Attending a university means that I can do what my parents fell short of, being able to get closer to doing a job they love the most. My mom and Father only got through a year of college before it was too much of a financial burden, and had to give up on getting a degree. My parents had so much faith in me doing what they couldn't that my mother made herself infertile after having me, a very risky move. She had all hopes that I would not be trapped doing jobs only for the money, and not the joy of it. My mother only got into marketing due to having good communication skills, while my dad had to be stuck as a laborer to make ends meet early on for us. I had been a laborer myself this past summer for a construction internship under Fred Smith Company, this taught me I can do it, but I don't have much of a passion for it. I have had my interest in engineering ever since I was introduced to it by my therapist in 4th grade. I had since always been interested in technology, more specifically automation. I had done robotics in elementary and middle school, but it slightly changed now. Once AI started to become a grown industry, that is where more of my interest has gone to. I am not much of a hands on person, which robotics had some, but AI had something more fitting for me, more of data analytics. I believe getting a degree in university for computer science will be a major stepping stone to try and get a job I know that I will love, rather than just solely just to make ends meet. My parents didn't want me to end up like them, which is jobs to make ends meet with the effort compared, not what they envisioned or wanted to do. They want me to find something that I want to do, as well as it make enough for me to be financially independent, which is not surprising due to the struggles they had to endure to still hold that to equal value. University is something that can help guide my career path to something I favor for my future. Not only that, but it can help with ensuring my parents gamble pays off, and that they don't have to be concerned as strongly about finances. That is also why I probably take a liking into studying economic stuff and doing things within that realm as a hobby. I sure do hope to be able to afford college and not have to give up like my parents did due to financial constraints.

Everyday I had to usually balance between highschool and college work, which made my resilience to preserve through things much more potent than before. I had to really focus in on my tasks for which to prioritize currently, and mastering that with my drive has helped me develop a strong work ethic to use. My time doing construction work had shown me that, where I thought I would struggle, I made it out thinking it was very simple and straightforward doing work on what was considered by many a "minefield" in the team. My commitment towards ensuring I am accustomed to people of different backgrounds, as well as hearing others out despite circumstances has been an integral part of me. I also lend a hand when I can, even if it is out of my way, like when I physically brought people to show items despite having a time limit on an order shows the selflessness that I crave to feel. When the time comes, I can be a good orator, especially when it comes to presenting, as I am usually designated to do so since communication to others at large or of little recognition can be daunting to many. For me however, I am all to used to it, so the task of interaction with others is something not too foreign or scary to engage in. I don't always need to be designated as a leader, as these actions alone have seem to be mimicked by others in their own way to adjust to the situations they pushed to me, showing I did lead them to a better path. Leadership to me is not just being the man in charge, or the manager, being a leader is someone you can also take steps from. When you have a tutor, they are a leader in the fact the way they show you to solve something can lead how you will now solve the problem onward. A role model isn't always a leader, but they can fulfill the same task of a leader despite not having the label. My future that I want is just a humble life, one that allows me to have a nice, tranquil setting to live in, as well as be able to do positive movements, like charity work when I have invested enough to not worry about work as much. Giving back will give me hope that the gift that keeps on giving will continue on after my stead, that my, and others actions will lead along what we see as the proper path. I am pursuing my degree in computer science since I had an interest in automation ever since my therapist in 4th grade had shown me engineering I still haven't wavered, so it seems my resilience hasn't dulled in that interest, hence my full trust and passion has been focused into that path.

My whole life beginning in my eyes was when I was so depressed that I needed both therapy and group sessions in school for 4th and 4th grade. My therapist was a nice old man, who was very soft spoken and was very open to hear about things in my life. He was helping me alleviate some of the trauma that has been building up that my parents thought was nothing, despite my Dad getting PTSD from his past. My world changed when one day, I showed interest in the science field, something I didn't show much fondness of before. He introduced me to engineering, more specifically aerospace at first, and ever since that day, my career field I knew I would be tethering towards is engineering. Though it was great to have him around, we soon couldn't afford the therapy, so I had to stick solely to group sessions, which I was very open to starting and building upon conversation to try and etch out areas people wanted to speak about, but wasn't the proper time for to get out of their system. As more time went on, I started to be kind of like a therapist myself, even if I was still under the mental strains of life. I always try to hear people out, something my parents lacked for in their life. There is never enough people to help via just listening to others, I noticed a lot when looking at how other people seen the world for themselves, it is just stranger danger to them. I wanted to bridge that gap, to feel like a friend, not a stranger to others, so they can have someone to let out stress before it starts to eat at you like it did for me.

I am like a therapist to some, hearing out all the issues they hold. I had been bullied for about half of my life, even to the extent of needing therapy and a social group to foster healing while in 4th and 5th grade. I still am a little depressed now from the strains of college, and my parents wanting me to only go to the best even knowing the difficulty of that. Even though they never want to hear anybody out, I am always available to do so. I didn't have anyone to talk to anyone about other than my grandparents when I got to see them, as my parents usually never believed anything I said before it was too late, and the damage was done. For example, a camp I never liked was still pushed onto me by them until I snapped and almost hurt someone from getting bullied, and the counselors who did understand didn't have the power to remedy the situation, only the ones who didn't see the situation, and they took it the wrong way. I always start with that to people who feel a little nervous to open up about situations to show they are not alone in their struggles and imperfections that make up them. To have people who are struggling like I once did finally start showing removal of that pain from their demeanor is always the best thing for me to see. I was also open to helping with classes that didn't have the best teachers. I once had a teacher in 7th grade that came in to fill a spot that was left open just before school started, but before then we had substitutes for the whole first quarter. He wasn't the most friendly teacher, and loved to give assignments on things we either were never taught, or given resources on. Fortunately most of the content was things I had already learned beforehand, so teaching it to others was not much issue, other than when there were tests on it. Fortunately he was fired after the year, as nobody liked him, even the administration admitted they were not fond of him. My selflessness mostly comes from wanting to prevent others from a stressful past I once had to live with. Having nobody to hear you out in the beginning will likely make you not want it later, and potentially spiral out of control as a result of it. I always hope to be the person to block the path of following that direction, and towards a more stress free one, feeling like you are not only relieved of stressing the past, but also not feeling alone.

One big thing I always promise to my future self is to just settle for what I imagine for a humble setting, not just being better than someone who has it all. My parents always drived for me to become the best and richest, as they didn't make it through college due to financial strains, leaving them both working low paid jobs for almost their whole life. They expect me to be better than the best of both families, and I always tell myself that is not what I want, because my heart and sight on what I want has hardly wavered for over 8 years for a vision of my life. Secondly, that life later on will be better than now. That may sound optimistic, but me doing internships at different companies gave me far more happiness and importance than me just sitting in a classroom, learning content that will likely never be used by me. I will no longer have to be as reliant on others to go by the day, and be able to have a mind of my own without much interference. Third thing is that I will not hold the past so hard on myself, as like stated above, you are not exactly the same you from a year ago. The mindset of people evolve overtime, so for me to hold regrets about myself would be like me fully blaming myself for the mistakes of a stranger. An older version of myself should not have to stress about the past, as the stress now is already torturing as is for me, and the home situation I have is not making it any better. My parents are struggling more than they did a few years ago from many factors. Inflation has been one of the key ones, but mainly taxes now due to our house. A lot of things have been implemented in the past 8 years that we have been here, and due to being next to a highway to make a ton of it more accessible, the house doubled in value, meaning the property taxes rose steeply with it. We have to be very mindful with spending, as many times we are getting short on money on the debit cards to use each month. I only have enough for about 1 semester of college, and early college covered about 2 years worth, so I am still needing to find funding to alleviate tuition, as I have been searching for 1 year so far, but came up with almost nothing but money from a summer internship. I want to go into technology, more specifically computer science, so being able to go to an accredited college to study that would be great in tandem to internships I can do outside for getting somewhere in the field. I would also have to go outside of my city, as we are known for having a lot of the lowest ranking schools in the county. It would be of great help to be one of the winners of this scholarship.

The great generation has been through what we are currently experiencing, but even to a harsher degree. The great depression is considered the worst economic downturn in modern global history, which can be argued for some degrees. They have been on the brink and eventually had a great war occur, to which we are nearing ourselves, being closest on the nuclear clock than ever before, and seeing wars that could be potential ignition to another world War, likely to be the last with nukes being devastating to be able to destroy the world as it is now. So to the setting of us being in a different one, technically yes since it is more advance in how things go, like they didn't have cyber hackers attacking infrastructure in the 40's, the closest we had was cold war, especially with the KGB with the CCC (Chaos Computer Club). The part I disagree with is the atmosphere, with the economic disparities and political tensions, especially geopolitical being atrocious as many would describe it today. I can see the potential for us to eventually be like the Great Generation 2.0, but I feel replicating the same woes as the 1st would not dictate worthiness of such title. To start a world war is likely the end to all wars, something we want to avoid, and no I don't mean war should continue, but we shouldn't have a war devastating enough for war to no longer be possible. I feel we should not have to go to another world war to resolve most conflicts, but instead focus on the aftermath of it, the building of international relations, and not with just a few countries, but most that fall under it. We learned to make more measures for international conflicts to likely never happen again on the scale WWII did, and to build upon this connection from country to country is something humanity needs to be able to evolve and advance faster. So many resources our generation has seen now being plummeted into defense for many countries like the US, China and Germany to name some. This cannot be done too much by our generation though, as we are too young for many to have any say that would be recognized on a national scale, one of the biggest moves done was GameStop stocks with bankrupting many hedge funds for the power we can hold. Just as The Great Generation has, we need older generations will more power to recognize the faults and potential in things that can massively improve security and stability of a nation and global as well. FDR is known for being a person of mass change from traditional/conservative norms, something many of our generation associate with older generations. To have figures similar that make change based on necessity rather than political affiliation dictating things is why he was so popular. Abraham Lincoln can be put to the same degree, he wasn't fully into his party, but only moderate, and did things out of necessity, which means yes, slavery wasn't done as an option, there was incentive, being no international rivals since it would make them look bad, especially if they didn't have slavery. Most of the older generations have different necessity than younger though, as the times and adversities of some can vastly differ from others, like if you ask what a Gen X would see as a necessary change vs a Gen Z, it would likely be vastly different than a Gen Z to another Gen Z. Boomers are seen as people who think that younger generations exaggerated the severity of the situations today, bit the Great generation to me would be about as concerned as we are today. I do see the mention of older generations doing not enough as true, as the ones in power, statistically boomer, have had the easier time getting up in the world compared to later generations, and now run most of the show in government with their long gained influence. Many of us feel corruption is fueling the economy just as badly as even the Gilded Age, I mean we are seeing many antitrust trials just as the end of the Gilded Age was seeing. To call ourselves the next great generation can be hopeful, but based on current limitations, it is not seeming all that possible at the current moment. The divide between millennials and Gen-Z doesn't make it any better, my parents think we are just so terrible, yet I don't like millennials back due to their lack of action on things like politics to make changes they want, as my parents never vote. I hope to be vocal about ways of making small but growing change, as many think it is just going to big government to resolve, the easiest way to start is local. If other localities see great changes, they will likely follow suit, and likely become a domino effect. I don't want to see more bickering about this generation is this and this generation did that, we need to focus on the collective for change to make improvements, as putting blames does nothing. We should not be so focused on foreign affairs with no great incentives for the people at home, there is so much people have seen wrong here that are ignored due to focusing on foreign affairs with almost nothing to do with us. To have a strong home is what you need before focusing on a strong neighborhood, one bad house can ruin it for all, just like a house valuation.

Selflessness, in many ways, became my selfish desire. I had been bullied for so much of my life, I lack any internal greed other than to have someone to speak with, someone to support, someone I can see get help unlike me when needed. My prime one was middle school, where someone was outlasted from being new since social circles became the norm. Me, and others who weren't a part of those circles brought him in when I found him struggling to fit in. Though he eventually moved schools, he appreciated the mental support and care we gave to make him feel welcome for that year. Another prime one was when I was in 10th grade, a kid named Danny needed someone to talk about stuff with, and he didn't know who else to go to, so I listened and spoke with him to joke around with stuff. He had stuttering issues when speaking, which I am fine with since I am usually patient, something not as many people as I though actually had. I didn't have anyone listen to me, so being able to listen to him and all of his issues and talk about it put me in a vision of me having someone that never existed helping me when I didn't have someone during that time. To feel that was one of the best things I had feel in a long time. The most keen one to me was my 7th grade class. This was one of the hardest times, as we had no teacher for a whole quarter, only to get a teacher who was not very kept up with content and information on the quizzes and tests he gave. I had to essentially make a group to help out others who didn't know the stuff since they did not get taught the content at all by our teacher. I was like a teacher's assistant without actually being considered one by the teacher or administration. Selflessness is something I do since it gives me filters for those bad memories to replace someone I don't know to make it feel as I'd I got through it with help. It makes it less heavy to harbor through my life now, which definitely has improved my mind and how I go about things. To help others is something like a hobby for me even though many do not consider it that way, making it look more like a chore. Selflessness has been my guilty pleasure, and still will be from now on until I am no longer capable of extending it to others in a meaningful or feasible fashion.

1. When I am in National Honor Society, many of the volunteer projects we work on are environment related, usually being in our area, being Cary, North Carolina. We make sure to clean out the area in order to leave our area looking far more clean, hoping others will see and want to reciprocate the beauty that comes from such cleanliness. I am very strong for environmentally clean things, like the light bulbs in our house, I made sure they were more friendly, not only in materials used, but also efficiency of using power, such as renewable, which can be hard at times when many think only solar is the solution and use it as an excuse to not find better options, or slightly worse, but more affordable and/or applicable that still do better than their current. Though I work at a cat rescue center outside of school that may not sound very environmental, having cats out of the street and making use of things people donate to us in the long run can help the environment stay in a more natural state than if we never existed. 2. "Take a look around, is it as beautiful as you think it will be? Can it improve? If one or both are yes, think of what you can do to promote this sight of yours, for if you settle, there will be more of this flaw around. Capture this, show it, and spread it, nothing like this can be done alone, communal issues need communal support"

I have been facing a crumbling marriage my parents have been clinging on only because of me. They are becoming more and more distant, to where verbal conflict is almost daily. How it got here was my parents were both betrayed by their parents, where the promise of financial support was promised, yet got none and couldn't go through college. They weren't as fortunate as I am now for opportunities to try and get to due to them not having much chances to go at them, hence parenting support was of highest need. In the end, they both didn't finish college and are left with no degree to try and making a living. They got married when I was 2, and ever since, their connection to one another weakened. We were always on edge between financial support and none, with us unfortunately straying only slightly above the limit, so I was federally uncovered for years, as they only got support from the government for a few months, and I had issues that made taking care of me more expensive, like my formula. They slowly made themselves a little more financially secure via living with my grandparents until elementary, getting an apartment and eventually a small 2 story home about the size of a normal 1 story house, so very small in width. My parents have had issues though bow, as income has not increased, but inflation most definitely has. Though they make enough in the government's eyes, the cost of living from a few years ago to now makes us almost look like those people from a few years ago. This makes the strain on the relationship of my parents worse, where they only hope for the worst for each other now. They cannot leave since custody of me would be very ugly, so they do what they do now until I can go. I hope to be able and to make something of myself so my parents can have a resolution to an issue I have lingered on for many years now indirectly. To go to college, something that had them prevented from, as well as go into the career path I want to go into, computer science, would make it all the more convenient for them. To not see my parents bicker and fight over finances like I have had to seen for the past decade would be a big improvement for me. We are now slowly beginning though to fall into financial stress, as my mother has recently been fired and now we rely quite a bit on ebt to get food affordable to put on the table. I want to hopefully not have the financial struggle my parents once did, the betrayal and failure my parents once did, and help stabilize the life that is slowly crumbling beneath them.

I was inspired to get involved in the community when very few had interest to do so. With the growth of knowledge of such community with tech, people feel distant at times from the community they live in. I had always felt distant due to others usually pushing away from me, so I thought of what if I do something from a common cause to build it? That is what I did with Alley Cats and Angels, which to this day I still go to. Alley Cats is where I got to help out rescued cats with being adjusted with new conditions and take care of basic necessities while in Petsmart trying to get adopted. We are also quite important to the organization, since we live very close to one of their locations, hence we are usually preferred to fill out any uncovered days to take care of them and keep all of the records, medical and personal of the cats in a safe place. We have helped many others to have a pet they never thought they would like very much, to getting one or multiple cats to enjoy taking care of and owning. We are breaking barriers of personal bias of some animals over others, making people more open to try out new things without them ever thinking much of it. It also gives me happiness to not have cats suffer being alone, just as I had to for many years, which can still haunt me from time to time by just simple things like my parents or being in a certain area. We also recommended people who unfortunately could not own a cat due to differing reasons to join in and expand the cause, which many times did happen. This, in return, did work a lot, and more people are dedicated when time allows to support helping others in need, even if they are not remotely similar to us. I feel this message of helping out someone no matter what was the main thing that got me into doing this, as nobody really did it for me, some did I will not lie, but the ratio was too vast to conflict with the issues. I am slowly getting people to hold common thoughts that weigh down on concepts of things and to brace it for themselves to make more thoughtful conclusions on things. This is especially important with the Israeli war that has just recently begun and the shunning of both sides, as well as the older, yet new Ukranian war, with many Russians being shunned or targeted just because they hold that nationality, even if they don't agree with the cause. This to me is a project to break stereotypes or first impressions, as those, as I have seen, have been proven wrong time and time again with cats as the main thing, and I feel this is the big message we at Alley Cats and Angels indirectly impart on people and the community as time goes by.

I have been in both a good Special Education and "bad", to start we will go with the bad one. I was in a pre-k school for people who were on the spectrum mostly, as they thought that I had Asperger's when I was young. They were very kind and friendly to us with education and proper etiquette for future me, which have aged well. I had to fight to get into a different program of schools in my area, which were magnet program schools. My 1st, Conn, was more focused on entrepreneurial design, where I adapted more to people around my age, usually in a more negative way, and built one of the main fears I have to this day, being bullying. Some people figured out my situation, and because I was not the fittest, used those reasons to bully me a lot, all the way into 5th grade. This would go on into middle school, which also had a magnet program built around global problems. I did not entice the people bullying me at all, which did not go well with them, one of them even tried to punch me, but missed and saw no reaction other than a cold stare going their way, with that what is considered the scariest teacher to get on a bad side with also walked into our hallway as I did so, instilling fear without physical action. I wished it never came to mental intimidation, but some people need to be put back in line and not mess with people just for the sake of it. I learned to stand up not just for myself, but for others who were once like me, which built my reputation, but I didn't care much for it, staying with a small group of people not popular or well-known within the school. It humbled me and helped build my motto of not wanting to have the most, but to need the least, now that doesn't mean I scrape for dear life, but to have my simple pleasures all filled out, not just having excess just because I can, something our generation has been seen taking on now. The current one I am in, Wake STEM Early College, is not only an early college program partnered with North Carolina State University but also focused heavily on STEM fields, specifically Engineering. I have learned much of what I need to do well as an adult in a real working space there. One thing it didn't teach is what you should do beyond just your job and college I can see helping me redefine both this foundation the school is giving me, but also from having others to interact with other than the normal ones. I usually speak to "pariahs" of schools, but College is a clean slate for everyone, something I didn't get for all schools I went to, where many of certain schools came to the one I went to. The issue is that social circles are now well-defined, making it hard to branch out as they strengthen unless you already know some people in there or are, for a moment, in the spotlight. this is another fear I held on to, being left out and having to be alone for much of my time before I am already well defined, just to have fakers come to try and leech it off of me. After all, nobody but a select few has ever come out of their way to interact with me, not me initiating it myself. I feel I have had a big disconnect with my age group, especially since I had no siblings to grow with, only people who are decades older than me. This makes people think I am far older than I truly am, heck someone thought I was a teacher when I was a 7th grader at the time when my beard and height were developing. Physically and mentally, I had been seen as disconnected from my group, good because of how public view of us is, let alone from my parents, but bad when I wanted to be able to interact with them. Going to college will make a new start to use what programs I am in to decide the path I want to fully go in. Going to college will help me connect with many others to find more social opportunities to connect with the generation I had been seen as so distant from. Going to college will help me help others who have my old fears see from someone who once had it themselves how they resolved it. Going to college will most importantly prove to those who looked down upon me before starting normal school because of the pre-k I had to go through to be able to fit in better. Going to college will be my biggest step to balancing a mix of distance and connectedness to fit with far more people than normal people usually want or are capable of and to be inspired to go to those limits, as a more complete one looks far more pretty than someone only wanting part of it done.

Many people love to work on their physical bodies, thinking the parallels that mental and physical health can have will help refine the brain too. This can be true in some regards, but that is just one step of many. People's brains change over time in interests, morals, etc. To be able to have their mind adapted to many different situations is vital for a more healthy lifestyle. For example, say you were in a lofty business career making 125k a year and you didn't need to regard as much for the microeconomics of your spending. Next thing you know, you bumped back down to your 98k yearly salary due to being fired and not looking as good of a potential employee, back to where you were 5 years ago. You may not remember how you saved well during those times, so stress quickly sweeps deep into your mind since you got too cozy. Suicide becomes the main thread of thought as it builds, who would want me now because of this, afterall, I am now making 4/5 the money still 3 years in. This is what happened to one of my friends I had before, and this very situation made him act on his thoughts, now my friend is only left with 1 struggling parent, though from what I heard he, fortunately, has a stepfather. Mental health can even strike people who are considered "well-off" by many, yet these can still plague them. People I have seen are usually linear, even my parents, that if you do A, there will be B, but never thought of C, D, E, F, or even G that can happen. What I like to do is make a C for me, being a fragment of a horrible time I came over, which currently for me is the recent passing of my dog. This can leave some grief lingering in my head, but not enough to make active negative thoughts that can make it easier for my mental health to quickly deteriorate. It is an adaptation method I don't see many uses, which is understandable since it can be hard to find a situation of grief that has minimal effects to not steer you actively, but when done, has proven to make me resilient. I even saw from a note from my cremators that it usually takes a couple of months to get over the loss of a loved pet ad gave me resources. I made sure to note the start of July 7th of me having to put her down and reported feeling much better on July 15th, only 1 week and 1 day in. This was due to me already having such situations in mind enough to adapt quicker, as well as signs I assume were from her, like how she loved bunnies and 2 days after her death, a bunny came in the backyard for the first time in 2 years, or deer, her favorite, came to help a lost baby deer, my reference to when we got her when she got abandoned from her owner dying of cancer. Having an invisible weight adapted to not affect me daily and rotating it for something to always build upon has always made me seem abnormal in resilience, but it is something everyone should do to keep a strong grip of your mind and thoughts.

Depression has lingered around since 1st grade of school when bullying ramped up for me. I have been described as overweight and stupid, which in those times they used the hard r since they heard of my potential diagnosis when I was in prek. This would follow in elementary, and my mentality degraded and degraded until a breaking point in 5th grade. This was where I had gone into therapy, the only time my parents tried and undertook my mentality seriously, something even today. I was likely going to go further down this rabbit hole until my therapist for one session stopped with mental help support and showed me some of his interests, like robotics (something I had a passion for at the time) as well as astrology. Astrology and how space worked grasped my research interest, further building me into what I am falling into today, being engineering. I had also gone into MMA, not to get back at others, but to protect others who fell into this loop I have had to endure for 5 years already. This handled me well, having a small friend group of similar people to be around and grow with. I have even been friends with some new people to our school who struggled to fit in well, as I usually have never fit well into the school until we are near the end, which happened in 5th grade, 8th grade, and now 12th grade (especially since we were now split into 2 groups). I still have lingering signs of depression, but not to where my mentality and personality were in a wreck back then. Many people see depression as completely bad, which to me, you might as well say any sign of violence, even self-defense, is terrible and you should be shunned for it. I have learned to keep a small portion of it to where I will be able to understand others who also hold usually a more serious version of it, so they don't feel left out and show them a live example of the goal they should reach towards that isn't just theoretical or fictionalized. This also helps when I want to go into rigorous fields like my current interest, Computer Science. Being loaded with work that can be time-consuming or hard can feel like a toil, but when you hold those old controlled fragments that already weigh some on you, it will feel normal to you as it is already. This is why many may see me as crazy when I have been doing college classes early, but stress is something I have worked with for so long that it feels normal to work under conditions people think are crazy. Though depression can be damaging, the right steps and thought process, have made me far stronger than I was in my younger years, even going to college early in my life.

I had a teacher named Walter Price. He unfortunately moved to another school due to his distate for administration at the school I go to, moving to a different one in the area. He was one of the only teachers who understood the things I liked to talk about, as he didn't treat me really as a high-school teacher, but a real adult. I didn't have really any friends around my age much, I don't even have a sibling at all, the only people I had to talk to was adults. Not only that, but I was looked down upon more by the education system early on due to those circumstances leading to potential issues down the road, so I had to grow up fast, and I did mentally and physically. I was getting further and further from being able to connect well with people around my age, so I usually had to speak with people a little older than me at school and online. Now when in public, the disconnect is so far that when I am with my grandparents, people think I am their son when interacting and by looks, so an essential 2 decade difference at worst. I had gotten used to it to where it is what I expect, and Mr. Price did that because he could tell. I was very interested in his content, and could tell I was disconnect from others due to this development. We talked quite often after-school about stuff, and guided me when I was at my worst in other things, even to the point where I was struggling to get an A, he defended me from my parents since they thought he would make his class easy when he didn't. He was also feeling out of touch a little with the other teachers, especially since a lot of the original ones left over the past couple of years. We are under similar situations, different by others in big degrees, yet not having many left to vent out those things to others, and he was one of the only teachers I could vent that, tied with the other teacher at school I had, being ms. Baker, or Mary Baker. He has filled me with motivation in that year to continue working hard, especially since his way of teaching made it so you would need that in order to do well in his class. Even though him leaving has not had me the happiest, I know why he did it, he likely found a place better fitting and accepting of him. I plan to do that myself for college, try to find and get in a better fitting college than my current one that I go to in sync with high-school, being NC State. His path is what I appreciate seeing, as it gives me hope I can succeed as he did with how he has gone with life, and the struggles I see him carry that I hold myself.

I dream of a future where I am doing fine financially to where I need the least, where I can give to others that need most, where I have a position to improve previous situations others were in, to have an positive impact on many who need it the most.

Our family based on the government is considered fine, yet the speed of development and inflation makes living far harder for us. There is so many construction projects in my area that have been popping up, it is almost like every year we get a brand new apartment complex, new office areas, which means more workers want to live around our area, just a couple months ago we saw a former Christmas tree seller give up their property and now there are gonna be 3 construction sites within 1 mile of the furthest from each other, which is just really ridiculous to think about. My family is struggling more and more, especially now since my mother recently got fired from her job. I don't want them to just struggle for pretty much their whole lives. Neither of them got the chance to go to college because of the negligence of their parents, elite is even worse knowing my mothers sister get college and now makes a very good living, as well as the husband, they make over double my family. I don't want them to have me become like them and go down a rabbit hole until we are eventually stuck in poverty. My parents still have doubt about me despite all I do to appease them, nobody but strangers who see my achievement give me it, hence why I really need this scholarship. They think I will never get enough money to go to college, that I will have to stay for another year in high-school, so super senior year, for a chance to even get into college, that is how little money I have for it. They are in such desperation that they are going against me, thinking that I don't have what it takes to go to college despite my achievements, and then they complain why I don't think much of my achievements, because they don't think much of me. They doubt me since I wasn't like them were they young, despite all of that, they didn't get to complete college with high scores and good connections. I want to prove that I can do better than they did, that I will not follow their mindset and mold my own that can help me in the real world more. They are too delved into the money, worrying left right and center due to their families betraying them. With this scholarship, this can help alleviate a ton of financial stress that has been projected onto me for so long since the government's standards will do almost to nothing to help us. I would like to thank you for considering me for this scholarship.

My time at alley cats and angels with the alloted time that I have towards it has allowed me to fill the one things people usually left me empty with, care and attention. I am someone who got bullied all the way up till high-school, so the feeling of being unwanted or lonely has been a thing I have had to get used to for years. The difference between me and a cat is that they do not have nearly as much time for that to take place than I did. They are more vulnerable in that situation than we are in most times, so this is the chance for me to do something that nobody could replicate to me to see how it felt to be cared for. Mt family was really the only ones from time to time to care, no friends or anything like that, I haven't even had a birthday party in my life, which to many sounds really sad, and I do agree, haven't even been invited to any. I am like a ghost, just how many stranded cats on the streets felt, and I take that more deeply than others who were lucky enough to hardly have that experience. These were some of the only things I could connect with, and it is sad to say, but being with them is one of the only times I could feel actual happiness, not just some energy rush type of happiness of usual gaining of something, just purely because of being with them. The cat shelter is one of the only safe spaces I have to keep my mentality completely in check, as home environment is not the best compared when you have a unhealthy relationship. The cats are usually accepting of me and like to hang around where I am unless they want to play, it is almost like I have a sibling to rely on now, as I didn't have one to grow socially, so I am usually more distant from my age group due to this. Though cats are usually harder to speak to, instinctual knowledge helps with it. My dad hates cats, so this is a good way of having them without actually needing to adopt one as well. The cats usually are friendly to each other, which is some nice, fresh air since most times with people I am with never go like that. The cats are some of the only things that are motivating me to continue on with this current situation, as finances are not great, and adoptions usually are not about that, so it clears that of the mind, as well as a welcoming environment rather than dense and gloomy. I am still there to this day, and probably will stay for a long time since to me, it is my only free safe space for me to recollect and relax since others are being torn down by the day, either in literal sense or not. This helps me understand the importance of showing care for others, as if they are down, others can get down, and it can be a vicious cycle, attrition can only do so much. Some may look fine, but deep down are not, to focus on them even if fine is preserving it, and that is what counts, as it can help in ways you sometimes could never understand.

I plan on majoring into computer science since I am interested in technology and is not as restrictive of a major for what I may want to do or just switch to for that field in due time. I am quite unsure on specifics now since there are so many different jobs that can be done in many different fields. I want to eventually be a lead for things within my job, things similar to senior type of titles like engineers usually do. This is current future look, as I don't want to get my plan too specific as it could change based on the opportunities that get presented to myself. This scholarship would be really helpful since even though in the government's terms we are doing decent, the amount of construction that has expanded to our area to where the cost of living has risen a lot, and an example is that our hose value doubled in only 3 years from the amount of things added in sync with inflation before it even got to the part where it was being broadcasted about. Our house was also poorly designed, so a lot of issues arise to where savings isn't that feasible. Also, my mother recently got fired, so the income for the coming years will be hard to recover fully as of now looking at progression, making this just far mlworse. Though many think this may not be a lot, it can add up over time to where it will be in many eyes of value, but to me, it already is with this situation. My parents both didn't get to go to college due to their parents not helping with college when they said they would, so all of this financial needs I have had to figure out mostly on my own. My parents wouldn't have to worry of all the progress they made to recover from their own betrayls to only be for a lost cause. I can do what I am interested in, which is computer science with me working with tech. They won't have to worry as much about savings and retirement being a little tight, as they will have me. This can also help me go further into my passion without as much stress that can be tanking on mentality. In the end, this isn't just fully for me, but for the future of me as well as my parents, barely anyone believed in me from the beginning, yet I almost always proved them wrong. Now they challenged me that I would eventually end up like them, I hope you can support me into proving that wrong with them and going for a passion that would make them and me happy. Thanks for your consideration.

DUIs are very harmful not just in a physical way, but mentally too. Even if you don't crash into someone, just the way your car moves can make people unsettled in the area. Even if you didn't harm anyone, if you get noticed and identified, you will be looked down upon and avoided by many people knowing your recklessness. You don't make your community look safe doing that, and make people want to avoid going to your area, and if it adds up enough with others, your whole city. You not only disappoint the families you affect, but your own and people who know you well. I had my great grandmother die 6 years ago, and the car accident was technically her fault since she was jay walking due to not being in a crossing area, but even that was not enough for him to get off shot free. The justice system did nothing, but his family was disappointed l, and a lot of his friends ghosted him, imagine how bad it would be if you had to go through that, but it was your fault, less jobs will want you, less people will want to speak to you if they find that out as well. One flaw I see in many cities is the lack of city transport that is free, if that was the case, a lot less people will need to be reliant on cars, as not everybody trusts Uber and things like it due to crimes and other things alike. Cities need to find areas that are not making as much use of money and allocate it to this cause, as I see many rely on the few busses that are free, they were always almost full. This will also put less stress in needing a car, as American cities have been built to usually need cars to get around.

My favorite aspect of minecraft was Redstone. People always just brushed it to the side for something like diamonds that were more simple. This, in reality, was not as useful, as Redstone can do many actions other things were limited from, whether due to durability, radius, etc. Redstone can make many contraptions that can do things that we player can do on a larger scale, and usually with minimal effort, like just checking on boxes and hoppers when they get full. They can also do things you couldn't do without it such as making moving devices of grand scale, like jumbo recently making a big tank, or having a computer within your very own computer (complex yet was done). Redstone can be super powerful, but only if people had the knowledge that led to that power, like us making atoms from being just something non threatening, to a force of the biggest proportions we have. I have always wanted to gain this secret knowledge for stuff in reality, as there are many things out there that can be so different, but we just haven't explored enough. It is like a huge site for engineering stuff in minecraft, though it seems basic and entertaining, it can also be very educational, even of you don't have the education edition (used it before, not as crazy as people think). There is much to learn that we still haven't, and I love that aspect of the game. If anyone disagrees, then why are there actual mathematicians and physicists working on cracking cases just within this video game, and they just call the game simple, it really isn't, and I found that impressive for a game made over a decade ago. Though I don't play it as much anymore, when I do get some friends on, we always hop on to make some new crazy device with our beloved redstone.