I might be writing this today without my father. When I was only two years old my dad nearly died with Sepsis. He had to be rushed to the hospital. In transport the paramedics told him, "We don't usually see these numbers, you are showing scores of a person no longer with us". My dad was always eager to motivate and play football, baseball, and basketball with me. I never knew any of this until I was looking through scholarships, and the topic came up. My dad was admitted to the ICU in a very busy local hospital. He had to have many tests, and it was found that the infection began in his intestines. Further proceedures found his large intestine so damaged he needed surgery to remove twelve inches of it. Even after the diagnosis he endured more tests. For some he couldn't eat before for days. He lost a lot of weight. I do remember my Grandma being very concerned. She came by to visit many times. At the same time my mom was pregnant with my little brother Stan. She said she took me to visit dad in the hospital. My dad worked a lot during the day. After dinner he would take me for rides around town to give mom a break. Dad wasn't taking me for rides in his big work truck in the evenings anymore. We liked to go watch trains speed by on city railroad tracks. We'd toss a ball around while we waited for an engine to rumble by. I am very happy the Staff of doctors and nurses could help my dad. I can't imagine him not being in our lives. Though I'm starting my first year of College, my dad still does so much to make me, my mom's and brothers' lives a lot easier. He shows me how to maintain my truck. We change tires, make oil changes, and repairs when needed. He's always been really supportive of my choice to play football, and never missed any of my games. He coached a few of the teams I played on. It's very hard to imagine my dad's life may have been cut short when I was only two years old before my brother was born. I have great memories with him. I know my brothers do too. Things sure would have been really hard for my mom too without him. I love my dad, and I am truly greatful to all of the medical workers that helped keep him here for us all.

Being a Cleveland fan is rough! I was born in CLE. My parents moved me to Tennessee when I was 7 years old, and now it's even more tough! I am a true Cleveland fan forever. I get a lot of slack from people about it. I will NEVER forget how great it was when the Cavs won the NBA Championship in 2016! I had a few friends in my elementary basketball skills camp that were just as happy as I was. We were all Lebron fans. Who doesn't want to be the best? I really loved playing basketball when I was younger. I was ecstatic to make the Middle School team in sixth grade. I played all through middle school. We actually won our State invitational game when I was in eighth grade. It felt great especially after we just missed winning it in sixth and seventh grades. We won the gold ball not the silver. I'm sorry I don't think Lebron James is the best basketball player of all time, but he's still the King for now. I think Michael Jordan might be yhe greatest. My reason is I see babies, and older people sporting Jordan shoes and logos everywhere. We still go back and visit family in Cleveland. I can honestly tell you Jordan merch is big even down here in Tennessee. I think it sells all over the world. I hope I win this Lebron scholarship just for being a Cleveland fan! I even followed the Cavs this past season, they made the playoffs!

I enjoy helping my neighbors and my father build garages, and permanent structures in my rural neighborhood. My Ninth grade year I took my first semester of Construction Trades at my local high school technology center. I enjoyed the classes more each year. I have decided I'd like to study Carpentry and Construction after high school. I didn't grow up in a traditional house. Living "out here" gave me a great appreciation for real well built structures. The type of stuff average kids totally take for granted. You probably remember having bedrooms and large den areas as a kid. I grew up in a "tiny home" my mom would say, "the OG tiny home". An RV, yea like cousin Eddy's from "Christmas Vacation" only not as old. I think I may have become so interested in building because I desired what most of my friends had; that big home with all the rooms, the normal house. We had neighbors that lived in stationary tiny homes. Those looked more like a shed you'd buy at Home Depot. Our neighbor Matt is young, and he finished the inside of his "shed". He hung drywall, built shelves, laid flooring, and tiles in the bathroom. It really is pretty nice. He also made his own cabinets, countertops, and some furniture himself. Growing up in the woods especially during covid made me realize why my parents wanted to be way out here. We have room outside. Our creek is beautiful with waterfalls. We swam in our pond when the pool was closed on account of public worry. I can hunt with my brothers or fish in our pond. That neighbor Matt... his retired dad moved out to our neighborhood from a big city in Texas. He started living in a camper, and had resources to build a modest home. I learned so much building that house with my neighbors. We started from a wooded lot. My dad actually cleared the area with his own tractor he bought years ago. I helped dig holes for the supports the house sits on. Sure it is on a hill, and Matt had to measure and set the width of the support beams. I didn't do all the math, but I see it working in real life. I like being able to make something. Men are truly created to work and build things. I mean would you want to just pull out a blanket and sleep on the dirt in the woods? That's why in scouts we used tents. I'd really like to build my own home someday. I helped build my neighbor's dad's dwelling, one of his son's, and now we're working on the third home. I plan to put to use the skills I aquire in trade school to construct a house of my own in the future. I grew up out here in a rural area. I'd love to help my neighbors and community put up and build permanent homes and structures.

Deep woods and rough chirt roads, that's where my dad brought my family to live. We are way out, over a half hour from either of the small towns that are closest. I'll admit at first I didn't care to be way out here. I missed the shopping malls, Chuck-E-Cheese, and fast food I'd been accustomed to. Oh there's more....trash pick up, tap water that doesn't freeze, my own bedroom. I've grown up sharing a room with my younger brothers. I didn't grow up in a traditional house. Living "out here" gave me a great appreciation for real well built structures. The type of stuff average kids totally take for granted. You probably remember having bedrooms and large den areas as a kid. I grew up in a "tiny home" my mom would say, "the OG tiny home". An RV, yea like cousin Eddy's from "Christmas Vacation" only not as old. I think I may have become so interested in building because I desired what most of my friends had; that big home with all the rooms, the normal house. We had neighbors that lived in stationary tiny homes. Those looked more like a shed you'd buy at home depot. Our neighbor Matt is young, and he finished the inside of his "shed". He hung drywall, built shelves, laid flooring, and tiles in the bathroom. It really is pretty nice. Growing up in the woods especially during covid made me realize why my parents wanted to be way out here. We have room outside. Our creek is beautiful with waterfalls. We swam in our pond when the pool was closed on account of public worry. I can hunt with my brothers or fish in our pond. That neighbor Matt... his retired dad moved out to our neighborhood from a big city in Texas. He started living in a camper, and had resources to build a modest home. He has paid me and his sons to build the house he lives in now. I learned so much building that house with my neighbors. We started from a wooded lot. My dad actually cleared the area with his own tractor he bought years ago. I helped dig holes for the supports the house sits on. Sure it is on a hill, and Matt had to measure and set the width of the support beams. I didn't do all the math, but I see it working in real life. I like being able to make something. Men are truly created to work and build things. I mean would you want to just pull out a blanket and sleep on the dirt in the woods? That's why in scouts we used tents. I'd really like to build my own home someday. I helped build my neighbor's dad's dwelling, one of his son's, and now we're working on the third home. I plan to put to use the skills I aquire in trade school to construct a house of my own in the future.

I am the oldest of three boys. My closest brother is also in High School. I have another brother, we'll can call him Jefferson. Jefferson is a mouthy soon to be Seventh grader. He can say the wrong thing at any moment. I guess you could say he is trying out phrases that he's heard other people say. At the pool a few summers ago we were wating for the slide. My friend and I were beside Jefferson. Jefferson calls out "hey idiot, your shorts are backward". I was immediately embarrassed, but my friend laughed. I told Peyton, my friend, to shut up. I then told Jefferson that it isn't cool to call other people names. I also told him that if it's something embarrassing he has to tell the person discreetly that their "pants are backwards". I also asked Jefferson, "what if it were your pants that were on backwards?". In short all of us can do more to teach compassion and help peers or strangers. I turned a bullying outburst into an opportunity to teach my little brother some humility. To care a little more about the poor kid who obviously had his swimming trunks on the wrong way. During a school day I can't tell you how many little instances there are of bullying. Parents are right "kids are cruel" and "it's always been happening". Maybe it's magnified now with media at our fingertips constantly. Smart Phonrs are an instant way to share embarrassing moments. I had a friend who would snap pics of short kids or any kid he didn't like. He'd then spread the pics with his phone to all his contacts through a Social Media App. You can take really bad pics of even the best looking people. I told him it's a form of "bullying". He laughed. I told him to get a life. It's just something a mature person doesn't waste his time with. There is way better things to do. I watch sports and follow my favorite players. There is a lot of bullying oline. It's true that not being face to face in the same room with another person gives us all the liberty to be more cruel. I see my friends and strangers both using mean phrases online. It's an epidemic, bullying online. As a society we have to do something about this issue. If we all do our duty telling our closest friends and family to "put yourself in that other person's shoes", I believe we can slowly make a difference. Just as I told my little brother, hey that could be you! Don't yell it out loud. If we all tell our friends and contacts online to have sympathy, that the other person may be having a bad day, maybe things can change. I'll keep speaking out to my close contacts, will you?

I may have just figured this question out for myself. You see, I didn't grow up in a traditional home environment. My parents realized, before I can remember, affording a house was frankly not within their income. If they did find a home that they believed was affordable, the annual property tax which only ever increases was not feasible. My father decided to move us out of a two bedroom apartment to a piece of unimproved property. I grew up in a motor home. All of my friends except the few that had parents attempting the same things as mine, lived in nice big homes with many rooms. Some even had more than one bathroom. I guess one might say either the American Dream is not achievable any longer or there are some families attempting to construct their own homes out in very rural areas. My parents value family time more than slaving and commuting for 30 plus years. I've become interested in construction as I would like to also build my own home, and have the freedom to have a profession I enjoy. I've helped several neighbors construct their dwellings. It is very satisfying to see what a few men can plan, and hammer together. We can build it! Just like one of my favorite shows when I was a kid, Bob the Builder. I have been studying construction at my High School technology center for 3 years now. I've learned a lot plus what I learned helping my neighbors with the full construction of their modest homes. My dad has set up three homes in our neighborhood with solar power units, and our RV uses one too. I hope to learn more about this concept in the future also. I love seeing the finished product. I enjoy working with wood and building. There is so much to learn. I am ready to take it all in, and build a home for myself someday. I am excited to study more of this field.

Deep woods and rough chirt roads, that's where my dad brought my family to live. We are way out, over a half hour from either of the small towns that are closest. I'll admit at first I didn't care to be way out here. I missed the shopping malls, Chuck-E-Cheese, and fast food I'd been accustomed to. Oh there's more....trash pick up, tap water that doesn't freeze, my own bedroom. I've grown up sharing a room with my younger brothers. However growing up "out here" gave me a great appreciation for real Construction. The type of stuff average kids totally take for granted. You probably remember having bedrooms and large den areas. I grew up in a "tiny home" my mom would say the OG tiny home. An RV, yea like cousin Eddy's from "Christmas Vacation" only not as old. I think I may have become so interested in building because I desired what most of my friends had; that big home with all the rooms, the normal house. We had neighbors that lived in stationary tiny homes. Those looked more like a shed you'd buy at home depot. Our neighbor Matt is young, and he finished the inside of his "shed". He hung drywall, built shelves, laid flooring, and tiles in the bathroom. It really is pretty nice. Growing up in the woods especially during covid made me realize why my parents wanted to be way out here. We have room outside. Our creek is beautiful with waterfalls. We swam in our pond when the pool was closed on account of public worry. I can hunt with my brothers or fish in our pond. Dad stocked it with catfish and bluegill. That neighbor Matt... his retired dad moved out to our neighborhood from a big city in Texas. He started living in a camper, and had resources to build a modest home. He has paid me and his sons to build the house he lives in now. I learned so much building that house with my neighbors. We started from a wooded lot. My dad actually cleared the area with his own tractor he bought years ago. I helped dig holes for the supports the house sits on. Sure it is a hill, and Matt had to measure and set the width of the beams. I didn't do all the math, but I see it working in real life. I like being able to make something. Men are truly created to work and build things. I mean would you want to just pull out a blanket and sleep on the dirt in the woods? That's why in scouts we used tents. I'd really like to build my own home someday. I helped build my neighbor's dad dwelling. I'm helping build a home now, and I want to have one of my own in the future.