for other interested writers. Something like a little entrepreneur. I love the idea of sketching, leaving the sketching marks, and leaving out the color as much as possible. I prefer shading if any color is necessary. I am looking forward to maintaining a horror fanbase with my inspirational drawings. Usually, people are afraid to say what they are interested in, but I love horror. There's no reason to deny something you are truly passionate about. I would be incredibly grateful to receive this scholarship to help me in making my dream become reality. Thank you.

"No one is born with self-confidence. Self-confidence is learned and earned with experience." -Denis Waitley. At the beginning of this year of high school, my interest was moving closer to playing college soccer. I wanted to play college. Throughout constant web browsing, I ran across ID camps. It was a way to showcase your skills to college coaches. So, I went to ID Camps to get noticed. I even got a former professional soccer player to coach me. I had developed raw confidence after getting so much experience. I promote myself on social media. College coaches found me, and I set up phone calls. I was turned down by college coaches until one finally saw my potential. I set up a phone call and had a chat. Soon, I was offered a partial scholarship to play college soccer. I ended up taking an official visit to that same college then I committed a month later. Before I had started the recruiting process I felt as if I was wasting my time. I was a girl who didn't play club, and my high school lost every year. Every time I went to an ID Camp, I could see the difference between me and the other girls. But after my soccer training, and going to all of these camps, I had become more experienced. I felt as if I had been playing soccer for ages. My confidence had gone through the roof. Now, I try to be more confident in myself. With anything that I do, I feel as if all I needed is experience. I continued to show confidence by working at something until I perfected it. If I would have stopped in my recruiting process, I wouldn't have been able to commit to a college today.

The adversity that I endured was my senior year on the varsity volleyball team. I thought the team would be different when I was a senior and on varsity, but it wasn't. I suffered every year with bad coaching, players that didn’t even want to win, and then Covid-19. I started the season with a great attitude - ready to compete. Throughout the season, my pride had diminished. The coach decided that he wanted only his favorites to play and set all of the seniors on the bench. During our home tournament, he split the varsity team in two. I noticed that he had split the team up the same way he had done for years. The darker complexioned people on one team and lighter complexioned were on the other. I stood up to him and asked him why he had done what he had done. He made the excuse that another team had dropped, so he had to make us into two teams. I argued with him about what he had done. There was no reason a girl that had been out the whole season was playing more than me. After my debate, he decided to do what he wanted anyway. After every loss, the coach would tell us that we were a disappointment. He would find someone who had done something wrong and bully them for it. He rehashed that the seniors had no team leadership. That was when I told the rest of the seniors that there was no way we could have team leadership when we weren't even playing. We decided to stand together, so when he wanted to belittle one of us, we would stand up to him as a team of leaders - which we were denied the privilege to do in the beginning. We continued to sit on the bench while his favorite player. Eventually, the late-night games that we could have won were lost dramatically without his star players - the seniors. The season ended while we never even had a shot at playoffs. The coach felt like a fool realizing that his favorites had stolen the show and killed the season. Despite him ruining senior year, I continue to do my own thing. I didn’t let what he had done to us become the depression that killed me. Instead of wailing over it, I used all of the energy I put into those thoughts into playing the next sport - soccer. Like volleyball, soccer is one of my favorite sports. I was willing to do what I intended to do in soccer - play the game. When the season started, I remained a starter. When I played as a forward, I was putting points on the board. My former volleyball coach came to our tournament to see me killing it out there. I had used all of my pain from being denied playing time in the game of soccer. After every point I made, I cheered. I expressed the confidence that I had from the beginning. After the game, the volleyball coach told us we did a great job. I just smiled at him. It was obvious that when greatness played they showed. Unlike his favorites, I didn't need to be told how to win a game. Through the adversity that I faced, I came out on top. My resilience is what helped me to become a winner. I will use my resilience in the future by continuing to fight for what I believe. I will never settle to be a loser, the winner in me will always show.

The one thing that gives me hope that the future will be better is the dream of doing what I love. What I am hoping is for in the future is going to college and playing soccer. I want to study Creative Writing while minoring in Psychology or Sports Management. After college, I want to play for a professional soccer team or club. One of my dreams is to play for the Manchester City Women's Professional Club. I watched the series: All or Nothing: Manchester City, and I fell in love with the team. Not only are the jerseys my favorite color, but they just played so well. Watching them start from nothing and win the Premier League was like a dream come true. Now, I know that the Women’s Team isn’t the same as the men's, but I am excited to say that I would be honored to play for them. At the beginning of this year of high school, my interest was moving closer to playing college soccer. I needed to play college soccer if I wanted to play for a professional team. I went to ID Camps and got a former professional soccer player to coach me. I had developed raw confidence after getting so much experience. I promote myself on social media. College coaches found me, and I set up phone calls. I was turned down by college coaches until one finally saw my potential. I set up a phone call and had a chat. Soon, I was offered a partial scholarship to play college soccer. I ended up taking an official visit to that same college then I committed a month later. Now, the next goal is to compete at the college level. Following that is to play professionally. I want to continue to put in hard work to make my dreams and goals come true as Manchester City did in their 2017 - 2018 season. Another dream that I have is writing horror novels, my favorite genre. It was an incredibly hard task to give someone a frightening feeling by reading a book. The first horror novel that I read was written by R.L Stine: Don’t Stay up Late. Of course, I read the goosebumps, but this book was different from the fictional characters. It felt real. I was fascinated by how the story was so suspenseful and terrifying. I read books from Lisa Jackson, Stephen King, and Dean Koontz. After reading their books, I wanted to become a writer and not a reader learning from the words. I had to get engaged with my mind to reveal the true format to become an effective horror novelist. I hope that by studying Creative Writing, I will be a more effective horror novelist. As well as playing college soccer would propel my career into helping me start my professional career. I think doing what I love, playing soccer and writing, will help make the future better.

I plan to achieve success in doing what I love. My goals are to continue playing soccer, and enjoying every moment of it. I want to take it from a level of amateur to professional. One of my goals is to play for the Manchester City Women's Professional Club. I watched the series: All or Nothing: Manchester City, and I fell in love with the team. Not only are the jerseys my favorite color, but they just played so well. Watching them start from nothing and win the Premier League was like a dream come true. Now, I know that the Women’s Team isn’t the same as the men's, but I am excited to say that I would be honored to play for them. At the beginning of this year of high school, my interest was moving closer to playing college soccer. I needed to play college soccer if I wanted to play for a professional team. I went to ID Camps and got a former professional soccer player to coach me. I had developed raw confidence after getting so much experience. I promote myself on social media. College coaches found me, and I set up phone calls. I was turned down by college coaches until one finally saw my potential. I set up a phone call and had a chat. Soon, I was offered a partial scholarship to play college soccer. I ended up taking an official visit to that same college then I committed a month later. To achieve the next goal, I will to compete at the college level. Following that is to play professionally. I want to continue to put in hard work to make my dreams and goals come true as Manchester City did in their 2017 - 2018 season. Then, success will be achieved.

The way I stay committed to being selfless and help others is showing them gratitude. It would be a lot easier to just walk past them and ignore their existence. But why not be kind to that one person? Be there for them when no one else was? I remembered what it was like when I started volleyball in my freshman year of high school. Our varsity volleyball team was amazing. I was the little girl on the freshman team that looked up to them. I had talent, but we were never good enough to win. I wanted someone or at least one of them to help me become better. But none of them did. They looked at freshmen as if we were nothing. They wouldn't even want to practice with us. I made a mental note to myself that I would never be like them. When I made it to the varsity volleyball team, every time I freshman asked for help - I was there. Before every game, they would hold out their hands and ask for high fives. The rest of the varsity would just ignore them, but I wouldn't. I would run over and give all twenty of them high fives. That made their day. I could only imagine how excited they were to be acknowledged by a Varsity player. I thought back to my freshman self, I knew I felt the same. Having a varsity player treat you as if you weren't just a freshman made you feel like you belonged. I took out the time to show those girls gratitude, and they will forever be grateful. When I see then in school, they would waive or give hugs. It makes me feel great to see that I helped spark the happiness in their lives.

“For she appreciated nature’s essence to the point of paralyzing mesmerization.” -H.N.K Engaging with nature is the most beautiful thing in life. It allows you to learn oneself by becoming one with nature. For me, nature is my savior. When I’ve had a bad day, I know that I can look at her and be brought back to myself. Nature is not just grass, trees, weather, and animals. It's the ecology, the environment between all biotic and abiotic things. By enjoying nature for what she is, we can truly enjoy living while loving ourselves. Listening to the sound of the rain is enough to make you cry. I would stand outside, looking up, watching as the condensation became raindrops. I knew that I could silently cry in peace, and no one would know. They would think that the water on my face was just the rain. As likely as it sounds, I love the rain. I would listen to rain sounds to fall asleep. Waking up to the loud splatter of raindrops was like a dream come true. I enjoyed walking outside and seeing puddles of water, trying to avoid stepping into them. I sometimes find myself sitting outside on my porch, listening to the sound of the wind. Knowing that I have things that I should be doing, the sound is so calming that I am distracted. I felt as if I was at peace. I felt at one with nature. To me, nature matters because there is nothing that can replace it. It has the capabilities of a god, being able to grow, die, and be reborn. I appreciate nature with the sole purpose of enjoying it for what it was, the most beautiful thing in life.

One thing that fuels my life is playing soccer. I love the way I move with the ball - fluid, as I dribble. I glide past my opponents. Crossing the ball into the 18-yard box, setting up my forward for an award-winning strike. Watching as my perfect pass has just been merely delivered so diligently. I reminisce the movements: dribbling with the ball, feeling every little pebble in the turf as my feet release from the ground. My eyes, follow my foot as it swings underneath the ball. I turn my hips and cross my right leg over my left. The momentum drives the ball into the air and curves it back down. My forward watches the ball, hesitating to run towards it. The goalie then comes out of the box and collects the ball. My smile dissolves as I witness a goal-scoring opportunity crushed. Despite the crime that has just happened, I continue to do my diligence as a right-wing. Throughout the game, I am constantly crossing the ball to the forward. Repetitively, having Deja vu as she replicates the progress of just watching the ball hit the ground. Once again, the goalie collects the ball. We end the game with a loss: 2-0. I think about all of the opportunities we had. My stats would have been six assists. Although the game was very long ago, I still think about it. Because of that loss, my passion grows more powerful for the sport. It's the reason why I continued even though we had lost the game. It makes me happy to see that I have grown from where I started. Soccer is the fuel of my life, and it completes me.

The way I treat others with empathy is by showing them love that I was never. It would be a lot easier to just walk past them and ignore their existence. But why not be kind to that one person? Be there for them when no one else was? I remembered what it was like when I started volleyball in my freshman year of high school. Our varsity volleyball team was amazing. I was the little girl on the freshman team that looked up to them. I had talent, but we were never good enough to win. I wanted someone or at least one of them to help me become better. But none of them did. They looked at freshmen as if we were nothing. They wouldn't even want to practice with us. I made a mental note to myself that I would never be like them. When I made it to the varsity volleyball team, every time I freshman asked for help - I was there. Before every game, they would hold out their hands and ask for high fives. The rest of the varsity would just ignore them, but I wouldn't. I would run over and give all twenty of them high fives. That made their day. I could only imagine how excited they were to be acknowledged by a Varsity player. I thought back to my freshman self, I knew I felt the same. Having a varsity player treat you as if you weren't just a freshman made you feel like you belonged. I took out the time to show those girls empathy, and they will forever be grateful. When I see then in school, they would waive or give hugs. It makes me feel great to see that I helped spark the happiness in their lives.

"The best use of imagination is creativity. The worst use of imagination is anxiety." - Deepak Chopra I used my creativity be using my imagination. I would create characters and a setting, writing down all of my ideas onto a piece of paper. It was like writing gave me the ability to create. I was the creator of my thoughts and ideas. I was in control of myself. I was free and determined to allow my mind to wander in different dimensions. There were worlds where my crowded thoughts were finally separated and categorized by genre. My favorite was horror. Horror, on the other hand, was a masterpiece. It was an incredibly hard task to give someone a frightening feeling by reading a book. Reading books from Lisa Jackson, Stephen King, and Dean Koontz wasn’t enough. I had to become a writer and not a reader learning from the words. I had to get engaged with my mind to reveal the true format to become an effective horror novelist. I wrote an MLA formatted paper for my English Ⅱ class. The title was: How to become an effective horror novelist. I spent weeks researching and learning new things about horror authors that I didn’t know before. My world of horror had expanded from one dimension to four. Even after the paper was due, I felt as if it was incomplete. I was still incomplete. My horror journey had just started, and I had barely even scratched the surface. Writing allows the mind to let go of crowded thoughts. By writing down your inner thoughts - your mind is at peace. Writing isn't just recording words onto a piece of paper. To me, writing is the art of creativity. I use creativity in my life every day by using my imagination.

One of the things that I achieved on my is getting recruited to play college soccer. At the beginning of this year of high school, my interest was moving closer to playing college soccer. I went to several ID Camps hoping to be identified. I even went as far as to get a former professional soccer player to coach me. I had developed raw confidence after getting so much experience. Next, I promote myself on social media. College coaches found me, and I set up phone calls. I was turned down by college coaches until one finally saw my potential. I set up a phone call and had a chat. Soon, I was offered a partial scholarship to play college soccer. I ended up taking an official visit to that same college then I committed a month later. Another dream that I have is writing horror novels, my favorite genre. It was an incredibly hard task to give someone a frightening feeling by reading a book. The first horror novel that I read was written by R.L Stine: Don’t Stay up Late. I read books from Lisa Jackson, Stephen King, and Dean Koontz. After reading their books, I wanted to become a writer and not a reader learning from the words. I had to get engaged with my mind to reveal the true format to become an effective horror novelist. I hope that by studying Creative Writing, I will be a more effective horror novelist. As well as playing college soccer would propel my career into helping me start my professional career. I think doing what I love, playing soccer and writing, will help make the future better.

The reason why I stay committed to speaking my mind is because no else is going to do it for you. I started my senior year playing volleyball on the varsity team. I thought the team would be different when I was a senior and on varsity, but it didn’t. I suffered every year with bad coaching, players that didn’t even want to win, and then Covid-19. I started the season with a great attitude - ready to compete. Throughout the season, my pride had diminished. The coach decided that he wanted only his favorites to play and set all of the seniors on the bench. During our home tournament, he split the varsity team in two. I noticed that he had split the team up the same way he had done for years. The darker-skinned people on one team and lighter complexioned were on the other. I stood up to him and asked him why he had done what he had done. He made the excuse that another team had dropped, so he had to make us into two teams. I argued with him on what he had done. There was no reason a girl that had been out the whole season was playing more than me. After my agrument, he decided to what he wanted anyway. The coach had told us that we were a disappointment. He rehashed that the seniors had no team leadership. I told him that there was no way the seniors could have team leadership with they weren't even playing. Eventually, the late-night games that we could have won were lost dramatically without his star players - the seniors. The season ended while we never even had a shot at playoffs. Speaking my mind to him that day showed that my advice was right.

Society can start eliminating the mindset that every man is better than a woman. What needs to be done is to give women the rights they deserve. For example: On August 18, 1920, women were given the right to vote. Yet, when women decided to stand up for something, they are shut down. In March 2019, the U.S. Women National Soccer Team filed a lawsuit arguing against unequal pay and gender discrimination. “For each win, loss, and tie that women players secure, they are paid less than men who play the same sport and who do the same work; that is gender discrimination,” players' spokeswoman Molly Levinson said in a statement. The case was later disputed by Judge R. Gary Klausner, but the USWNT went for an appeal. "We will continue to work with the U.S. Soccer moving forward looking towards equal and fair payment and treatment." - Alex Morgan, USWNT Player says. The settlement needs to be approved by the court before it can go into effect. For the USWNT to file an appeal, a final judgment must still be entered on the equal pay claims, which they were later denied. While The Women's National fighting to make a change in the world, they continue to play the sport they love while having obstacles. They are leaving a legacy behind for young women in society. "My goal is to show girls that I'm fighting so they don't have to, so they don't have to fight the same battles, so they don't have to fight for wage equality or whatever it may be." -Alex Morgan. The way I support equality and diversity is by supporting women. I support by watching the Women's Nation Team. Fighting like they did to become one of them - a fighter and a soccer player.

My career goals are to succeed in doing what I love. I want to continue playing soccer, enjoying every moment of it. I want to take it from a level of amateur to professional. One of my dreams is to play for the Manchester City Women's Professional Club. I watched the series: All or Nothing: Manchester City, and I fell in love with the team. Not only are the jerseys my favorite color, but they just played so well. Watching them start from nothing and win the Premier League was like a dream come true. Now, I know that the Women’s Team isn’t the same as the men's, but I am excited to say that I would be honored to play for them. At the beginning of this year of high school, my interest was moving closer to playing college soccer. I needed to play college soccer if I wanted to play for a professional team. I went to ID Camps and got a former professional soccer player to coach me. I had developed raw confidence after getting so much experience. I promote myself on social media. College coaches found me, and I set up phone calls. I was turned down by college coaches until one finally saw my potential. I set up a phone call and had a chat. Soon, I was offered a partial scholarship to play college soccer. I ended up taking an official visit to that same college then I committed a month later. Now, the next goal is to compete at the college level. Following that is to play professionally. I want to continue to put in hard work to make my dreams and goals come true as Manchester City did in their 2017 - 2018 season.

A little reflection. So far my life has been a roller coaster ride. There were ups and downs, even unexpected turns that put me in a different direction. I started my high school years thinking that I wanted to play college volleyball. I suffered every year with bad coaching, players that didn’t even want to win, and then Covid-19. I thought the team would be different when I was a senior and on varsity. It didn't. The coaching just got worse. The coach decided that he wanted only his favorites to play and set all of the seniors on the bench. But, instead of hating the sport, I realized that the problem wasn’t the sport, it was the coach. I decided that when I did play I was going to leave everything I had on the court. I thought that if he saw how hard I worked - I would play. Unfortunately, life wasn’t that simple. The problem was he just simply had favorites. My interest was moving closer to playing college soccer. I went to ID Camps and got a former professional soccer player to coach me. I had developed a raw confidence after getting so much experience. I never wanted to be a bench warmer again. My former volleyball coach told me that he was proud of what I was doing, and if I had any questions about the college process, I could talk to him because he played sports in college. It felt like a joke. I continued to do my own thing. I promote myself on social media. College coaches found me and I set up phone calls. Soon, I was offered a partial scholarship to play college soccer. I ended up taking an official visit to that same college, then I committed a month later.

The way I try to encourage others around me is by giving them the help that I was never given. When I see someone in need, I help them. It would be a lot easier to just walk past them and act like you never saw them. But why not help that one person? Be there for them when no one else was? I remembered what it was like when I started volleyball in my freshman year of high school. Our Varsity Volleyball Team was amazing. I was the little girl on the freshman team that looked up to them. I had talent, but we were never good enough to win. I wanted someone or at least one of them to help me become better. But none of them did. They looked at freshmen as if we were nothing. They wouldn't even want to practice with us. I made a mental note to myself that I would never be like them. When I made it to the Varsity Volleyball Team, every time I freshman asked for help - I was there. Before every game, they would hold out their hands and ask for high fives. The rest of the Varsity would just ignore them, but I wouldn't. I would run over and give all twenty of them high fives. That made their day. I could only imagine how excited they were to be acknowledged by a Varsity player. I thought back to my freshman self, I knew I felt the same. Having a Varsity player treat you as if you weren't just a freshman made you feel like you belonged. I encouraged the younger players by helping them improve their skills. Making them feel like they needed to be on the team. As well as telling them that they mattered.

"The positive thing about writing is that you connect with yourself in the deepest way. You get a chance to know who you are, to know what you think. You begin to have a relationship with your mind." -Natalie Goldberg. As a child, I had a vivid imagination. I would create characters and a setting, writing down all of my ideas onto a piece of paper. It was like writing gave me the ability to create. I was the creator of my thoughts and ideas. I was in control of myself. I was free and determined to allow my mind to wander in different dimensions. There were worlds where my crowded thoughts were finally separated and categorized by genre. My favorite was horror. I dread the moment everyone realized that the overrated amount of romance novels on my bookshelves was just to cover how much I hated it. It was cliche stories that ended the same, giving you this warm squishy feeling inside that was easy to reproduce. Horror, on the other hand, was a masterpiece. It was an incredibly hard task to give someone a frightening feeling by reading a book. Reading books from Lisa Jackson, Stephen King, and Dean Koontz wasn’t enough. I had to become a writer and not a reader learning from the words. I had to really get engaged with my mind to reveal the true format to become an effective horror novelist. I wrote an MLA formatted paper for my English Ⅵ class. The title was: “How to become an effective horror novelist.” I spent weeks researching and learning new things about horror authors that I didn’t know before. My world of horror had expanded from one dimension to four. Even after the paper was due, I felt as if it was incomplete. I was still incomplete. My horror journey had just started and I had barely even scratched the surface. During school, when we had reading time, I would read short stories on the website: "Scary for Kids''. I was fascinated by how such great stories could be made with as few words as possible. From there, I started writing short horror stories, trying to reach that same effect. I was able to reach satisfaction after several tries. Creating the idea behind the story was easy, but executing it was difficult. So, to answer the question - writing can make a monumental effort into making a positive change in the world. Writing can push people to do something that they never thought was possible. Like me and my horror stories. If writing didn't have a positive change in the world, I wouldn't have been as motivated as I was to write my stories. Positivity came from becoming a writer. It was the act of engaging with my mind to open up new possibilities. Writing allows the mind to let go of crowded thoughts. By writing down your inner thoughts - your mind is at peace. Writing isn't just recording words onto a piece of paper. To me, writing is the art of creativity.

The song that inspires me is "Ballade" by Faulkner. I know some people would use this prompt to write about their favorite song, but I have a reason why I went classical. I heard this song three months and a year ago. It sounded like a dangerously soft lullaby. This song awoke my inner spirit. All of a sudden, I was standing on the stage amongst a thousand people. Everyone was silent. They watched me while I was in the center of the game. I was the star and felt pressured. It was the rhythm of the beat that made me feel competitive. The beginning of the song was like a bell ringing in my ear telling me to wake up. I was being pushed by every player on the field including my teammates. I lay there on the ground as the dirt splattered in my face. The crowd got loud. They were yelling at me, throwing popcorn and peanuts. "Come on!" They pointed at the scoreboard. It was 0-1, and my team was at a disadvantage. Immediately, I stood up and started running. The middle of the song feels like the climax. The part where I score a goal and the crowd goes wild. It's like movies where the "nobody" becomes the star for the rest year. Towards the end of the song, the time on the scoreboard quickly drops. The came is concluded, and I have made the score 3-1. My teammates run towards me, throwing me in the air, while the crowd cheers. It's the last game, and we are going to the playoffs. Funny, it isn't a true story. But by listening to this song, this is what I feel. It's like I am enlightened, and I can run free. It's a smooth lullaby to succession.

A time that I had to be persistent was during a soccer game. We were playing against the best team in the tournament. Our opponents were quick and precise. Every chance they got, it was a shot. Meanwhile, I watched as our less experienced goalkeeper tried to save balls that curved in and bounced off the post. As the main goalkeeper now playing forward, I felt disappointed. I knew what it felt like to repeatedly get scored on, especially without any help from your defenders. It felt like you were playing the game alone versus the other 11 players going against you. It was an awful feeling. One ball after another - it was a goal. After every point they made, I would take the ball to the middle of the field to restart the play. At that moment, I felt like stopping. I didn't want to play if we were going to lose. I was getting flashbacks from every game we lost. I thought to myself: "Are you just going to give up, or will you fight to the very last moment?" I chose to fight. 5 minutes left of the game, there was a ball that crossed to me. I took control of the ball, and I headed for the goal. While a defender ran towards me, the goalie came out of her box. In my mind, I thought: "Take the shot!" As the goalie approached me, I took the shot around her. She looked back at her goal, and the ball rolled in slowly. I few my hands in the air to celebrate, even though we had still lost the game. A from the opposing team later told me: "I knew you were going to be the one to make a goal. You just kept on going."

A time that I had to persevere was during a soccer game. We were playing against the best team in the tournament. Our opponents were quick and precise. Every chance they got, it was a shot. Meanwhile, I watched as our less experienced goalkeeper tried to save balls that curved in and bounced off the post. As the main goalkeeper now playing forward, I felt disappointed. I knew what it felt like to repeatedly get scored on, especially without any help from your defenders. It felt like you were playing the game alone versus the other 11 players going against you. It was an awful feeling. One ball after another - it was a goal. After every point they made, I would take the ball to the middle of the field to restart the play. At that moment, I felt like stopping. I didn't want to play if we were going to lose. I was getting flashbacks from every game we lost. I thought to myself: "Are you just going to give up, or will you fight to the very last moment?" I chose to fight. 5 minutes left of the game, there was a ball that crossed to me. I took control of the ball, and I headed for the goal. While a defender ran towards me, the goalie came out of her box. In my mind, I thought: "Take the shot!" As the goalie approached me, I took the shot around her. She looked back at her goal, and the ball rolled in slowly. I few my hands in the air to celebrate, even though we had still lost the game. A from the opposing team later told me: "I knew you were going to be the one to make a goal. You just kept on going."

I am a person that likes helping others. When someone has a question, and I know the answer, I will assist. I won't exactly give you the answer, but I'll help you find it. Even if I am unfamiliar with a subject, I will still try to give my advice in making a positive impact. How can I achieve that? By acknowledging that they are just as human as anyone else. As well as letting someone know that they are wanted is the strongest feeling closest to love. It makes you want to exist every minute of the day. I will help re-invent those emotions by creating a positive behavior. Once a positive behavior is created and maintained, it will live in them forever - giving them the courage they deserve. I know what it is like to go on with life feeling as if you don’t have a purpose. Feeling useless as the day goes by and you haven’t accomplished anything. I had to build that confidence within myself. I was reassured that I do belong and my life does have meaning. For your life to fully be worth living for, you have to have something you’re fighting for. I want to be able to help them create self-worth within themselves.

Winning. Winning is what motives me daily. Every day when I wake up, I think about what I can do in my next soccer game that will result in us winning. I would study plays and formations from leagues like Manchester City, Liverpool, and Tottenham Hotspur. Most of all, I would play the game FIFA and build up my OVR, making me have to play with newer and better players. Playing the game not only teaches me what professional soccer looks like, but it teaches me to win. As much as I like winning, I hate losing. Last Friday, we lost the game 2-1 to a familiar team which made me mad. Then this Monday, we played against a team we had never played before and won 6-0. I played the first half as a goalkeeper and the second as a forward, having 3 attempts and one goal. I was happy that we had won the game and I scored a goal. The next day, I was already thinking about winning the next game. You see, soccer is my passion. Playing the sport makes me happier than winning. For me and the team to win, we have to play the game. There's always the question that people ask: If you could do anything in the world for the rest of your life, what would it be? And honestly, I would have to say playing the game of soccer.

There is a lyric in the song "Remember This" by NF. "If money's where you find happiness, you'll always be poor." To me, this clarifies everything. People always think that money is the key to happiness. If I could put an image in your mind that displayed a joyful life, I should get this scholarship. First, imagine living on one hundred acres of land. On this piece of land, you have a house built from the ground up. As well as solar panels, so you never have to pay a light bill again. Not to mention the trees scattered around, helping to keep the house warm in the daytime. In the morning, you wake up to water your plants. You are into growing your fruits and vegetables because you're organic. Your breakfast is fruit salad - you hand-picked yourself. While eating your fruit salad, you sit on your porch. You are in love with the breeze so much that you start daydreaming. Time passes without you realizing it, and you miss lunch. When it's time for dinner, you go inside and gather your mise en place. You prepare pasta, making everything from scratch. Even the tomato sauce, using all herbs from your garden outside. Everything is all yours. When you finish, you eat peacefully while watching your favorite show on TV. After binge-watching your show, you clean the dishes and go to bed. When you wake up in the morning, the cycle restarts. But this time the dinner recipe is a little different. Now tell me with all this, do you think this will bring joy to your life? I see joy as being self-sufficient, and not having to rely on anyone in life. This is what I seek in a joyful life. This is the creation of joy.

Speak, written by Laurie Halse Anderson, is the book that inspired me. The book is a written interpretation of what Melinda Sordino felt and saw from her perspective. After being sexually assaulted by Andy Evans at a party, Melinda loses her voice. This scene is traumatic because you are brought into the mind of the victim. After reading this book, I felt as if I was the one who had been violated. I was put in the shoes of Melinda. Being brought back to when he held her down repeatedly, taking what he wanted from her, even after she told him to stop. Having no friends that you could talk to. Feeling speechless and stressed because every time you try to speak up about it, you know you’re just going to relive the painful memories of what was taken away from you. When Melinda told her ex-best friend, Rachel, what happened, she thought she was jealous because Andy was her boyfriend. Andy then came to Melinda and called her a liar, trying to assault her again. Despite being afraid, she stood up to him by holding a piece of glass to his neck. She wanted to hurt him as he had done to her. I thought as if I were Melinda’s friend. I would have never left her alone at the party. Or I would have been by her side from the beginning. At the end of this book, I was inspired by how someone could go through something so rigid and be able to speak. In the end, Melinda wasn't scared anymore. She stopped running from her past and grew from it. It made me realize you can overcome anything despite the circumstances. Just because you are brought to your lowest doesn’t mean that you have to stay there.

I am a person that likes helping others. When someone has a question, and I know the answer, I will assist. I won't exactly give you the answer, but I'll help you find it. Even if I am unfamiliar with a subject, I will still try to give my advice in making a positive impact. By being awarded this scholarship, I will do just that. As well as making the dream of going to college become even more closely than before. This scholarship will help propel my career by making college more affordable. I will be able to enjoy going into the major knowing that I deserved it, rather than knowing I will be stuck in debt. Another reason why I think I should be awarded this scholarship is that I am a hard-working person. I will do what it takes to get the job done the right way. I'm not saying this because it sounds like something you should say. I'm saying it because it's true. Taking the field of applied behavior analysis will assist me in being more knowledgeable on how to converse with individuals with developmental disabilities. I will improve their lives by giving them a positive outlook on the world. How can I achieve that? Simple. By acknowledging that they are just as human as anyone else. Because people are constantly insulting them and bringing them down, I will maintain a positive behavior so they can too. By taking this major, I will develop different strategies and approaches to effectively helping each individual. Finding what they lack and building a backbone based on that weakness. Not meaning that I strip them away from what they don't have, but engrave a sense of belonging even with a disability. Letting someone know that they are wanted is the strongest feeling closest to love. It makes you want to exist every minute of the day. I will help re-invent those emotions by creating a positive behavior. Once a positive behavior is created and maintained, it will live in them forever - giving them the courage that they deserve. I know what it is like to go on with life feeling as if you don’t have a purpose. Feeling useless as the day goes by and you haven’t accomplished anything. I had to build that confidence within myself. I was reassured that I do belong and my life does have meaning. For your life to fully be worth living for, you have to have something you’re fighting for. The one I want to help give people with developmental disabilities is self-love. I want to be able to help them create self-worth within themselves.

There is a line in the song "Remember This" by NF. "If money's where you find happiness, you'll always be poor." To me, this clarifies everything. People always think that money is the keep to happiness. If I had could put an image in your mind that displayed a healthy life, then I should get this scholarship. Imagine living one one hundred acres of land. On this land, you have a house you built from the ground up. As well as solar panels so you never have to pay a light bill again. Not to mention the tress scattered around the house that helps keep the house warm in the daytime. In the morning, you wake up to water your plants. You are into growing your fruits and vegetables because you're organic. Your breakfast is fruit salad, you hand-picked yourself. You are in love with the breeze so much, that you sit on your porch and read your favorite book. Time passes without you realizing it and you miss lunch. When it's time for dinner, go inside and gather your mise en place. You prepared pasta, making everything from scratch. Tomato sauce - all herbs from your garden outside. Everything is so yours. When you finish, you eat peacefully while watching your favorite show on TV. After binge-watching your show, you clean the dishes and go to bed. When you wake up in the morning, the cycle restarts. But this time the dinner recipe is a little different. Now tell me with all this, do you think you can live a long healthy life?

My turnaround story was playing volleyball. Since junior high, I fantasized about playing volleyball at the highest level. I was in love with the sport. I watched college players, the national team, and highlights from every position. It wasn't until I made the varsity volleyball team at my high school that I realized my dream was achievable. I started the season with a great attitude - ready to compete. Throughout the season, my pride had diminished. My coach was sitting me on the bench, and it wasn't just me - it was all of the seniors. He was showing favoritism towards the girls that played his other sport - softball. Eventually, the late-night games that we could have won were lost dramatically without his star players - the seniors. The season ended while we never even had a shot at playoffs. After the traumatizing experience, my love for the sport began to fade. Instead, I used my motivation in soccer - a sport I shared an equal love. I asked a few sophomores on the volleyball team if they wanted to play soccer. They told me they had been interested, but the volleyball threatened them not to. He didn't want to lose his softball players. My volleyball coach had told us that we were a disappointment. He rehashed that we had no team leadership. So, I convinced them to join, and they loved the sport. The sophomores got to see how great of players the seniors were. How much work we put into every sport we played. Now, when he sees the soccer team, there is leadership. The same senior leadership that he rejected. We always had good leadership - we were just denied of it. I'm proud to see that your story can always be turned around with perseverance.

Investing tip number one: always invest in yourself. I started my college recruiting process from scratch. I didn't know anyone that went to college for sports. I was unaware of the difference between divisions and affiliations like: NAIA, NCAA, NCJAA, and NCCAA. I began my journey in the dark. I researched and researched. Throughout constant web browsing, I ran across ID camps. It was a way to showcase your skills to college coaches. So, I invested time and "money" into different soccer camps. Little did I know how much competition would be waiting for me. All of the girls at the soccer camps played club soccer. I didn't, and as a result, I struggled to try to keep up. Later, I got an email from one of the college coaches telling me that I wasn't ready to play college soccer. I was rejected but taught. He told me that I should get a personal goalkeeping coach. So, I invested more into helping me become a better goalkeeper because I was determined to be recruited. After a few practices with my formal professional goalkeeping coach, I had improved tremendously. When I went to the next camp, I walked on the field with confidence - I knew what I was doing. Of course, it took some time, but I wasn't getting tossed to the side like before. I felt - experienced. After investing more time to advertise myself on social media, I began to get a few calls from college coaches. They were looking for a new goalkeeper to join their program, and I was one of them. In the end, I committed to play college soccer. And I've learned, always invest in yourself. Never give up just because some else tells you you're not good enough. You are enough.

To me, giving back to others is leaving a legacy. It's like the knowledge that is written in books. How would we ever have known all of the ancient histories without having references from before? In the past, if people were so selfish as to not write down all of their experiences in books, how would we ever know what they had been through? I take the time out of my day to teach those that are younger than me what I wish I would have been taught to me at their age. When I started playing soccer in my freshman year of high school, I looked awful. I was aggressive and could take the ball away from opponents, but once I had the ball, I didn't know what to do with it. Now, as a senior in high school, I have three and a half years of experience. I can punt the ball one hundred yards down, dribble close to my feet, score goals, and even show off a few tricks. During the offseason before soccer had started, I would go to the field and practice. A few underclassmen asked me if I would be interested in tutoring them. Gladly, I accepted their request. I taught them the basics from passing, dribbling, to shooting. When the soccer season finally arrived, there was an improvement in them. It made me proud to see the underdogs, freshmen, come into the cam with more skills than I ever had at that age. To see the progress within them, I feel proud to give back. To me giving back is experiences through knowledge. Giving back is correcting other people's mistakes to better them in the long run. I intend to keep giving back to spread my experiences to help others in succession.

My simple pleasure is playing soccer. I love the way I move with the ball - fluid, as I dribble. I glide past my opponents. Crossing the ball into the 18-yard box, setting up my forward for an award-winning strike. Watching as my perfect pass has just been merely delivered so diligently. I reminisce the movements: dribbling with the ball, feeling every little pebble in the turf as my feet release from the ground. My eyes, following my foot as it swings underneath the ball. I turn my hips and cross my right leg over my left. The momentum drives the ball into the air and curves it back down. My forward watches the ball, hesitating to run towards it. The goalie then comes out of the box and collects the ball. My smile dissolves as I witness a goal-scoring opportunity crushed. Despite the crime that has just happened, I continue to do my diligence as a right-wing. Throughout the game, I am constantly crossing the ball to the forward. Repetitively, having Deja vu as she replicates the progress of just watching the ball hit the ground. Once again, the goalie collects the ball. We end the game with a loss: 2-0. I think about all of the opportunities we had. My stats would have been six assists. Although the game was very long ago, I still think about it. Because of that loss, my passion grows more powerful for the sport. It makes me happy to see that I have grown from where I started. Soccer is my simple pleasure because it is just only one thing - a sport. But, by engaging in this sport, I experience emotions that I have never felt before, like happiness, sadness, and anger. Soccer is my simple pleasure, and it completes me.

Winning. Winning is what motives me on a daily basis. Every day when I wake up, I think about what I can do in my next soccer game that will result in us winning. I would study plays and formations from leagues like Manchester City, Liverpool, and Tottenham Hotspur. Most of all, I would play the game FIFA and build up my OVR, making me have to play with newer and better players. Playing the game not only teaches me what professional soccer looks like, but it teaches me to win. As much as I like winning, I hate losing. Last Friday, we lost the game 2-1 to a familiar team which made me mad. Then this Monday, we played against a team we had never played before and won 6-0. I played the first half as a goalkeeper and the second as a forward, having 3 attempts and one goal. I was happy that we had won the game and I scored a goal, but the next day, I was already thinking about winning the next game. You see, soccer is my passion. It motivates me more than winning. I know that in order for me and the team to win, I have to play the game. There's always the question that people ask: If you could do anything in the world for the rest of your life what would it be? And honestly, I would have to say playing the game of soccer and winning!

What comes to mind is the game Friday, 10th of December of this month. Actually… It was only a scrimmage but I was prepared to win. We had played this team countless times and I was confident that we had what it took to show them that we were a better team this year. When we arrived at their school, my coach told me to warm up our new goalkeeper so she could play for the first game. My coach had told me earlier that day that she was going to split up 20 - something girls into 2 teams, a JV and a Varsity. I warmed her up and stayed behind the goal the whole time, telling her when to come out of the box and what to do every minute of the game. I was by her side for so long that when I said that I had to go and use the bathroom, she told me she didn't want me to leave her alone because she was afraid they were going to score on her. So, I stayed. The JV game ended and the Varsity started. Before the game, I was warming up like a professional, saving balls from every angle. Just to show off that I could handle my position. When the game started, the other team took several shots, getting past our defense. It made me mad to see that all of the defense training in practice meant nothing. To me, I was thinking that they would be prepared, but it was the total opposite. I managed to keep a clean sheet in the first half. When it was halftime, my teammates told me how great of a job I was doing and I thanked them. At the time, I didn't know that they would end up playing the same way in the second half. I thought that after the words of wisdom my coach had said, everyone was just going to click. Instead, the second half started to feel like deja vu. Our rivals scored two points on me. The first one was because of a lack of communication from my defender. And the second was because of a foul in the box that resulted in a penalty kick. The game ended and I was still laying on the ground, staring at the net of the goal. I couldn't imagine that we had just lost. My coach called out my name and I ran to where everyone was. We shook hands with our opponents. One of the girls from the other team told me: " Good Job, Goalkeeper. Keep your head up." I wanted to tell her to thank you or anything but I was too mad to speak. After we finished shaking hands, our coach talked to us about how we did and what we needed to improve on. I took off my cleats, shin guards, and I put on my running shoes. I slide my hoodie over my head and tired the strings. I was ready to go to the bus and head home. Now that I think about that day, it feels like the past. But I can still remember every moment from the time I felt happy to help our new goalkeeper as she started her first game. To the first goal, they made in on me. It was embarrassing, for me, and the team. You would think that a group of seniors would bring together a whole team but it failed. The impact of that will never leave my memory.

Quality is learning to kick a soccer ball from one goal post to the other. Starting soccer in your freshman year because it was the first time your school had this sport. Making it to try out every day until you realized that you had a metatarsal fracture in your right foot. It was the late nights when you went to every single soccer game, sitting on the bench, freezing, just to support my teammates. Having this useless feeling as I watched my team as they were crucified every single game knowing it was also their first season as well. I was watching as they made mistakes and I learned from them. Recovering from an injury and sitting on the bench, helps you notice you weren't the best player and confronted on what you have to improve on. This revealed my hidden talents to save every shot when I was asked to try out. Taking the initiative to ask your parents to pay for a former professional goalkeeper to train you so that you improve your weak points to assist in you becoming the best. Acknowledging that incoming players looked up to you and ask you to train them because they see you giving the best each time. Moving up in the rank from being the backup goalie to being the mainstarter. Consistent, going to any soccer camp you could find because, you were willing to be apart of any soccer team that wanted you. Quality is being denied every club team that most schools only want because you didn't start younger, but still pushed through. Disappointed when college coaches rejected you because "you weren't what they were looking for". Caught a plane flight out of state just to visit a college to prove my determination to succeed at soccer. Being denied playing time on the varsity volleyball team because the coach had a retuine of seating all seniors on the bench and move all of his favorites up but didn't quit I learnt the lesson of let downs first hand. Quality is being denied the privilege of having a senior year. Quality is when you finally get up from the bench and the crowd of young girls and parents are cheering for you when my coach thought I wasn't good enough to play. Quality is dominating the court because you know you might not get another chance. Quality is when after the end of the game, your jersey is to sweaty to wipe your face. Quality is having the coach that denied you of playing time tell you that he was proud of you. Quality is running in athletics and being wanted by the varsity track coach. Quality is being asked repeatedly to join the track team. Quality is deciding to run in junior year and getting rewards in district. Quality is running with the girls that ran state the year before. Quality is feeling pathetic because you feel like you're the blame because the team came in 3rd in regionals. Quality is having them congradulate you for being able to keep up with the varsity girls after two practices. Quality is having the varsity Track girls thank you for taking the weight off their shoulders so they wouldn't have get rid of their favorite event already running to much to continue. Quality is ending Junior year with accomplishments. Quality is starting senior year with discrimination and coming out strong regardless. Quality is starting the recruitment process late and getting a offer for a school that makes history. Quality is what I had to go through to become me.

Society can start eliminating the mindset that every man is better than a woman. What needs to be done is to give women the rights they deserve. For example: On August 18, 1920, women were given the right to vote. Yet, when women decided to stand up for something, they are shut down. In March 2019, the U.S. Women National Soccer Team filed a lawsuit arguing against unequal pay and gender discrimination. “For each win, loss, and tie that women players secure, they are paid less than men who play the same sport and who do the same work; that is gender discrimination,” players' spokeswoman Molly Levinson said in a statement. The case was later disputed by Judge R. Gary Klausner, but the USWNT went for an appeal. "We will continue to work with the U.S. Soccer moving forward looking towards equal and fair payment and treatment." - Alex Morgan, USWNT Player says. The settlement needs to be approved by the court before it can go into effect. For the USWNT to file an appeal, a final judgment must still be entered on the equal pay claims. "We now intend to file our appeal to the Court's decision which does not account for the central fact in this case that women players have been paid at lesser rates than men who do the same job. We remain as committed as ever to our work to achieve the equal pay that we legally deserve. Our focus is on the future and ensuring we leave the game a better place for the next generation of women who will play for this team and this country." -Molly Levinson. The Women's National Soccer Team has proved that they are more than worthy of equal pay. They have an outstanding record of winning four Women's World Cup titles: 1991, 1999, 2015, and 2019, unlike the Men's National Team who hasn't won the World Cup since 1950. Not to discriminate, but The Men's National Team is being paid more than The Women's National Team with contradicting results. Even though The Women's National fighting to make a change in the world, they continue to play the sport they love while having obstacles. They are leaving a legacy behind for young women in society. "My goal is to show girls that I'm fighting so they don't have to, so they don't have to fight the same battles, so they don't have to fight for wage equality or whatever it may be." -Alex Morgan. So, I leave you with this: Was there a better way to show society what empowered women can do? Do you think demands were met in the decision that they chose?