In the future I want to have a small farm with lots of land, animals, and plants with a beautiful farmhouse, I also want to have my pilot's license and have the skill to butcher animals.

I have been volunteering at Family Haven in their nursery for the past year. I have always loved children so when I heard about it I jumped at the thought of it. However, after my initial excitement, I had some doubts. With my soccer schedule, I traveled about three hours Monday through Thursday and had games on the weekend. With school and soccer, I was packed. My only occasional free day was Friday which I used to catch up on school work and finally hang out with friends. I decided to volunteer anyway giving up my free day. Many times I often dread the thought of having yet another action-filled day but every time I finish helping I am filled with so much happiness. I have witnessed so many smiles and laughs from kids that it doesn't matter how tired I am. Even when kids have a hard day and my time is filled with screams and fights, I still leave feeling better than before. There was one day that changed how I felt about volunteering. It was my second time volunteering and it was much different than the first. On the first day, hardly any kids were there and so I helped cut out butterflies for their activities. However today was different, I was the only volunteer there. There were only two kids which hardly ever happens, most of the time there's a lot more. The house parents were working on countless paperwork and cleaning and they couldn't get this shy little girl to even talk. I noticed her playing with a little birthday cake so I started asking her questions about her cake. She finally replied saying that her cake was "pink flavored". We then proceeded to eat our lovely cake. I played with her the whole three hours I was there. By the end of the day, she was calling me with a fake phone and when she had to leave she told me to call her, with the biggest smile on her face. Ever since this day, I look at volunteering and serving others differently. I feel as though the children I help serve me more than I am serving them. It is truly a blessing to see a child open up to you and show you their beautiful smile and little personality. I am so grateful to volunteer and I look forward to continuing.

One of the worst soccer moments in my life was when I was cut from my team two years ago, which I have been on since I was eight. Before this event ultimately took place I had slowly been losing my passion and drive for the sport I love most. Since I was a little girl my life had always been about soccer, but it didn't give me the same happiness it used to. I fell into a pattern of complacency, and I stopped striving. My passion was gone. In the spring season before being cut, my leg started to cause me pain. I thought it was only shin splints and would get better. I played on it for over two months and it got much worse. While playing in the state cup I couldn't move well, I would even stay up all night because it ached. I finally went to my mom and we decided I should stop playing and figure out what was wrong. I was heartbroken to miss the rest of the tournament and when we won state I felt I didn't deserve it despite playing for my team in extreme pain. We figured out I had a stress reaction in my shin and it was on the verge of completely fracturing. This meant I was out for tryouts too. My mom was highly respected as a coach for my club but she received a better opportunity with another club. Many people were angry, resorting to rash actions and harsh words toward me and my mother. During tryouts, my coach told me not to worry, afterwards I was informed I had been cut. I was one of two center backs on my team and was cut for three forwards. I'll never know the real reason I was cut, but at the time the only emotion I felt was betrayal. Going into my most crucial year for recruiting, I had no team. My mom encouraged me to get better and work as hard as I could. I attended every training imaginable. I trained over Christmas and every holiday. After driving over an hour to another team's training, I was offered a spot. My first game with them was against my old team and we beat them 3-0. It was one of the best feelings in the world. Despite this win and my wonderful new team I still lacked confidence and some of my passion. This led to my best soccer moment. Going into my senior season I was a senior captain. I took this role seriously and strived to be the biggest leader I could be for my team. I played the best soccer of my entire life. It brought my passion back. It made playing soccer so much fun even though our team struggled at times. Even though I am a quiet person I would demand from my teammates on the field and would comfort those around me to play their best and keep their chins up. This confidence followed me into my club season and I was finally seen by college coaches. I am so excited to play soccer in South Dakota at Northern State this fall. I have learned how to be confident and be a leader in my own way. I've learned how hard work pays off and that sometimes things don't always go your way. I will use this scholarship to help me grow and work even harder so I can teach those around me to work hard and be confident in their own way.

Ever since I was little I always knew I wanted to be a teacher. I have always had a deep love for children. When I was eleven I held a mini preschool for the five-year-olds in my culdesac. Just last year I worked planning summer camps at a preschool. I worked in the athletics portion and I loved to play with the kids. It was so special to see a quiet, reserved child slowly open up to me. By the end of the camp, they would run up to me with excitement and I could truly see their unique personality shining in the best way. When I'm out in public I tend to point out every baby or child that I see to whoever I'm with. I believe that every child has their own beautiful personality and we can learn so much from them. Children bring happiness into my life and that is why I want to double major in Special and Elementary Education. When picking a college I had the opportunity to receive offers to play soccer at different schools. At the end of my recruiting process, I was choosing between two different schools. I decided that comparing academics was one of the best ways to choose the right school. The school I chose has a wonderful program and is closely partnered with the school for the blind and visually impaired which is built on their campus. One of my professors even spoke to me about learning braille and how important the special education field is. Because of their program if I work hard I could even double major in just four years. When I teach I want to show each child how special they are. I want to bring out their passions and personalities. Making children excited to learn and to reach out toward their passions is my biggest goal. Working with gifted children is no different in some aspects. They are called gifted children not because they are different but simply because they are gifted and special. They see the world in amazing new ways. I want to understand the way they think and do things. Often I have marveled at those special children like one at my school who can memorize every Disney movie and the year it came out. Gifted children are resilient and amazing, and as a teacher, I want to draw out what they love and what makes them special so they can bless the world with it. I want to teach them how to live life but also in their own special way.

I've never been good at saving. Looking at college I get overwhelmed by the thought of paying for everything. There is no help from my parents or friends, and working is hard since I'm going to play soccer. Despite these challenges, I have only come to appreciate money and smart finances even more. Watching my friends budget their money I've come to learn the importance of saving. As my family has struggled with finances and paying for my sports I've had the opportunity of helping pay my share. Paying for my gas so I can commute to my practices has cost a lot, and with no time to work until the weekend, I was unable to keep up. My savings slowly diminished until there was hardly anything left. Without that savings, I would not have been able to pay for my gas and get to practice. However, those savings are now gone and I'm continuously struggling to keep up. Having a steady income and making sure you save for your future goals is important. In my financial literacy class, we discussed the importance of saving money for future goals as well as saving money for emergencies or future expenses. When we talk about expenses it's important to know these things so we can be prepared for our future. The earlier you start the better and more prepared you will be. Just taking a financial literacy class your senior year is not enough education. Parents need to help their kids start saving money or at least practicing it on a small scale. And we should even have mandatory finance classes in middle school. Even just learning about saving and investing is not enough. Students need to learn how to handle taxes and W2 forms properly. These documents are both important and confusing, yet none of us are taught how to fill out and complete them accurately. Many people don't have money to get help with their taxes and I've seen my parents struggle and spend hours filling them out. Documents like tax returns can also be confusing to read. As I've applied for government help with college my dad and I have found out how hard it can be. When we learn to read and fill out these documents correctly we can eliminate errors and waste little time. It is important to be educated about our finances so we can live a more full and unlimited life. By having classes in middle school as well as high school classes we can better instill these ideas into young teenagers. Teaching younger teens how to fill out important documents such as taxes is also an important concept to help the youth have a successful future.

I've never truly understood what it felt like to want to take my own life. I do know what it's like to hate myself. I have been so depressed that I wasn't able to fake a smile and it scared my parents. In my life, I have experienced hardships that have caused me to hate my body, and be more depressed than I could have imagined. Despite my struggles, I didn't understand the want to take my life. I had never felt that before, and I never understood the true weight behind suicide until I found out that the people closest to me felt that way. When I was eleven I remember seeing the scars on my sister's arms and legs. She claimed they were scratches from the cat. I agreed with her but deep down I knew they were not from any cat. I suppose it was because I was a naive eleven-year-old at the time, but I still didn't understand what was going on. I always trusted my older sister. We were partners in crime and did everything together. I looked up to her and told her everything so why would she hide anything from me? It wasn't until later that I found out my instincts were right, those scars were not from a cat. I learned that there were times she didn't know if she would make it through the night. This absolutely terrified me. How could someone I love so much and think so highly about believe they were useless? I always felt sad when hearing about suicide stories, and I had even more fear when thinking about my sister. Suicide was always something I never really understood and maybe never will but I soon found out how truly terrifying it can be. About four months after dating my boyfriend I found out something that shook me to my core. Before he started dating me one day he was going to end it all. He told me how and why the only reason he is still here today is because of one of God's tender mercies. The thought of someone you love going through that pain is hard and confusing. No one ever knew his pain and he was alone. Even though I never went through his experience I know even better than him how amazing and worthy he is. I believe that everyone should be able to know their true worth. I may never understand those feelings but I know that every life is precious and has amazing potential. No one deserves to feel they are worthless because it simply is not true. I know that those suicidal thoughts can be very powerful because I have seen my loved ones go through it. But I want to help everyone see their light. The thought that my light in this world was almost distinguished and that he thinks he is not bright enough scares me. That is why I want to help with suicide prevention because every life is someone's light. Every life and every person has a worth and potential even greater than they could comprehend.

Throughout my life, I have always been taught to work hard and treat others with respect. One area that has helped me learn and grow has been my soccer experience. I have played soccer ever since I can remember. My mom has a passion for coaching and has always supported and encouraged me. I have always been more of a shy and introverted person. My coach always told me I needed to be louder and a different person on the field. My confidence and motivation slowly diminished as I struggled to change my personality on the field. Shortly after my confidence reached an all-time low I gained an injury that put me out. At the peak of my struggle, and unable to play my coach cut me from the team with political promises to other girls. This crushed me, and my confidence in my abilities. After I was fully healed from my injury I worked hard every day. Eventually, I started practicing with a new team and they extended an invitation for me to join them. My first game with my new team was against my old team, we even beat them which was an amazing feeling. Despite this large victory for me and my hard work I still did not have much confidence in myself or my abilities. It would take me a long time to gain my confidence back. A year after I was cut from my old team I finally realized that I can be a leader in my own way, on and off the field. I had the opportunity to be a senior captain for my High School team. Being one of the oldest I had a lot of girls that looked up to me. Despite my low confidence in past years, I still played varsity and many girls admired my abilities. This year I talked to my coaches about the girl's interests and always tried to include others. My confidence slowly returned and even just coming out of preseason I was playing better than ever before. I learned that you can be a leader without being a loud extrovert. There were times I did yell at my teammates, but I used my knowledge to help guide them in what to do better. Being a leader helped me create better bonds with my teammates, play better, and be happier. I believe that you don't have to fit a certain mold to be a leader. I have learned that using my best qualities, of hard work and kindness has brought me happiness and confidence. Despite my challenges, I have been able to find the good in myself and become a better person.

One of the hardest challenges in my life was when I was in a serious boating accident during my freshman year of High school. A tube rope was wrapped around my leg and yanked me from the boat. Miraculously the rope released my leg and I was wearing my lifejacket. Despite the miracles that took place that day, my life was still changed. For a long time, I could only see the negative effects of my accident but now I can see how it has changed me for the better. After my accident, I was not able to walk for a month. The rope burns on my leg would stick to the bandages and sting to the touch. I would get severe migraines because my body was trying to heal. The hardest part was trying to fake being fine. I am a very active person and play soccer every day. Being stuck in severe pain and not being able to play was very difficult. My depression got to the point where I could not even fake a smile. For a long time, I could only focus on how unfair this accident was. Even to this day, I have nerve damage in my calf. But later on, I realized the positive effect that even such a horrible accident could have. Shortly after I was coming back from my accident I realized that I was behind in soccer, and my motivation was low. I often thought of how unfair my accident was. Finally, I found the courage to continue forward, I started doing personal training to get back on track. Because of my accident, I created a work ethic greater than anyone on my team. Not only did I work harder physically but spiritually and mentally I finally found myself. Religion has always been a big part of my life. However, before my accident, I started going through the motions. I went to church with my family but wasn't fully there. I read scriptures but didn't take in what was being said. After my accident, I found a spiritual talk about the unfairness we experience. Because of my accident and this talk, I was able to come closer to my Savior and trust God to the fullest. My progress physically and spiritually helped me become a better person. Despite the hardships and struggles I faced, I was able to be there for friends and even strangers around me. I have a newfound mental strength and I know my worth more fully. Because of this knowledge, I can understand those struggling around me. I can feel the needs of strangers, friends, and family around me. I often have family and friends that lean on me and come to me when they are struggling. My accident was a blessing in disguise, and I can be stronger because of it.

If I could have everyone in the world read one book it would be Unwind by Neal Shusterman. I would pick this book because it s one of my favorites. Unwind is a book that is fascinating and captures the interest of people of almost all ages. Not only is it impossible to put down this book but it also provides real-world questions and thinking. This book helps us learn about the real good in the world and how people can get caught up in an agenda. Unwind is a very important book to read. Many students often have trouble finding a book they are interested in. Unwind is packed full of action and impossible to put down. The reader is constantly drawn in and wondering what will happen next. This makes it easy for everyone to read, even if they struggle with finding books. It not only is an action-filled book but Unwind also creates deep-level thinking. Unwind focuses on a dystopian world that was a result of people's search for their utopia. The book addresses hard real-life situations, and how personal opinions at their extreme can lead to war and destruction. It also makes you think of your identity and consciousness but doesn't give you a specific answer. It lets you think for yourself and come up with your solutions. Reading books is important to understand ourselves and the world around us. It can allow us to escape from reality and form wonderful new worlds. Reading encourages everyone to be more creative and imaginative. That is why I would recommend Unwind. This book encourages everyone's imagination and helps us to understand ourselves.

I have always loved little children. I can see the light and goodness that they bring into the world. I know that the word education means to bring out, and I want to someday be the person to bring out the best in every child. Every child has unique features, characteristics, and interests. Molding experiences and leaning into those interests help children love to learn. When teachers create stimulating activities, it creates excitement and energy in the classroom. In turn, this will help the children be more engaged and have a desire to learn. I still remember how my fourth-grade teacher taught us because she was always able to make us enjoy learning. I remember the activities she did, and how excited she got me! (Even if it was to write an essay.) I want to be able to inspire the youth by bringing out the goodness in them, the way my teachers were able to do for me.