January 12, 2012, was not only the day that I lost a sibling, but it was also the day when I realized that life is more than just sunshine, unicorns, and rainbows. Alec was his name, or Big Al, as some people would call him. He loved to play football and watch Scooby Doo. Though we only shared one parent, that didn’t affect our sibling relationship. He was 15 years old, while I was only 6 at the time. Every moment we shared was nothing but laughs, smiles, and giggles. The affectionate, brotherly-love bond we’d established couldn’t have been broken by any external force; well, at least I thought so. Behind his perfect smile was a burden, lynching him. I didn’t know how he was feeling inside; I couldn’t see the signs. I was too young to understand, let alone grasp the mere concept of mental health, depression, and so on. When the casket closed, a part of my heart also closed up. Dealing with the passing of my brother was a hard thing to do, given that I was just a child at that time. Progressively, I learned to just cope with the heart-crushing feeling that I felt, by simply bottling my feelings up. For a while, I felt like a ghost, until I decided that bottling up emotions won't make things better. I began expressing myself through my academics. I was on honor all through elementary and middle school. In eighth grade, I decided to do track as a new coping mechanism, and that was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. Moving on to high school, I attended the same high school my brother did: Rockford Auburn High School. I excelled greatly in my academics, maintaining a cumulative GPA of 3.8 and graduating magna cum laude, as a National Honor Society member, NAACP member, and a scholar to many scholarships this past June. I’ve also received a tuition-paid, full ride to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. In my senior year, I took the time to recognize suicide awareness during the week of September 4th, 2022. I wrote little notes and placed them around the school, gave out suicide awareness shirts, and I also spoke in front of my class and shared my story, I played football this past school year and repped my brother’s jersey number: 11. I’m also a 4x varsity track runner, 60-meter dash record holder, and indoor 4x200 record holder. 1x state qualifier, and a 1x first team all-conference selection. All of these accomplishments made me realize that I’m not just great for my wellbeing, but also for his. Alec never had the chance to finish high school, he never had the chance to show his true potential in athletics, and he never got the chance to get the recognition he deserves for being an amazing person. So everything that I did/do is for him. As long as I breathe, his legacy will never die. His heart is within mine, forever and always. I plan to become a clinical psychologist, as I’ll be majoring in biology with a minor in psychology. A piece of advice for those who are going through mental struggles; the darkness doesn’t last. See the light! Even in the darkness. You have a crown that may tip, but never let it fall. You are worth more than everything you can think of. You have a PURPOSE; you just have to believe it to see it. Stay strong and live, laugh, and love. Thank you for this scholarship opportunity. Sincerely, Dontavious Williams