As someone who has run her own business for the past two years in high school, I believe that this scholarship is just the right fit for me. My long term goals and aspirations include running my own successful business by the age of 23, this way, I could have a smoother, stable life by the time I'm 25. I want to set myself up for a great future, but I know that takes a lot of hard work and dedication. I've put lots of time into my business and have worked constantly to keep my business growing. I've marketed my nail business extremely well and became the most highly followed nail tech in the county by the time I was 16. I want to be able to expand into the nail industry and create my own line of products that I could later build into something bigger and have others work for me. I want to be able to provide for my family the best I can and make sure nobody in my family struggles. Working hard is something I've always been taught, and I plan to continue that mindset of determination and trust in myself as I grow as a person and a business owner. Being a nail tech can sometimes become very overwhelming. I knew the hardships that would come with being the only person running my business, so I had to step up. Dealing with people who make you feel like you aren't doing your job right and dealing with people who want to bring your business down by spreading rumors are some of the hard parts of running a business. At times, it can feel like you should just give up and let people find another way to get their service, but you have to keep pushing. The physical and emotional toll that it takes on my body can cause a lot of stress, but remembering how hard I worked for this business and how much time I spent advertising myself and working on my talent is what continues to keep me in that chair. My business may come with some downsides, but I'm also surrounded by love and support. I'm supported by my family and friends, who are so proud of me, which makes me feel like I made the right decision. Some days make me want to quit and put my tools down, but I know that this is what I've always wanted in life! My own business, my amazing clients, my supportive friends and family- these are all the things that keep me going and keep me wanting never to get rid of my small, successful business.

Throughout my time in wrestling, I always felt like I didn't fit in. Every other girl on the team was extremely talkative and social while I stood in the corner on my own. I was the "bigger girl" and a lot of the time, that doesn't help in social situations. I've always been somebody who could make friends easily, but the process took a bit longer. My wrestling partner, Evette had wrestled for much longer than I did. This made me feel like I was never going to be able to reach her potential and put in as much talent as she did. Over time, I started to remember that I was just like every other girl there. As the season passed I felt even more lonely every single day. I wanted so badly to be able to get my words out and just interact with my teammates like everybody else did. I realized that for me to be able to reach that goal and create a bond with my team, I had to reach out. I started to interact with my teammates more each and every day. I finally had created that special bond with my coaches and teammates that I had yearned for all that time. As my confidence in these relationships formed, I started to feel more confident in my wrestling skills. At practice I finally started to pick up the pace and could catch up with the girls at practice without having to ask millions of questions. I took time out of my day out of practice to watch videos and start to learn more phrases that had to do with wrestling. This helped me become a better athlete and understand the sport more. I ended the season with a mediocre level of confidence in the sport and a loving family of teammates around me. Once I reached my second year of wrestlinf I had so much more knowledge on the sport and I came into the season with an extreme level of confidence. I started to work out more and build my strength for the season because that was one of my weaknesses the year prior. Unfortunately, during my time preparing for the season I fell brutally ill and ended up in the hospital. I had to get my gallbladder removed and was taken out of wrestling for the first month of the season. Hearing that I wasn’t going to be able to wrestle in the beginning of the season broke my heart. I wanted to be with my team and finally work on these new skills I’d been studying. I still came to practices and matches and supported my teammates from the sidelines with a smile on my face, but deep down I had this crippling feeling that I was never going to be able to perform well anymore. I proved myself wrong with season and wrestle many great matches. I put in so much hard work into practices and made sure to focus mentally on the sport. No matter where I started, I was going to finish off the season the way that I initially intended to. It didn’t matter how lonely I felt my first year, how stupid I thought I was because I couldn’t understand anything the older girls were doing, or how much time I’d spend bawling my eyes out over the hardest sport in history, I made sure I would finish my career with a strong, determined mindset.