I am Emily Evans, a nineteen-year-old freshman in college. In the fall of 2024, I attended Coastal Carolina University, but after a lot of contemplation and tough choices, I decided that the best thing to do for me was move back in with my parents and attend school at Carroll Community College. This change would provide me with somewhat of a release from the financial burden of attending Coastal Carolina University along with the release of the burden I felt from being so far from home. I have struggled with anxiety for as long as I can remember, and moving away from home increased it significantly. I have met with counselors about this and worked through a lot over the years. Since moving back, I have worked on myself and gotten my mental health struggles under control, which I would not have been able to do without my support system of my family, friends, counselors, professors, coaches, and more. I have noticed that being back home, I have found so much thankfulness that I did not really think about before, and I am happier every day to be engaged in my community. As mentioned, choosing to attend community college has relieved some amount of financial stress from me and my family, but we still work hard to keep up with our finances. My parents have helped me so much, and I am infinitely grateful for that, and I hope to be able to repay them one day. I have a goal to someday be able to buy my parents some sort of retirement house, and provide for them for some time, like they have for me my entire life. I know that some may say that this is an outrageous goal, but I know that with the help from my community, including bold.org and its investors who donate to the scholarships, it will be something I can work very hard towards, and achieve. This scholarship would mean so much to me because it can allow me and my family to focus on taking care of and supporting each other, rather than solely focusing on financing my education. With the help of this scholarship, I would be able to achieve my dreams of financial freedom, and pursue my other dream, of empowering other women to lift each other up and work their way to their dreams, not letting anyone else’s idea’s stop them. Thank you very much.

The song that relates most to my life in this past year from the 1989 (Taylor’s Version) album is “Shake It Off.” This song may be considered basic or “cringey,” but it actually has a meaningful connection to my life and my values. The messages in this song have had a great impact on my self-esteem and my self-image. As many people know, high school is a time of self-discovery and a lot of change. In the past year I have faced a lot of rude comments from other highschoolers, and it really hurt my self-esteem. The remarks, whispers, and overly dramatic laughing I would hear when I walked in the hallways started to get to me. I felt like it was my fault that people thought these things about me. If they thought I was weird, I probably was and if they said the things I was doing were weird, then I should probably stop so they wouldn’t keep talking about me. In the song “Shake It Off,” Swift sings, “I stay out too late, got nothin' in my brain That's what people say, mmm, mmm,” relating to people judging what she is doing and how she’s acting. This personally relates to me because I have dealt with other people who don’t actually know me, judging me and making fun of me. The main message of this song is to ignore what others are saying about you, and to live your best life no matter what the “haters” think. The lyrics that represent this message specifically, are,“And the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate/ Baby, I'm just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake/ I shake it off, I shake it off.” Swift uses the words, “shake it off,” to mean free oneself from the negativity of the hateful comments. This is advice I have also heard from my mother, reminding me that their comments do not reflect my value, only theirs. Overall, Swift’s song, “Shake It Off,” relates to my life in this year in several ways, but mainly in the way that Swift writes about shaking off hateful comments and being confident no matter what. Highschool challenges many people with self-esteem issues that can result from judgements and ridicule, and this song serves as a reminder to rise above the negativity and be your best self. Embracing her message to, “shake off,” the criticism and value personal happiness over the opinions of others has been a transformative experience. The experience has allowed me to become surer of myself and at peace with others along with myself. Just as Swift does in the song, this past year has taught me the importance of self-worth and the courage to be unapologetically oneself.

Ever since I was in elementary school myself, I have been very interested in teaching. My best friend and I would go to her house after school, where we had a whole set up of whiteboards, easels, coloring supplies, and we would even ask all of our teachers for any extra worksheets they had in their classrooms. With our very own D.I.Y. classroom, we would try our best to teach her brother, my sister, and other kids in the neighborhood who were a couple of years younger than us. We thought that it seemed so fun and we loved the idea of being able to help kids learn new things that we had learned at school. I have been imagining the cute decorations I could have and the spectacular organization systems I could have in my classroom since I was ten years old. But it wasn’t until my job at an after-school childcare center that I realized that my dream of being a teacher was so much deeper than just the way my classroom was set up; it was about making a difference in the world, one class at a time. I have had my job at ABC Care Inc. for over a year and a half, and although I am regularly faced with challenges, there has never been a challenge to my belief that teaching is what I am meant to do. The kids who come into the daycare center every day after school are a prime exhibit of how different teachers can impact the children’s attitudes not only about school but about themselves as well. An encouraging and supportive teacher can create confident, eager, and excited students. My goal is to be a teacher who makes children excited to come to school to learn and accomplish new things. Even as a childcare provider rather than an educator, each day I feel a sense of fulfillment providing the kids with comfort and a positive outlook in hopes to give them confidence, a strong self-esteem, and an understanding of what it means to be a kind friend to all. I have made sacrifices to accomplish my personal and educational goals in several different ways. The main way that I work towards both my personal and educational goals is by staying focused, staying on track, and always keeping my goals in mind. The sacrifices that come along with that is not always hanging out with friends if there's something due for school that needs my attention more and reminding myself to always be better. Missing out on social events can seem like a big deal in high school, but in comparison to my long-term goals, it is nowhere near as important. The constant reminder to be better is rooted in my religion and my family. They have always encouraged me to be kind to every person, and always give the benefit of the doubt. I have taken their advice and everyday push myself to be as nice as I hope we can all be to each other. My journey towards pursuing a career in teaching has been long and guided by my deep-rooted passion for making a positive difference in people’s day. My time working at an after-school childcare program has reinforced my commitment to this path and provided me with experience, problem-solving skills, and most of all, inspiration to pursue my calling to be a teacher. I am excited and eager to continue my journey by studying education in college.

Ever since I was in elementary school myself, I have been very interested in teaching. My best friend and I would go to her house after school, where we had a whole set up of whiteboards, easels, coloring supplies, and we would even ask all of our teachers for any extra worksheets they had in their classrooms. With our very own D.I.Y. classroom, we would try our best to teach her brother, my sister, and other kids in the neighborhood who were a couple of years younger than us. We thought that it seemed so fun and we loved the idea of being able to help kids learn new things that we had learned at school. I have been imagining the cute decorations I could have and the spectacular organization systems I could have in my classroom since I was ten years old. But it wasn’t until my job at an after-school childcare center that I realized that my dream of being a teacher was so much deeper than just the way my classroom was set up; it was about making a difference in the world, one class at a time. I have had my job at ABC Care Inc. for over a year and a half, and although I am regularly faced with challenges, there has never been a challenge to my belief that teaching is what I am meant to do. The kids who come into the daycare center every day after school are a prime exhibit of how different teachers can impact the children’s attitudes not only about school but about themselves as well. An encouraging and supportive teacher can create confident, eager, and excited students. My goal is to be a teacher who makes children excited to come to school to learn and accomplish new things. Even as a childcare provider rather than an educator, each day I feel a sense of fulfillment providing the kids with comfort and a positive outlook in hopes to give them confidence, a strong self-esteem, and an understanding of what it means to be a kind friend to all. My journey towards pursuing a career in teaching has been long and guided by my deep-rooted passion for making a positive difference in people’s day. My time working at an after-school childcare program has reinforced my commitment to this path and provided me with experience, problem-solving skills, and most of all, inspiration to pursue my calling to be a teacher. I am excited and eager to continue my journey by studying education in college.

Ever since I was in elementary school myself, I have been very interested in teaching. My best friend and I would go to her house after school, where we had a whole set up of whiteboards, easels, coloring supplies, and we would even ask all of our teachers for any extra worksheets they had in their classrooms. With our very own D.I.Y. classroom, we would try our best to teach her brother, my sister, and other kids in the neighborhood who were a couple of years younger than us. We thought that it seemed so fun and we loved the idea of being able to help kids learn new things that we had learned at school. I have been imagining the cute decorations I could have and the spectacular organization systems I could have in my classroom since I was ten years old. But it wasn’t until my job at an after-school childcare center that I realized that my dream of being a teacher was so much deeper than just the way my classroom was set up; it was about making a difference in the world, one class at a time. I have had my job at ABC Care Inc. for over a year and a half, and although I am regularly faced with challenges, there has never been a challenge to my belief that teaching is what I am meant to do. The kids who come into the daycare center every day after school are a prime exhibit of how different teachers can impact the children’s attitudes not only about school but about themselves as well. An encouraging and supportive teacher can create confident, eager, and excited students. My goal is to be a teacher who makes children excited to come to school to learn and accomplish new things. Even as a childcare provider rather than an educator, each day I feel a sense of fulfillment providing the kids with comfort and a positive outlook in hopes to give them confidence, a strong self-esteem, and an understanding of what it means to be a kind friend to all. My journey towards pursuing a career in teaching has been long and guided by my deep-rooted passion for making a positive difference in people’s day. My time working at an after-school childcare program has reinforced my commitment to this path and provided me with experience, problem-solving skills, and most of all, inspiration to pursue my calling to be a teacher. I am excited and eager to continue my journey by studying education in college.

Ever since I was in elementary school myself, I have been very interested in teaching. My best friend and I would go to her house after school, where we had a whole set up of whiteboards, easels, coloring supplies, and we would even ask all of our teachers for any extra worksheets they had in their classrooms. With our very own D.I.Y. classroom, we would try our best to teach her brother, my sister, and other kids in the neighborhood who were a couple of years younger than us. We thought that it seemed so fun and we loved the idea of being able to help kids learn new things that we had learned at school. I have been imagining the cute decorations I could have and the spectacular organization systems I could have in my classroom since I was ten years old. But it wasn’t until my job at an after-school childcare center that I realized that my dream of being a teacher was so much deeper than just the way my classroom was set up; it was about making a difference in the world, one class at a time. I have had my job at ABC Care Inc. for over a year and a half, and although I am regularly faced with challenges, there has never been a challenge to my belief that teaching is what I am meant to do. The kids who come into the daycare center every day after school are a prime exhibit of how different teachers can impact the children’s attitudes not only about school but about themselves as well. An encouraging and supportive teacher can create confident, eager, and excited students. My goal is to be a teacher who makes children excited to come to school to learn and accomplish new things. Even as a childcare provider rather than an educator, each day I feel a sense of fulfillment providing the kids with comfort and a positive outlook in hopes to give them confidence, a strong self-esteem, and an understanding of what it means to be a kind friend to all. My journey towards pursuing a career in teaching has been long and guided by my deep-rooted passion for making a positive difference in people’s day. My time working at an after-school childcare program has reinforced my commitment to this path and provided me with experience, problem-solving skills, and most of all, inspiration to pursue my calling to be a teacher. I am excited and eager to continue my journey by studying education in college.