I grew up in church. My father is a pastor, and my parents did an excellent job at raising me and my siblings. Around the age of 11 or 12, I started to notice how my parents spent time reading their Bibles alone. I had heard for a few years that God wants a personal relationship with His children, and I started to want that too. I had gone to a Bible camp over the summer where I decided I was finally going to start reading my Bible and praying. That lasted about two days before I forgot. Then the next summer came around and I made the same decision to start reading my Bible more when I got back home. Again, it didn't last long. This cycle went on for about three years, making empty promises to myself and then never following through. I really wanted to try to connect with God and was able to read the Bible every now and then, but the routine never stuck. Finally, the summer after ninth grade I was able to start really reading God's Word and taking away things from it that I wasn't able to do before. By growing in my relationship with God, it made a difference in my friendships. My closest friends are Christians too, and we've been able to create this community where we can all just encourage and love on each other. It has been an absolute blessing in my life. I have been able to read and pray more consistently. I still have days where I don't feel close to God, but I know He is there. I am now a senior in high school. My relationship with Jesus has really grown. More and more it starts to feel like a father-daughter relationship than just a religion, which is exactly what I wanted when I learned that God wanted to have personal relationships with us. There is so much joy and peace that comes with being close to Him that I want to share with others. However, I am worried that after high school I would start to drift away from God, so I decided to take a "gap year" by attending a Bible institute. I want to grow in my faith and really solidify my habits to read and pray and lean on God daily. I hope to share everything that I learn at the institute to others around the world. Go on mission trips and volunteer to serve people around the world. I don't get any kind of degree after the year; I just receive course credits for Bible classes if I decide to attend a Christian college, which is a path that I might take. I am not sure where God will call me afterwards, but I have no doubt that He will use the things I learn at the Bible institute for the future. I just want to thank you for taking the time to read my submission. I think this scholarship is absolutely wonderful, and it will bless whoever receives it.