The attached file is an original story called "Band Camp." It is written as if it were an anecdote.

1. Four reasons why I deserve this scholarship. 1. I'm awesome. 2. I'm cute. 3. It'll get my crush to finally notice me. 4. Please my parents are going to disown me and take away my Among Us account if I don't get this scholarship. 2. My academic goal is to finally learn if 2 + 2 actually equals fish. My career goal is to fight the final boss at Burger King and take over as The Burger Queen. 3. When I was at Christian Band Camp, I forgot to bring an instrument. Luckily, as we headed to the chapel to practice I grabbed two spoons from the cafeteria to play. However, the band instructor said, "Emily! You can't play the spoons!" I looked them dead in the eye and said, "Where in the bible does it say I can't play the spoons?" My exorcism was later that day.

Memento Mori. Latin for "Remember Death," or "Remember, you will die." This is the phrase I used for a 3D Typography piece I made in my senior year of high school. However, it remains as one of my favorite pieces of art that I've ever created. It is one of my favorite pieces in my portfolio, not just because I think it looks the best, but because of why I was inspired to make it. I was inspired by a Youtube channel called "Unus Annus," created by youtubers Markiplier (Mark Fischbach) and CrankGamePlays (Ethan Nestor). The channel was made in November of 2019, and was deleted in November of 2020. However, it wasn't a glitch or other mishap that caused it's deletion. The channel's deletion was the whole purpose of the channel. The channel was meant to last for only one year, 365 days exactly. That is why the channel was called "Unus Annus," as that is Latin for "One Year." During the channel's duration they would consistently say the phrase "Memento Mori" to remind the viewers of the channel's inevitable deletion, as nothing lasts forever. That phrase can be taken in two different ways. It could be taken as something negative. It could be taken as "I'm going to die. This is terrible. I don't want to die." Or, and this is what I believe the message they tried to send was, it could be taken as something positive. It could be taken as, "We don't have much time left, so let's enjoy what time we do have. Let's make every moment that we have left mean something." The positive interpretation of the phrase "Memento Mori" is one that I want to apply into everything that I do, so that is why I picked that phrase to use for my piece. I also included elements of the channel's theme and brand into my piece as well. All of the images and elements I used are black and white, as those were the channel's main colors. As the channel's theme was death, I made each letter have the texture of a different image involved with death. The "M's" and the "I" have the textures of skulls and bones, the "E's" are black and white roses, the "N" and the "T" are black and white coffin cloths, the "R" is raven feathers, and the "O's" are black and white spirals. The spirals do not have to do with death, but they were also a huge part of Unus Annus' brand. I added a black scythe and a white scythe crossing each other in the background as scythes also have to do with death and are associated with the Grim Reaper. I then used a black texture for the background to solidify the theme of the piece. I had never heard of the phrase "Memento Mori" until Unus Annus, nor had I had a more positive view of "remembering death" until this channel's existence. But I am glad that I watched it when it was still around, as it inspired me to live my life to its fullest every single day, as well as inspired many art pieces in my portfolio, such as this one.

Memento Mori. Latin for "Remember Death," or "Remember, you will die." This is the phrase I used for a 3D Typography piece I made in my senior year of high school. However, it remains as one of my favorite pieces of art that I've ever created. I was inspired by a Youtube channel called "Unus Annus," created by youtubers Markiplier (Mark Fischbach) and CrankGamePlays (Ethan Nestor). The channel was made in November of 2019, and was deleted in November of 2020. However, it wasn't a glitch or other mishap that caused it's deletion. The channel's deletion was the whole purpose of the channel. The channel was meant to last for only one year, 365 days exactly. That is why the channel was called "Unus Annus," as that is Latin for "One Year." During the channel's duration they would consistently say the phrase "Memento Mori" to remind the viewers of the channel's inevitable deletion, as nothing lasts forever. That phrase can be taken in two different ways. It could be taken as something negative. It could be taken as "I'm going to die. This is terrible. I don't want to die." Or, and this is what I believe the message they tried to send was, it could be taken as something positive. It could be taken as, "We don't have much time left, so let's enjoy what time we do have. Let's make every moment that we have left mean something." The positive interpretation of the phrase "Memento Mori" is one that I want to apply into everything that I do, so that is why I picked that phrase to use for my piece. I also included elements of the channel's theme and brand into my piece as well. All of the images and elements I used are black and white, as those were the channel's main colors. As the channel's theme was death, I made each letter have the texture of a different image involved with death. The "M's" and the "I" have the textures of skulls and bones, the "E's" are black and white roses, the "N" and the "T" are black and white coffin cloths, the "R" is raven feathers, and the "O's" are black and white spirals. The spirals do not have to do with death, but they were also a huge part of Unus Annus' brand. I added a black scythe and a white scythe crossing each other in the background as scythes also have to do with death and are associated with the Grim Reaper. I then used a black texture for the background to solidify the theme of the piece. I had never heard of the phrase "Memento Mori" until Unus Annus, nor had I had a more positive view of "remembering death" until this channel's existence. But I am glad that I watched it when it was still around, as it inspired me to live my life to its fullest every single day, as well as inspired many art pieces I have made, such as this one.

While I have volunteered at many organizations over the past half-decade, the organization I have served the most is the Nutley Public Library, which is the library in my home town. I volunteered there for 4 summers from 2017 to 2020, and throughout all these years I completed a total of 162 service hours with them. I started volunteering there in the summer of 2017 to help with their yearly Summer Reading Program. I was tasked as a Prize Table Distributor, where I would distribute prizes such as toys, stickers, pens, pop sockets, and so on to the kids that read a certain number of books for that week. I kept this position in the summers of 2018 and 2019 as well. From this experience, I found that programs such as these are a huge factor in why kids are still interested in reading to this day. While at first they most likely were reading solely to get a prize from me and the other distributors, it encouraged them to keep reading, and possibly led to them reading outside of the duration of the program. In 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we were unable to volunteer at the library in person, so I was unable to continue my role as Prize Table Distributor in my senior year of high school. However, the library offered multiple opportunities to volunteer virtually. The two options that I picked were "How-To Video Creator" and "Media Reviewer." Throughout the summer of 2020 I completed 2 "How-To" videos. One was on how to wear a mask, and the other was on how to format an essay in MLA format. I had also completed a total of 4 Media Reviews. I reviewed the album "Coffee and Ramen" by Go! Child, the album "Paid in Exposure" by Nathan Sharp, the video game "Team Sonic Racing" from Sega, and the album "Midnight" by Set It Off. All of these reviews and videos were posted on the library's official website in the teen's section. This experience allowed me to try creating something I had never done before. I had made videos before, but I have not made many educational videos, so this allowed me to experience what it is like to be a teacher in a way. I had also never written a thorough review of a piece of media before, so this allowed me to look at the media I enjoy and think about it more critically. My overall experience with volunteering at the Nutley Public Library has been delightful, insightful, and a great way for me to pass the time over the summer in a beneficial way, both for me, and for the community.

The song that most inspires me is "Swan Song" by Set It Off. This song has inspired many creative ideas in my head, and the beat of the song makes me want to constantly move and do something.

Meme 1: Made this based on a true story. Meme 2: Virtual learning was a low point in my life. Meme 3: Ian, the hero we all need.

One thing that I love about myself is that I am an alto. I have always been placed in the alto voice part when it came to performing for choir and for theatrical performances. Despite altos usually not being in the spotlight like sopranos, I love having this lower voice range. One reasons is because it allows me to perform songs initially performed by men without having to change the key or octave of the song. I can usually sing the original song in the original key and octave almost perfectly, such as "You'll Be Back," from Hamilton, which I actually did a cover of and posted on Youtube. Another reason why I love being an alto is because, while sopranos get the melody in a piece, altos get the harmony which, and sometimes the harmony sounds better than the melody in my opinion. We add a depth and deepness to the song that wouldn't be there otherwise. One more reason why I love being an alto is because it allows me to sometimes sing the tenor part in a piece when there are not enough guys. On multiple occasions I have been asked to sing the tenor part because the music instructor knew that I could handle the deeper notes, and oddly enough the tenor part in those songs was more comfortable to sing than the alto part.

My mom, as well as 43% of all Americans who attended college, are in student debt. Some of, if not all, of that 43% are unable to pay it back due to low income or poverty, which is why they took out a loan in the first place, and which is unfortunately the case for my mom. This leads to interest accumulating on what they owe since they did not pay it back in time. This means they now owe even more money than they did before. This means that they are still unable to pay their loans back in time, leading to interest accumulating on what they owe, and the cycle continues. People who owe student debt are more or less trapped in a never ending cycle of debt by the loaner. If having student debt is a financial trap, which it is, then financial freedom is the exact opposite: not having student debt. Financial freedom is not being punished for seeking higher education by having to pay back student loans for years after you had already graduated. Financial freedom is not being punished for having low income or being in poverty and practically being forced to take out a student loan to afford it, which you will not be able to pay back because you are still in poverty. While the government and other organizations that offer these student loans are not intentionally "punishing" someone in either of these instances, it definitely seems like they are exploiting people that are in poverty and people who are desperate for higher education, as it has been drilled into our heads that a college education is required to get anywhere in life. While it is not certain at the moment whether or not I will gain financial freedom, I have tried to take precautions in order to be financially free. The biggest precaution I take is that I absolutely refuse to take out student loans. While they are tempting to take out since, once again, many people feel pressured to get a higher education by any means necessary, I am not certain that I would be able to pay them back, as I myself live in a low income household. In order to prevent myself from being in a situation where I would have to take out a loan, I try to come up with other ways to earn the funding of my education. One way is by applying for scholarships, such as this one. While it is not certain that I will win any of the scholarships I apply for, especially if the competition is tight, it is a chance to earn money for my education that I do not need to pay back for years after I graduate. Another way I am trying to be financially free and avoid student loans is through my job. The money I earn through my job can be saved to be used to help fund college, reducing the need or temptation to get a student loan. I understand that not everyone is able to apply for a job, or even apply for scholarships. This is just how I personally try to achieve financial freedom for my future.

I have come across many different pieces of art, all of which vary in style, form, mood, expression, what is being depicted, and so on. I feel as though I can not pick one singular piece of art that is my favorite. However, there is one genre or type of art that I am always drawn to. My favorite type of art is fan art, which is art created by fans of a piece of media, usually fiction, and is derived from the characters, setting, or other aspects of the media. Fan art is usually made to show the artists' appreciation and love for the media they are making art of. Fan art can sometimes be the first pieces of art someone makes, which leads them down the path to become an artist, such as myself. I believe that anyone can make fan art, and everyone that makes it have different ideas they want to share, different interpretations of the media they want to explore, and different styles and formats to express those ideas and interpretations. I have seen many pieces of fan art by many different artists for many pieces of media I enjoy. These include, but are not limited to: Gravity Falls, Steven Universe, Once Upon A Time, Hazbin Hotel, Helluva Boss, The Owl House, Total Drama, various youtubers and other online content creators, and much more. Every piece of fan art I have seen made for any of these are all different in expression, style, interpretation, format, and so on, yet they all depict the same characters/setting for that one piece of media. Fan art is my favorite type of art because you never know what you are going to get. Anything is possible.

Typography, photo editing, illustration, character design, graphic design, and so on, are all different types of art that I have dabbled in quite a bit. However, out of all of these, I see my artistic vision as more focused on illustration, specifically digital illustration, more than the others. I have been heavily interested in drawing and illustration since I was 13 years old. I was initially inspired by other artists online making fan art of pieces of media I enjoy. Their art looked amazing, and I wanted to try it myself. To say my first pieces of art were not that great would be an understatement. But that encouraged me to keep practicing and improve my artistic abilities. I took digital art and graphic design classes throughout my entire high school career, and not only did they expose me to multiple forms of art, they allowed me to grow my skills as an illustrator. I decided to major in Art Design and Interactive Multimedia at Seton Hall University to continue to improve my skills in the hopes that I will one day be a recognized artist. I do not exactly plan to be "internet famous" with my art, or be regarded as the next Picasso, but I hope to be able to contribute to the world with my art in some way.

A combination of starting school later in the day and having the school days be shorter in length. While it is recommended that adults get at least 8 hours of sleep a night, it has been proven that children and teenagers need even more than 8 hours a night. It has also been scientifically proven that learning is most effective from 10 am to 2 pm, and 4 pm to 10 pm. Despite this information, high school hours typically start around 8 am, sometimes even earlier for kids who take zero period classes or clubs that meet in the early morning. This means that for the first couple of hours of school, students are not taking in as much information as they would if they were fully awake, and as a result they are not benefitting as much from their education. Starting school later than 8 am will allow more time for children and teenagers to wake up before school starts, and they will be in the best mental space for learning at the very start. I also believe that school hours should be shorter in length. Instead of staying in school for 7+ hours a day, I believe it should be shortened to about 4 hours, 5 hours at most. Being sent to school for 7+ hours a day, plus extracurriculars and clubs during after school hours, plus hours of homework each night, results in very little free time for children and teens to relax. Shortening the amount of hours spent in school will allow other activities (extracurriculars and homework) to end earlier as well, allowing for more breathing room and free time for students to relax and destress. My suggestion for the ideal time period of the average school day is 10 am to 2 pm, which is the time period where learning is most effective.

One change that I want to see in my community, my country, and the world, is acceptance of the lgbtq+ community. I myself do not identify as lgbtq+, but I know plenty of people that do, and I am very aware of the discrimination, harassment, and homophobia/transphobia that they face. I want this to be a change in my community because my community, which in this case is my town, is more conservative than other communities in the area. While not all conservative leaning people are against lgbtq+ people, statistically they have been shown to be more discriminatory against them than more liberal leaning people. In my town there have been multiple blatant acts of homophobia, and I do not want to contribute to those actions. I want this to be a change in my country because, while I am aware of the huge amounts of progress my country has made for lgbtq+ rights, there are still many steps needed in order to make sure their rights stay secure and not constantly threatened. There are still politicians in my country that want to take their rights away, and who actively try to make discrimination against them an encouraged behavior rather than a punishable offense. I want this to be a change in the world as whole because, while there is still blatant homophobia in my town and country, discrimination against the lgbtq+ community is not solely an issue here. It is an issue all over the world, and debatably even worse than it is in my town and country. There are countries outside of my own where it is literally illegal to identify as anything other than cisgender and heterosexual, where it is perfectly fine to physically harm someone because they are lgbtq+, and where they are even killed solely because the government is against lgbtq+ people. It is quite startling how some places in the world are making more progress for the acceptance of the lgbtq community than others, even though we are all human and should all be working towards the same goals. I have tried to act locally, or as locally as I can, to try to make a difference. The biggest way that I have tried to increase the acceptance of the lgbtq+ community is through social media, as social media allows me to reach an audience that is in my community, country, AND the world as a whole. Compared to other activists, I haven't done much, but I do believe that I have had some sort of impact, no matter how small it is. I use my platform on social media to boost posts that are very informative on lgbtq+ history, identities, issues, and so on. These posts have informed and educated me on a lot of lgbtq+ topics, and I share them with my own audience because I want other people to be informed in the same way I was. While not always the case, some people are homophobic simply because they do not fully understand what being lgbtq+ means, so by helping spread information on what it does mean, I am helping these people understand, leading them to possibly change their view and opinions on lgbtq+ people.

My favorite artist goes by the internet username of MoringMark. They create short fan comics based on multiple television shows such as "Star vs. The Forces of Evil," "Gravity Falls," "The Owl House," and so on. They are able to create art that is both high quality, and that is posted quickly (and by quickly I mean 7 days a week) on social media. MoringMark has become a very popular creator for the fan bases he creates art for, to the point where he has his own massive following and fan base, and I personally believe that his recognition is well deserved.

I have been active in the performing arts, specifically choir and theatre/musical theatre, since I was 10 years old. For almost 10 years, the performing arts have touched my life in a way nothing else has. It has touched my life by giving me an experience I will never get in any other field. The performing arts is the only experience that allows me to entertain an audience live and in real-time, and it always gives me a mix of emotions (excitement, joy, anxiety) that I have never felt in any other moments in my life. The performing arts is also where I made most of my first real friends, whom I am still friends with to this day. I have been introduced to the most unique, creative, and talented people I have ever met through choir and theatre, and there are not many people like that in the world. I want to be able to touch the lives of others through the performing arts by inspiring them to join the performing arts themselves. I have always had a passion for singing, so choir was a no-brainer for me to join, but I didn't become fully interested in theatre until 8th grade. I had seen a few shows in the past, and was interested in auditioning for shows, but mostly for fun and not as a potential career choice. I was not fully convinced that theatre was the path for me until I moved to Nutley in 8th grade. I joined the Encore (Drama) Club in middle school, which was a gateway to introducing me to the high school theatre program when they visited during rehearsal one day. I decided to see the high school's fall play, "Midsummer Jersey," because of that, and it was one of the best experiences of my life. It was one of the funniest shows I have ever seen, and that is what definitively made me say, "I want to do that. I want to be a part of that. I want to be an actress." Needless to say I started taking Encore Club and theatre as a whole a lot more seriously and became a lot more passionate about performing after that. Seeing other actors and actresses on stage performing an incredible show is what inspired me to do theatre, and that is what I plan to do for other people. I want the people in the audience of any performance I am in to have the same reaction I did. I want to inspire others to audition for shows themselves, to want to be a part of this career and this community, and to want to entertain people in the same way that they have been entertained.

I need this scholarship because there is little to no chance I will be able to fully afford the cost of college without it. The current cost of tuition, fees and indirect costs for my education is higher than I can afford, so this scholarship would help me tremendously.

The animated show "Gravity Falls" by Alex Hirsch, which first premiered in 2012, has been a huge part of my life ever since it first aired. It was the first story-driven animated show that I was truly invested in. "Gravity Falls" was my all-time favorite show for a very long time because of the story, characters, animation, and the mysteries in the show. This show has impacted me in real life by connecting me with other people who are also fans of the show. When I moved to a new town in 2016, I made my first friend through both of us being fans of "Gravity Falls." This piece of animation not only explored the relationships of the characters, but led to relationships among the people who watched it, including me.

To me, being an artist means wanting to create. It does not matter what you create. If you create illustrations and drawings, you're an artist. If you create videos with lots of editing, you're an artist. If you design buildings, clothing, posters, etc., you're an artist. Authors, singers, actors, photographers, dancers, designers, illustrators, painters, film makers, chefs, bakers, all of them are artists. One way I am driven, or inspired, as an artist is usually other pieces of art people have created. Multiple digital illustrations I have made have been inspired by songs, tv shows, youtubers, video games, and so on. I have also been inspired to perform in both choir and theatre because of other people in that field. I think it is fascinating that artists can inspire other artists, whether it is intentional or unintentional. It is also interesting to think that it is entirely possible that someone has been inspired by my art to create art themselves. I am connected to my illustrative pieces because they allow me to tell a story or express myself in a way that can not be expressed through words. I also enjoy slowly seeing my skill as an illustrator improve with each piece. My drawings from 2016 look entirely different from the ones I made in 2021. I am connected to the videos I create because in a way it is a form of performance, but I have complete control over the performance. I am the director, writer, camera woman, actress, and editor of the videos I make. Whether it is a video for a school project, a cover of a song, or a passion project, I enjoy recording and editing videos. I am connected to my performances in choir and theatre because I am able to perform on a stage in front of a live audience, and I am a piece of a much larger piece of performance art. Singing has been a passion of mine ever since elementary school, and acting has been a passion since eighth grade. Performing live gives me a rush that I have never experienced literally anywhere else. I plan on using my art to connect and create change for future generations by not giving up on my artistic dreams and to continue to create. While I can not control whether this happens or not, I want my art to inspire other people to create art and perform. The world needs a lot more artists in the world, especially in times like these where everything seems bleak. Art, whether intended to or not, can spread messages simply by existing, and that is what I want my art to do.