Seeing this scholarship title was kind of funny, if I'm being honest. I read it, and like so many of the various scholarships I've applied to, I laughed, and thought, "it wouldn't hurt". And that's what I've learned so far. You need to keep looking, searching, finding all the opportunities so that maybe, just maybe, one of them can be yours. There are so so many open scholarships, at all times. But it is obvious that there are even more students, staggeringly more, that are all vying to be the winners. College and university is so expensive and scholarships seem like such a beautiful solution to this problem. So I will continue applying, to this scholarship and to numerous more, so that I might be able to catch one grader's eye. On a more literal hand, I've learned that there are quite a few scholarship-offering resources that are available to me. Bless the internet for that. I like it like this much better than how my mom had to do it, with a $50 membership to some foundation so that they could send her a booklet of paper scholarship applications she had to mail in individually. I don't have to pay, and now instead of my zip code, I often send in my email instead. And of course, I'm learning perseverance. I often hear opportunities being compared to doors that can open for a person. Although, phrasing it like that doesn't really match the reality it's supposed to represent. I would say it's more similar to finding a door you like, and then deciding how much effort you're willing to do to get through it. So many of us have the grades, skills, and personalities that those in charge of scholarships are looking for. But because there's so many of us, and so many "doors" of scholarships, it can sometimes feel like a bumbling stampede of students frantically trying keys in a labyrinthine hallway of thousands of doors. But since there's hope that for one (or possibly a few!! Oh I sure hope so) of theses doors I'll hear a click and feel the turn of the key, I will continue to apply. I have heard this process described as tedious to me by some friends and fellow students. A repetition of filling out your name, address, grades, hopes, wants, and dreams, and then of course a short to long essay that can have a whole plethora of topics. But I like to think of it as a challenge. What is being asked of me here? What do the people in charge have in mind and how can I possibly exceed their expectations. I have a space of 400 to 600 words to share what I've learned about applying for scholarships and at the same time exemplify who I am and goodness am I going to do that. So far I haven't won any yet, but this has not discouraged me, and neither will it discourage thousands of other prospective scholarship winners. I've learned to continue and keep at it, and that's exactly what I'm going to do.

I began dancing folklorico at the age of three. Now, I'm not sure how applicable the word "dancing" is for what I was doing at 3 years old (I remember some quite unfocused playing at times), but that is when I began to feel the joy of music and moved my body, feet, and tiny little practice skirt to songs. My cousin, who was much more adept at the age of 5, started at the same time as I did, but since I was there, my grandmother decided I might as well tag along. And so it began. My teacher, Rosy, has shown me ever since then how to appreciate my culture and dance with every single choreography, skill, and step she teaches me. Dancing as a child, I remember looking out from behind curtains and seeing the huge crowds we would dance for annually, and the gradual shift from stage fright to an electric anticipation to show what I can do. And the days when we perform at county fairs are always so much fun, because despite the usual summer heat, the energies at fairs are unlike any other. I feel closer to my community because of the invitations to local markets and parades we have accepted and performed in my town. Mexican folklorico is most recognizable through dances and costumes of the Jalisco region, with large colorful skirts and mariachi music. That's my personal favorite. But close behind that are the calabaceados from Baja California, whose fast paced kicks and energetic rhythms get my heart pumping. I feel aglow with pride as my fellow dancers and I move our billowing skirts in sync while dancing Nayarit, and I love when all the practice of balancing candles on our head pays off during the song La Bruja from Veracruz. All of these regions, and dances, and moments bring me strength and a love for dancing that I can never thank my family and teacher and fellow dancers enough for. My cousin has long since stopped dancing, which is unfortunate. Many students have come and gone. I personally can't see myself every stopping, not for a very very long time. The joy that dancing brings me is too great, the escape from my problems for the length of a song too alluring. I've stayed with my same teacher, with the same studio (although the location has moved several times throughout the years), and I am now lucky enough to get to teach my own class of 3 to 5 year olds on Monday afternoons. I hope that when I was their age I was just as good as them, because the effort and enthusiasm for learning they show has exhibited the very pinnacle of "dancing", and I am so proud to have to honor of teaching them. I've already decided that one of my deciding factors for choosing a college will be that they either have a folklorico dance team or that there will be one near by that I can join. But until then, I will continue to give it my all and loving every moment of it.