During my freshman and sophomore years of high school, I competed for my city’s public swim team- the College Station Tsunamis. I had been on the team since 7th grade and continued with it into high school to receive the sports credit- a big thanks to my parents, who supported me in my seasons and pushed me to stay on the team. I initially viewed swimming as a way to stay active and fulfill a sports credit. However, looking back, the laps I swam did much more than keep me physically fit; they provided a mental framework that now defines my academic and professional life. There were definitely parts of the sport I did not enjoy, such as the early morning swim meets, and my sensitivity to dehydration at practices made the desire to quit apparent. However, swimming is a sport of internal honesty. Halfway through my high school career, I realized I was at a crossroads with two distinct paths. Option one was to commit entirely. I could have joined year-round club teams and dedicated every spare hour to shaving seconds off my times. Option two was to continue giving my best within the scheduled practices while maintaining a balance with my other interests. At the time, I chose the second path. While I finished my final season on a high note with some of my fastest personal times, I find myself wondering what might have happened if I had "swam the extra lap." Swimming does not make up most of my life anymore, but I still find a way to get to the pool or beach every month or so. I am enrolled at Sam Houston State University, studying to become an art teacher, and I no longer choose "Option Two." I have taken the discipline and follow-through I learned in the pool and applied it to my true passion: art. I push myself to be my best in my academic endeavors by putting in the extra hours of studying. I try to stand out in my art classes, honors courses, and volunteer positions as I “swim” with the other 25,000 students. Just as the sport requires repetitive strokes to build muscle memory, to produce good artwork, I have to practise outside of class to train my hand muscles to remain loose, learn anatomy, and test color theory. The grit required to finish a grueling set when I was dehydrated or exhausted is the same grit I use now when an art project feels like it’s "racing the clock." I have learned that to succeed, you cannot just keep your head above water; you have to be willing to dive deeper than what is required. I now look to the future, where the plan is to teach art to either middle or high schoolers. My time as an athlete has shifted my mindset from student to “coach”. I am excited to transition into a leadership role where I can use my experiences to encourage students and give them the tools to choose Option One for their passion rather than Option Two, because I now know that the extra effort is always worth the result.

As I pursue my degree in Art Education at Sam Houston University, I am constantly encouraged and reminded to never give up, not myself and my art. As for overcoming adversity in my life, I have struggled with severe anxiety, depression, and the learning disability dyslexia. All of which I overcame with the help of teachers and mentors in my life, giving me tools to succeed and a second chance to try again. I was diagnosed in fifth grade with moderate dyslexia, and it finally made sense why I struggled to read and spell. Before I was diagnosed, both my parents and I were frustrated that I could not explain what I was reading. I became anxious over school work, relationships with people, and who I was as a person, and eventually developed severe anxiety and depression related to my school struggles. I understand that with Dyslexia, I struggled to read, obtain information, and analyze literature. I have since completed a two-year dyslexia program, but the course did not fix my brain; instead, it gave me tools to shift my reading perspective and slow down my reading pace to understand literature better. I completed the course the summer before my 8th-grade year, and over the past 5 years, thanks to the patience and time from all my middle and high school teachers, I have applied those tools to my reading and writing. Although my classes have challenged me, I am more confident when I read, compose my thoughts, and analyze all types of writing. During my high school career, with now the minor struggle of dyslexia, I could then focus and attend to take care of the anxiety and depression that haunted me and warped my view of life. I started focusing on getting therapy and hobbies, one of which was art. I also discovered that I am a leader, creative, and eager to grow. Ultimately, I have become grateful for what I have gained through perpetually overcoming my dyslexia and for the people who gave me another chance and taught me not to give up. The University of Sam Houston has an amazing Art Education program, and now being accepted, I hope to come and get my degree here. I aspire to blend my desire to teach with the creation of a classroom that fosters students' talents. With this scholarship, I would be one step closer to achieving my goal of becoming an art education teacher dedicated to creating a space of safety and encouragement for growth for students who need a second chance as they face adversities far more difficult than mine.

To paint or not to paint is never a question, and the idea that I get to study the subject is a privilege that I will never take for granted. I am currently studying at Sam Houaton University and plan to complete a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 2D Studio Art with a Teaching Certification within five years. I have not always had a passion for art; in fact, at one point in my life, I hated the painted brush or doing anything creative. I did not have the patience to complete a piece, nor had the drive to make one. Until I hit rock bottom. I had stripped myself of all hobbies and went through an extreme year of depression and anxiety. So in the solace, I started again, I sketched, painted, and created. I got lost in the layers of watercolor, pushed values of charcoal as hard as I could, and tried to create light in the dark of heavy acrylic. I made a new piece every week, and very quickly, my teachers and parents noticed the new colorful canvases and pictures around the house. The praise and encouragement were soon to follow, and never in my life would I ever think that my father would suggest that I pursue art as a means of life or to study it in university, but he did. During my last two years of high school, after planning and leading 2 organizations at my school, I now plan to teach middle, high school, and AP-level art in the years to come. I hope to encourage the bright young students of this next generation to pursue the arts.

To the Bold Scholarship Community, I am a graduate of my high school's 2025 class, KOR Education, a small Christian private school located in College Station Texas. I am now a freshman at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville Texas and I am majoring in Art with a teaching certificate. I understand this degree plan is not the most direct path of teaching kids with mental health problem's, but as a middle and High School student who suffered from both mental instability and learning disorders, I understand how teachers are one of the main support system for kids who are struggling. I understand that since the early 20th century there has been a massive increase of students, of all ages, combating sever anxiety, sducidal depression, extreme loneliness, along with their learning disorders. I understand from experience, that these kids are experts of masking and hiding the struggle from the world, and students are unable to get the support and help they need, because they do not want to tell anyone. In my days of middle school, as I battled the learning disorder dyslexia, I silently fought the anxiety that told me I was too much and not enough to be someone. In high school, as depression grew with the loss of my spark, I almost committed to my suicide in my kitchen. I did not ask for help until my 9th grade year of high school and I did not get help until my sophomore year. In my last years of high school my knowledge of mental grew and is a now part of my passion and goals in life. I understand that with the increase of awareness of mental health the options to get help have increased, but in this age these generations are still trying to bridge the gap of taking the first step of getting help and finding the courage and affordability to ask for it. I did not ask for help, because I did not want to be a burden both finically and mentally to my family. This is the same and even more so for students whose family or themselves who need the help, cut cannot afford it. With this knowlodge and experience, how do I plan to help these students? By becoming part of there support system. I did not ask for help until I got community that poured into me and that I could trust. This started with my teachers and mentors at school, who see I needed help and poured into me. As a student of any age, my teachers were my first responders to my anxiety breakdowns and blackouts. Their classrooms became a place of enrichment, because those teachers knew that students need to find joy in subjects (whether that's biology, math, English, history, or art) to combat the depression we where fighting. My teacher's professionally poured into me, so that I could be myself, and have to convince to grow my community into friends and then to my family and in that ask for the help I needed. With my degree plan, in becoming an art teacher, I understand that I am will be a first responder to these students mental lifeline. I will be able to pour into some of them (as many as I can) give them a spark and encourage them to grow there community and help get the help they need.

I was diagnosed in fifth grade with moderate dyslexia, and it finally made sense why I struggled to read and spell. Before I was diagnosed, both my parents and I were frustrated that I could not explain what I was reading. I became anxious over school work, and eventually developed severe anxiety related to my school struggles. I understand that with Dyslexia, I struggled to read, obtain information, and analyze literature. I have since completed a two-year dyslexia program, but the course did not fix my brain; instead, it gave me tools to shift my reading perspective and slow down my reading pace to understand literature better. I completed the course the summer before my 8th-grade year, the year I returned to KOR Education, and over the past 5 years, I have applied those tools to my reading and writing. Although my classes have challenged me, I am more confident when I read, compose my thoughts, and analyze all types of writing. During my two-year dyslexia program, I found joy in painting. During my art electives, my art teacher taught me to love the process of painting and trying new skills, which has nurtured my passion to be an art teacher and bring joy to other kids. I view my dyslexia diagnosis the same way I view my painting journey. Currently, my favorite medium to paint in is watercolors, but it hasn't always been. When I was younger, I viewed watercolor as impractical, and I would be impatient to add more water or pigment to the picture with disappointing results. With time, particularly after a prolonged period of anxiety and depression, I fell in love with the process of patiently layering colors and creating depth and detail. I find joy in beholding and building beautiful art, switching my perspective from the big picture to the tiny details on each layer. This is the same for overcoming dyslexia while reading. Once I slowed down, I started to enjoy it. I love reading the extreme details of an author's world-building and feel accomplished when I connect the plot to the small details of a book. Through teachers and the dyslexia curriculum, they slowed my reading pace and gave me tools to understand what I was reading, and because of my teacher's encouragement, reading is now one of my favorite pastimes, along with painting. Even with dyslexia, during my high school career, I started focusing on other activities and myself. I discovered that I am a leader, creative, and eager to grow. Ultimately, I have become grateful for what I have gained through perpetually overcoming my dyslexia and for the people who taught me not to give up. I will attend Sam Houston State University to study art education and business. Majoring in art education will enable me to pursue a dual career path—becoming an art teacher and an artist entrepreneur. I have chosen to become a teacher because of the encouragement from both my dyslexia and art teachers. They instilled in me the strength to keep trying, be patient, and extend grace to myself and others. As an art teacher and entrepreneur, I want to encourage myself and my students to do the same.

I would have to say my favorite book-to-film adaptation is the Narnia series by C.S. Lewis. I know it is a basic answer, but as a child, my Dad read the books to us, my sister and I read the books to each other, and when my brother found out there were movies they lost it. We have now seen The Lion, Witch, and the Wardrobe at least 10 times, The Voyage of the Dawntreader 6 times, and Prince Caspian 4 times! We did watch the Silver Chair and the original Lion, Witch, and Wardrobe, but they were so old we could hardly see anything since the pixels were so granny -- we all still loved it though. The series are important to my family, and if my Dad did not read the Naria books out loud to us as kids, he would have not read loud at all, and we would have missed out on Harry Potter, Five Children and It Series, and so many recommendations to read on our own. My love of High fantasy and adventure books, would be diminished, and I would not read all the books I have read today. However, like any good book, parts of its movie are bad or wiped out completely. This is true for most book-to-movie adaptations, the Disney animated Aladin is part of a bigger story called One Thousand and One Arabian Nights. The Naria Moives do a decent job of being accurate. In the Voyage of the Dawntreader, when Alsan is changed from a dragon back to a boy, with book goes into incredible detail about running his lion claws through the dragon skin and washing the scales off and then repeats the process 7 times, and it's the bratty boy's character development arch and it's a big deal. In the movie the process is 30 seconds and not repeated 7 times. This taught me a harsh truth about life and movies --sadly. Nothing and no one will meet my expectations, no matter how great the experience or person is. Thankfully Naria was one of the first books I read and movies I watched, so I learned the lesson pretty fast and so I could watch book-to-film adaptations without being disappointed. I still love reading and watching movies and getting to experience what the author and director - if they are both still alive - of a story see and view as a movie worth seeing, it has also shown me I love musicals because I cannot get frustrated if I singing rather that watching.