One thing I haven't seen much of is people of color in healthcare positions. Particularly black women. And if I do, chances are they are a nurse instead of a physician, and that doesn't strike me very well. I plan to reach for the stars in my career, and I will be one of the people to break through that wall that makes it harder for black women to achieve such high positions. I will be a form of representation for those younger than me, who don't see faces that look like and mirror their own in positions that require so much effort and care. Making a difference has always held such weight to me because I grew up raised by someone who made such a difference for young black people. She was a radiologist and a single mother, challenging all the odds and being a true inspiration for me. She pushed me to put my all into school just by achieving so much, and she does remain a large inspiration for me today because of what she was able to achieve and how she showed me that anything is possible. From day one I knew I wanted to work in the medical field, even as I watched her through medical school, travel for weekends, and work late nights but still come home and take care of three kids. I know I can do that, I know I can have that impact, and be more impactful because I learned from the mistakes she made along the way. I'll be prepared, independent, secure, and organized with all I do. I'll go against all the harmful stereotypes that are applied to black women. I'll put my all into what I do and show any little girl that comes to see me that, yes, they can. They aren't limited to assisting positions and can do any and everything they wish to do and put their minds to. I'll save lives in so many different ways, physically and mentally. Leaving a mark on every little girl who sees the work I do and my dedication and helping them to realize, 'Hey, I can do that too!' Representation is a long fight and battle, but standing by and waiting idly for the changes we wish for so badly won't solve anything. We must show those who come after us that they have the power to contribute to such a cause, as we did and those who come after them do. Being able to get this scholarship will only propell me towards that goal and towards the greatness I envision for myself in the future. It's a long path for me but I'll get there and every single penny I recieve from any source I feel an eternal gratefulness for.

My name is Elicia Davis, I live in California, I love to read and write, and also find enjoyment in chemistry. Literature has been a hobby I've enjoyed from the moment I gained the ability to read, but my love of chemistry was only recently discovered and the passion I felt surrounding it was so strong that it sort of compelled me to switch my dream career- from a pediatrician to an anesthesiologist. It's a switch that works out well though, as even now- years before I reach my ultimate goal- I feel comfortable and secure. But it's not just out of personal convenience that I've chosen this path, it's also because I wish to break into a field where you dont see many people like me. Black women only make up 7.2% of all female anesthesiologists, and I want to show that as black women we are capable of reaching positions higher than CNA's and RN's. I wish to show the world that we are important, and push that message to all the little girls that they can shoot for the stars. Me personally, that sort of representation is something I never recieved. I always knew I wanted to entr the medical field, but the cieling placed by what I had seen around me at that point limited me at a veterinarian. For the longest I thought that was my destiny and it did beat me down, but I came to a realization that representation doesn't just appear out of thin air. Each step up made for women of all races came with struggle, even after the goal was achieved. Every woman that enters a branch of STEM furthers representation. Every woman that fills a position normalizes the sight of a woman in an important space, and it's sort of a domino effect from there. The courage amongst us only mmultiplies and opens doors that seemed locked up tight before. That's truly my goal in STEM. I wish to assist in curating a diverse world that allows for women to be in every space, no matter who they are. I seek to be apart of the next revolution, to join the ranks in my generation as we smash through the remaining gender expectations and sexism that persists today, and it's something that I'll be able to do just by taking up space and doing something that I truly enjoy. I will be the representation that I sought out as a child, one way or another, and I will serve as a stepping stool for those after me.

Adversity is a word that should be used more. A word that has described my whole entire life, from the moment I was born, to now. Though the first time I'd ever heard it was in the eleventh grade. All my life, it has been an experience that plagued my own life and even the lives of those around me. It didn't matter how well we set up our future, what path we took, or whether we played it safe or went the risky route to succeed. A struggle always awaited, and as my family says, "We work hard, but the devil works harder." I've always been bullied. I was the lanky, unsure, brown skin who had social anxiety and would allow anyone with a semblance of a backbone to step on me. Then, I entered middle school and it died down. But of course, misfortune had to rear its ugly head and throw off everything I had going. My mother faced a work injury and was left with multiple slipped disks and bilateral sciatica in her spine. As a traveling x-ray tech, her whole job was to sit for hours as she traveled and lift her machine in and out of her work vehicle. That was what she had gone to college for. It was her safe route, but as I already stated, our bad luck precedes us. We became homeless and were evicted from the home we had barely been in for a year and had to move in with my god mom. After a series of events, I was on my way to California with my now-pregnant sister to meet my dad's side of the family. It was a temporary escape from homelessness back in Texas. I was supposed to stay for the summer. Then just till my sister left. Then, when she left, I decided I wanted to stay. I spent three years building up my backbone, to stand up to my mom and have her finally leave me alone, and accept that I was happy where I was at. Now, I'm finally out of the woods. I don't know how my family does it, but we make ends meet every month. I've built up my confidence and am so detached from that anxious 11-year-old who trembled at the thought of confrontation, so much so that I'm class president at my school. I know what I want to do with my future and my plan. I'm well aware of and prepared for what I may face, knowing my family history, and I've accepted it. I'm excited to be a role model, as that will be my contribution. All my life, the only black healthcare professionals I saw were within my own family. And their careers were short-lived. I strive to be that black, female, physician that can instill confidence in a little girl who is in the position I was. I plan to donate to charities and provide life advice to those who may be searching for wisdom. I even plan to foster and adopt children into my home, in addition to having my own children. I'm going to contribute by being there for the people who have nobody.

As a black girl who grew up in the South, I always knew my life wouldn't be easy. Despite all the advancements that have been made to reach equality- we still aren't there. There'd always be a wrench thrown in my plans, a tree lying across the road, a bystander getting in my head telling me I can't achieve my goals. But there are ways to fortify what I plan on doing in life, and college is one of them. It provides a sort of security for me, I'll always have my experience and degree to bounce me right back up onto my feet and keep me going. Even before I knew what I wanted to do in life, college was a definite part of my plan. Higher education will be expensive for me, though. I'm setting out to break the barrier and enter the medical field as an Anaesthesiologist, of which only 5.2% are black women. I'll have to go through medical school and face unimaginable odds, and I'm trying to set out to ensure I won't have the thought of crippling debt making it that much harder to become what I wish to be in life. Money has always been something to stress me out as I was homeless as a child, and when I feel like money is becoming an issue I find it impossible to focus on anything else, no matter the level of importance. Even outside of not worrying during school, once I'm out of college not having to worry about funds is important as well. Depending on whether or not I want to be an academic or private practice means everything in the long run, and each will come with its own expenses and stresses. Scholarships like these make it possible for me to keep a level head when it comes to my education and life. Applying for scholarships is extremely nerve-wracking, and sometimes I wonder why I even bother to input the effort. There's an insane amount of people applying to this very scholarship, the chances of me winning are slim to none. But, I'm being judged on my dedication and purpose. This isn't a raffle. It's me putting my best foot forward and hoping- praying- for the best and getting back up to try again if I don't win. I'm dead set on my future and I've figured out how to get there, and I will, no matter what.

Finances have always been a large worry for me. I grew up in a single-parent household for the majority of my life, and my mother was still going through medical school so things were always tight around my home, between her, me, and my two siblings. I skipped out on extracurriculars till high school and missed out on opportunities that could've had me on the path to success if I'd started them far sooner. Even now, whilst in a way better position, I worry. I miss out on activities and events at school being held by organizations I'm a part of, just in case that money is needed for something later on. Due to this, I carry extreme anxiety regarding monetary issues and have chosen to come up with many plans to fall back on in case of any sort of issue in college, because if my hardships have taught me anything it's that I should always have a financial reassurance to keep me afloat. I refuse to allow my financial anxiety to hold me back, so I still plan to attend medical school despite the price because I know it'll pay better. Throughout college, however, I cannot rely upon my family to pay my way and I'm well aware that I'll have to work. Even though I'm still in high school, I've taken steps to become CMA certified and will become CNA certified over the summer so I'll have multiple avenues of work I can take on and I'll be familiar with the material I'll be learning. Scholarships are a must for me because back-breaking debt will set me back significantly. I'm pursuing many at the moment, setting aside time to apply to whatever I can in hopes that my life will become easier. I plan to accumulate savings as soon as possible and placing them into a secure account that will not be accessed unless it's absolutely necessary, though I hope it never gets to that point. I never wish to be in a position of financial hardship like how I've experienced, much less in such a position once I build a family. I want better for the people I bring into this world, and I will be prepared and pass down all my knowledge on the topic of being financially secure to them in order to break a generational curse on my family. What I plan to do may be unachievable or impossible, but there's no way of knowing unless I put my best foot forward and place my all into my goal.

An amazing book is 'Beloved'. It's small and old, but insanely impactful. I'm currently reading it in a class, and the depth of it is captivating. The rhetoric used leaves many things open for discussion, you could write two completely different essays just based on the implications of rhetoric and the actual events which occur in the tale. It's insightful and looks into the life of the enslaved people who were just newly freed. Upon opening it up and reading the first chapter, a common thought is 'baby exorcist' but it's anything but. It looks into religion, desperation, love, hatred, and takes you through a myriad of emotions and truly places you into the shoes of its characters. For example, Sethe has memory loss and the book bounces between the present, and the past, and mirrors the feelings of the slowly connecting thoughts of someone with a condition like hers. There is no summarizing this book. Every reader will have a unique experience and connections, in such a way that it's nearly jarring how you may have missed a connection that seems so suddenly obvious. That's especially due to the rhetoric used. This book was hand-crafted to have something new for you to notice each time you come back to it and take the reader as long as possible to read. Beloved teaches you how to navigate complicated books, details complicated emotions and relationships, and is generally all-around complex. But it's the good sort of complex, one that will keep you yearning and wishing for more. It's a book I could read for years and it checks every last one of my boxes. Beloved is a unique experience, one all should enjoy at least once and if there were nothing else I could read, I'd be more than content with this as my only option.

I've experienced many things to drive me, but the biggest thing is my perseverance and potential. Life has thrown obstacles at me that appear to be as big as mountains, but I've overcome every one. From the womb, I wasn't supposed to survive. I was born with a heart defect a month early due to my wrapping my umbilical cord around my neck. My mother was in medical school at the time, with a young child, and little to no support, but I made it through. I was stuck speaking to the kids younger than me and ostracized by the ones my age because of my personality and appearance once I reached elementary school. This drove me into depression by the time I was a seventh grader, only spurred on by the fact we were homeless. From sixth grade to eighth grade I'd moved house five times and schools three times. I'd been driven into homeschool in my seventh grade because the bullying was so bad and only left it because I moved to live with my dad in California. But even through that, I got back up and made it through. My mom has made numerous threats to drag me back to Texas with her, no matter how badly I didn't wish to go, but I still stayed. My sister has pulled my nephews in and out of my life numerous times, not caring how badly it would hurt them or our family and refers to me as a traitor, but even through that I haven't let it pull me down. I'm stressed daily because of high school, and feel second best to those around me but I still put on my brave face and go through the days as routine. The one thing that's been consistent through all these things is me getting back up, refocusing, and moving on and I am so unbelievably thankful for that. It makes me feel like an armored tank moving through a battlefield being pelted by arrows, maybe stopping for a few moments but in the end, I keep going either way, only changing my course slightly to fit my predicament. I am strong and worthy, and I know I will go very far in life. I will harness everything I've been through and use it to spur myself on further because I know I am capable of many things and I will not let it go to waste. I am dead set on my goals and I know they are achievable I will not stop for anything, because I know I can do whatever I set my mind to as long as I keep my eyes on the prize.

My depression was all due to the circumstances of my life. I was the weird kid who was homeless and friendless. I never spoke in class for fear of bullying and was even driven into homeschooling because of it. I have vivid memories of me begging my mother to figure out a homeschool for me, while she was still trying to figure out everything else in life. Homeschooling was the worst possible choice for me though. Shortly after, we'd become further isolated by ending up in a homeless shelter, just me and my mom. Not even my siblings came with us because they had someone to be with. That complete era of my life is essentially blocked out, my mind refusing to allow me to remember that time. I'd always been a good student, but then everything about my education plummeted and not a soul truly noticed what was happening to me. That's a hole I never wish to be in again, especially because I was so young at the time and it's formed who I am today. I'd had my experiences doubted once I moved away from that situation, and it put everything into perspective for me. I need to care for myself, take steps for myself, and prepare myself for everything that may step in my way to make my life harder. Obstacle after obstacle has been thrown at me but I've overcome every last one and I'm proud of myself for it. Everything that is within reach to prepare me for whatever hits me next, I go for. I keep my grades the highest they can be and am a 'straight-laced' student. I've always had a natural gift for education and I harness that the best I can. I turn in all my assignments, manage my time between work and pleasure, get straight A's, and am never late to the fault of my self because I feel like this will all get me ahead in life and pave my path to be the smoothest it can be. I refuse to be put in that position again, where I felt like no one cared for me and I was helpless, even more so when it comes to my future family. It's a state of mind and struggles I wish on nobody. My future is bright because of what I've done to make it so, and I will not stop fighting and paving the path ahead of me until it is unrecognizable. My experiences have changed me in ways nobody will ever know, and given me insight far beyond my years. Whilst this time was horrible, I'm grateful for the drive it's given me.

Co-dependency is a flaw of mine that I recognize and has put me in numerous situations that I'll look back on presently and realize that I only made my life harder. My dependent ways have caused me to be a people-pleaser, I'd rather put myself in a position that would cause me hardship in some sort of way than fall out with the people I felt blessed to be around. I'd gone through a breakup and drifted away from a friend before I could realize it, which put me through so much hurt. It was to the degree of me ghosting anyone I had left for two weeks, in that time my mindset had completely changed. I'd realized that I was too reliant and sure that these people would stay with me. They were placed into my life as a harsh lesson I'd never wish to experience again. My friends are completely different people now, ones that neither of those who left my life liked and since they didn't like them, neither did I. I think completely for myself and to myself, no longer immediately going to my friends about a situation and, instead, mulling it over independently. I don't jump to reply to people, instead regularly taking time for myself. My chosen friends are people who completely understand why I don't reply to them or when I prioritize myself. I'm still the same caring person I was, just more secure and comfortable being on my own. My friends still receive my support and care, and I still regularly help them. I still form bonds fast with people as well, but I'm pickier about who I'll let myself bond to. I've become aware of my nature and learned how to handle it in a way that won't harm or overwhelm anyone, whether it be myself or the person I've bonded with. I noticed how I'd even switch my mannerisms to align with a person, given who I'm around at any given moment, which stems from the bullying I'd experienced whilst I was younger. I'm even learning myself. Realizing who I am has opened its own metaphorical can of worms and placed me face to face with more things I must work through. My journey is far from over, but one thing I'll always repeat and tell myself to keep me going is that there is no shame in being selfish. I need to prioritize myself, I'm the only one to walk my path and wear my shoes.