At age nine I was fist diagnosed with Epilepsy. I remember falling on the concrete splitting my chin open and being rushed to the hospital. I didn’t understand why God gave me this disease or diagnosis? Why I was different from the other kids? It wasn’t until later in life that I realized my weakness was actually my strength. My disease has given me the will you overcome and succeed. It is my determination to be successful. I currently take medicine twice a day to control my seizures. I have been able to obtain my driver’s license. I am graduating from high school. I have been accepted to Lincoln College of Technology in Indianapolis. I am pursuing my degree in collision repair and Refinishing technology management. I love cars. I eat, sleep, and breathe cars ever since I was a little boy. I know I can succeed in the automotive field. My journey to college was made even harder a few years ago. My mother has been diagnosed with breast cancer twice already. She has undergone surgery, radiation, and multiple injections. Her cancer journey has inspired my epilepsy journey even more. I feel as if we have both overcome and succeeded in our journey. Unfortunately both our diagnosis have made our financial situation worse. My mother is the main supporter of my family of four. While she was getting cancer treatments she could not work. This was very difficult on our family. My mother had to drain her savings account and 401k just so we could survive. She had to refinance our house also so we wouldn’t lose it. This was very hard on her I know. She was unable to save any money for college. Now here I am graduating high school in two months. My school is out of state. My college path also includes moving and living out of state. I feel like I am an excellent candidate for this scholarship. Besides my name being Dylan, I feel that my journey with epilepsy and my mother’s journey with breast cancer has had led us to where we are today. We are stronger. We are wiser. We are more experienced. We are survivors. We have overcome. We will succeed. It’s both my journey and my mothers journey that have brought us here today. And after all, she did give me the name Dylan! I feel destined to succeed!

I never stop believing, I never stop breathing, I never stop thriving, I never stop driving with the radio on, I never stop drinking that early morning coffee, I never stop letting the breeze blow through my hair, I never stop letting the music take me away. Never stop singing in the shower. Never stop saying "hello" in the hallway. Never stop talking to your crush. Never stop believing in world peace. Never stop wishing the pain away. Never stop wanting your dreams to come true. I will love myself. I will love the world. I will love my self worth. I will love my environment. I will love my college experience. I will love my new career path. I will love my independence. I will love my self confidence I gain. I will love the person I am determined to become. I am true to myself everyday. Everyday I will be true to myself.

I have learned to value my medical diagnosis of Epilepsy. I was diagnosed 9 years ago. I thought for the longest time that this was my weakness. I just wanted to be like "the other kids." I just wanted to fit in. Why did I have to have this diagnosis I thought? Little did I know that my weakness was my most valuable resource. It has given me the strength to stay focused and motivated. I am overcoming my challenges. I ride dirt bikes, work on four wheelers, and I have my driver's license. I never thought I could do these things. Now I am determined to attend a trade college and learn Collision Repair/Welding. Cars are my passion. My dream is to open up my own shop one day. I have found that my Epilepsy diagnosis makes me valuable to myself. And now I can better myself and be more valuable to the world.

My best skill is cars. I have a love of cars and anything that makes them tick. From the time I was a small child I can remember playing with Hot Wheels and toy garages. I still have car posters all over my wall now. Before I got my drivers license, I bought a four wheeler and a dirtbike. I love taking things apart just so I can put them back together again. I wanna learn how to fix things. I am attending a trade school in Indianapolis, IN. The school is not far from the Indy 500 race track. I will be able to learn a collision repair/welding trade all while working a part time job also. I constantly watch car videos everyday to try and learn more knowledge until I go away to school. This scholarship would greatly help me attend my trade school and pursue my career in learning about cars.

Friendship is... Staying up late to talk when you can hardly keep your eyes open. Sharing your lunch when they are hungry. Having their back in any situation. Loving their presence in your normal everyday life. Being around that person makes you a better person. Knowing you are not alone. Having a buddy to share a pizza with. Feeling you are the other half. Going to school just to see them. Texting back and forth cause you hang on their every word. Being a rock when they are not feeling so strong. Listening to words that you may not want to hear. Supporting their views even if they are not your own. Loving them with all their faults. Knowing they love you with all your faults. Having sleep overs every weekend cause you can't be apart. Friendship is that special person to me. Friendship is everything to me. If you find that special friendship with someone...that is everything.

Patience... "the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset." Patience is important to me because... I may need to help the elderly lady open the door. I need to spend time helping my little sister with her homework. I may need to sit and talk with my mom just because. I need to consider my friends feelings before mine. I need to listen to my teacher. I need to make a new friend. I may need to help out a stranger. I may need to just listen when someone talks. I need to listen to that inner voice inside. I may need to stay focused in college. I will miss my family when I move away to college. Everything I do everyday involves patience. The more patient I can become, the more successful I will be in life. And that will make the world a better place too.

I practice self-care everyday. I believe self-care is the key to success in all aspects of life. I practice weight-lifting every day at the gym. I go to school, then the gym. I guess you could say" I eat, breath, sleep, gym." I started working out about a year ago. I feel at peace when I am at the gym. It's wierd how excercise can make you more calm. It gives me strength, peace, and self-control. It's my space. When I go to the gym I am in my zone. No school, parents, sister, work. Just me and myself. It has impacted me in such a positive way. I am able to draw from my strength. It's wierd to say, but I enjoy spending time with myself. My self-care of working out has led me to find my inner self. Besides looking better on the outside, I feel better on the inside just spending time with myself. Getting in the zone with myself I have learned to love myself better. My self-care has led me to love myself. I enjoy being me and spending time with me.

I am choosing collision repair technology as my career. Every since I was a small boy I have been interested in cars. My room is covered with car posters. I eat, sleep, and breathe cars. I take things apart just so I can put them back together again. I am very hands on and this is how I learn the best. I have a dirt bike, four wheeler, and SUV that I have fixed up. I watch YouTube videos to help me learn also. I want to learn everything the professional way. I am craving the knowledge. I want to succeed. A technical school is best for me because it is hands on learning. I think I should be awarded this scholarship because I am a hard worker and have a good work ethic. I started working the day I turned sixteen and have been working ever since. I am saving for a car and for college. I can only save so much with my part time job and high school. My mom had breast cancer twice in the past. She had to drain our savings, take time off work, and was unable to save for my college. She is the main supporter of my family of four. I get my work ethic from her. She kept our family going during her cancer diagnosis. The future though was not planned for. We were just trying to make it through the present. Now I'm a senior and it's time to apply for college and there is no college money. This would really help me pay for college. I was also diagnosed with Epilepsy at nine years old. I have managed to overcome this and I am seizure free for the past five years. I am determined to not let my diagnosis get in the way of my dreams. With my mom's cancer diagnosis and my epilepsy, the road has been hard. But I am determined to succeed. I love cars and working on them. I would love to open my own shop some day and help teach others everything I know. If I am awarded this scholarship I PROMISE I will achieve my Collision Repair Technology Degree from Lincoln Tech in Indianapolis. I am a hard worker and I am determined to succeed. I am in the fast lane for success. Epilepsy better take a back lane cause my future is taking off.

I believe living a long, healthy life revolves around...happiness. You have to smile everyday. Don't take things to seriously. Book that vacation. Call that friend you haven't talked to in a while. Hike that mountain. Have that cup of coffee. Wave to your neighbor. Start a conversation with a complete stranger. Adopt a dog. Laugh at yourself. Watch your favorite movie. Play a childhood game. Inhale and hold your breath for 5 seconds. Take that yoga class. Start your bucket list. Take a photo. Buy yourself a gift. Eat the cake. Take the day off work. Go to lunch by yourself. Enjoy the breeze on a short walk. Light a candle. Buy a new outfit. Have a piece of chocolate. Call your mom. Sit by a fire. Have dinner by candle light. Walk in the park. Reconnect with a relative. Walk on the beach. Do whatever makes you happy. But take time to actually do it and enjoy it. Take time to actually be in the present moment. Life is too short...Be happy!

Saving, saving, saving, and more saving. The day I turned 16 years old I went and got my first job at a local grocery store. i worked through the pandemic and continued to save. I have been saving all my paychecks since then. I am saving up to buy myself a car and help pay for my college. I watch everything I buy. I love cars and working on them also. I take stuff apart just so I can put it back together. I love learning new things. My dream car is an EVO. I live ,breathe, and sleep cars. And then I do it all over again the next day. I want to attend a trade school for collision repair and welding. I want to work on cars everyday. I will continue to save, save, save. That's what is important and I hope I can take this lesson with me to college.

Independence... Autonomy, satisfaction, responsibility, gratification, self-worth, self-sufficient, free-spirited, bold, individualistic, liberated, free, self-made. Independence encompasses all these things to me. I am excited to attend my first year of college in another state. I am excited to start my adult life. I want to show my parents what I can do. Who I can become. What I can accomplish. Finally showcase myself and my talents. I want my parents to see what they have instilled in me is worthwhile. That I can become an independent adult. I want to impact my world. I want to find cleaner ways to run cars. I want to find alternatives to gas. II want to design cars to be more consumer smart. I want to obtain my college degree and start my career. I want to open up my own shop someday with all the knowledge that I have taken in. Independence.. I want to take it all in.

I was diagnosed with Epilepsy at age 9. I remember falling on the playground and splitting my chin open on the concrete when I had a grand mal seizure. All I wanted was to be like the other kids. I didn't want to stand out. I just wanted to be normal. I didn't want to have Epilepsy. I did not want to have to take medication every day. I just wanted to be a kid. Why did I have to be different? It's not fair I thought. Can I be normal? What is normal? I got a job when I turned 16 years old and started working. I save all my money from my paychecks. I take my seizure medication twice and a day. I was able to get my driver's license the day I turned 16 years old and have kept it ever since. Now it is my Senior year. I am involved with weight lifting. I am also on the wrestling team. These activities are not typical for Epilepsy patients, but I was determined to overcome the stigma. I've worked hard and will graduate with my senior class. I am so excited to start my future. I don't want to let Epilepsy stop me now. I have a serious passion for everything that moves. Cars, dirt bikes, mufflers, and four wheelers. I constantly watch Youtube videos to learn how to fix things. I want to learn how to fix the and take them apart professionally. I will not let my Epilepsy diagnosis stop me. Epilepsy has actually given me more motivation to pursue my career. It has become my blessing in disguise. I have been seizure free for five years now on medication taken twice a day. I am proud of that. I want to attend a trade school college and earn my degree in welding and collision repair. My end goal is to eventually open my own business one day after I graduate from college. Epilepsy is part of me, it's not all of me. I am so much more than my diagnosis. I believe this diagnosis has made me a hard worker and now I am able to see my bright future. I'm going to bust the Epilepsy stigma. I am going to make my own normal. My future is like a really fast car that can't be stopped. Epilepsy better learn how to catch up!

I am motivated by cars and everything that makes them tick. I have been enthused with cars since a very small age. I started working at a local grocery store as soon as I turned 16 years old. I saved up my money to by a dirt bike. Now I am saving for a new car. I save all my work paychecks and not to spend on other things. I’m excited about going to college to learn welding and collision repair. The school I applied to is two states away. Its a trade school in Indianapolis, not too far from the Indy 500 race track. It’s very expensive and my mom can not afford it. I’m staying motivated and continuing to work everyday. I wake up eating, breathing, and sleeping cars. I constantly watch videos on YouTube on how to fix things. I have worked on my dirt bike and four wheeler already. I’m ready to learn the big stuff. Make a career out of it. Open my own shop someday. My passion for cars motivates me everyday. I’m ready to get this race started!