(1) I grew up on a street called “main” in the housing project of Williams Delight, on 84 square miles of bought US soil, called St. Croix. For many outsiders growing up in the Virgin Islands with access to clear blue waters and sparkling sand sounds like a dream, but for me, it was a constant nightmare. While I had the standard American luxury of living in paradise, I was constantly reminded that I could not afford to live there comfortably and that my inheritance could be the low-class struggles my parents endured, as first-class citizens in a third-class world. When I was in the tenth grade, no more than 15, I sat at a conference table as a member of the St. Croix Foundation Youth Advisory Council and met an attorney for the first time. As a council member, I was exposed to the process of change by policymakers and agents working collaboratively to improve public safety and education within my community. This shifted my mindset as I internalized that the comfort I sought was more than monetary. I wanted the comfort of cultural preservation, a reformed education system, better healthcare, fairer laws, and stronger policies. As a first-generation college student in many ways, I became the change I wanted to see in my family and community when I left home to “catch” a dream. At my alma mater, Spelman College, ironically our mantra is “A choice to change the world”. I chose that choice each day as I navigated through courses, working three jobs at times to ensure that I could afford to afford the dream I was pursuing. As I struggled with test anxiety and the harsh realities of life after graduation, I often questioned whether this dream was worth it. The more I visited home and saw that the changes I had envisioned at 15 were stalled, the more determined I grew. In January of 2023, I sat for my third and final LSAT after years of avoidance and intrusive thoughts of my dream of going to law school not being attainable. These thoughts and feelings changed when I got an acceptance from one of my top schools. While I was very grateful to have been accepted to American University’s Washington College of Law, I was also very anxious about the high cost of living in a new state and the lack of financial aid I had received. In sum, a scholarship award will not only provide supplemental funding for my first year as a law student but also reflect a great investment into my career as an attorney. This scholarship will allow me to redirect my focus to excelling at my courses and becoming a better aid candidate academically without the constant worry of expenses. This investment affords me the opportunity to share my dream by inspiring others to follow their dreams, despite the odds. And I’d choose this choice, time and time again to become a lawyer from Main Street. (2) The most valuable insights I have learned during my law school application process include establishing a great level of commitment and intent to apply to various schools within my interest. I narrowed this interest by creating a spreadsheet to track my application progress and school requirements. These insights made this application cycle, my best, as I've applied to law school in the past and was unsuccessful. It also helped with calming my testing anxiety surrounding retaking the LSAT to achieve my goal of being admitted. I found that the better prepared I was at knowing what score I needed to have for chances of admission to each school on my application list has helped me be a disciplined scholar. Another insight I utilized was asking and reaching out to people in the law profession and some who were already in law school. This increased my understanding of what was required in my personal statement, resume and overall application. I plan on using all the insights aforementioned to leverage a successful 1L of study as I transition to the role of being a student. In leveraging commitment, intent, collaborative networking and my other skills I believe that transitioning to law school and beyond will be smoother than if I had not learned or experienced needing the insight. Though untraditional, I have enjoyed and learned a great deal from my journey in becoming a law student and intend on sharing this journey with others to inspire future and even current generations on the how to become a lawyer.