“Leila, you’re going to be late for school!” my mom yelled up the stairs five…no, ten minutes ago. I should really get up. I thought that like three minutes ago, but it’s hard sometimes to just move out of my bed. I should be able to do homeschooling, but my mom is a public-school teacher and she hates the idea of me not being able to socialize with other kids. I only talk to Jeremy and Eliza, so I really don’t know why it matters but hey, to each their own, I guess. I groaned and jumped out of bed as I heard my mom’s footsteps nearing my room. “Leila, I told you-” my mom paused mid-sentence to take in my appearance. I have on my favorite unicorn socks, black sweats, and a Dungeons and Dragons hoodie that Jeremy never took back. She raised her eyebrows, “You’re ready?” “Of course, I just need to fix my hair.” My mom eyed me suspiciously for a second and I could tell there were words forming on her lips, but she just nodded her head and closed my door. On most days I wear a comfy outfit to sleep and when my mom comes to catch me rotting in bed on these "lovely" mornings, I jump out “ready”, so I’m not scolded for the umpteenth time. I’m pretty sure she knows but she wants me at school on time, so she just lets me go. I quickly brushed my hair up into a ponytail, brushed my teeth, and ran downstairs to eat. “Jeremy, you’re eating breakfast here again?" I asked my favorite red headed best friend. He mumbled something incomprehensible back because his mouth was stuffed. ‘Mphh’ is the best I could make out. “Of course he is!” my mom answered for him. “Jeremy is always here on time. He can come back and eat anytime he wants.” “Yes, we know mom, you’ve told us multiple times.” I said as I rolled my eyes. If Jeremy is not here for me, he’s here to eat and leave. I grabbed my lunch and some granola to eat on our way to school. I hugged my mom goodbye and briskly walked out the door not waiting to see if Jeremy was following. “Did you apply for the scholarship Mrs. Pointe gave us?” he asked when he finally caught up to me? “The what? Oh, nope. I was playing games with Eliza last night, didn’t have the time.” “She gave the scholarship to us last month, Lei…” “She did.” “And?” “And I didn’t have the time to do it yesterday.” I shrugged. “Mrs. Pointe is going to…” I quickly shushed him. It’s already bad enough we have to go to school but to start talking about school related work this early in the morning…absolutely not. Jeremy rolled his eyes at me. “Jer, don't be like that. It’s just an essay. What could possibly go wrong”. He still continued to look at me disapprovingly. I went to grab my phone from my pocket to show him some of his favorite cat memes to try and cheer him up, but I felt nothing. “Ohhh Jer, I left my phone. I’m going to head back and grab it.” “Of course, right as we’re nearing school too.” “I didn’t do it on purpose…not this time!” I yelled towards Jeremy’s receding back. I would’ve enjoyed my mistake if my mom had to leave early today, but she doesn’t. So now I’m just going to have to walk back here…again. I started kicking the rocks in anger but stopped once I realized that my shadow had disappeared. I looked up and saw a UFO hovering above me. Wait, let me rub my eyes to make sure and then I’ll get back to you…it’s a UFO. A UFO that I’m slowly rising into…I’M RISING INTO THE UFO. Just as I was about to scream, I became unconscious. … The world is ending. I’m at the top of the clock tower that overlooks the whole town. I’ve watched for the past two hours as UFOs swarmed our town and the aliens invaded. Why is this happening to us? “Why is this happening, you say?” Yes, why…wait, I haven’t opened my mouth. “You don’t have to Leila, I can read minds” an alien that resembled a tall, lanky Mega Mind said as he eerily crept out from the shadows. Great, just great. “You see, we got a message some light years ago about a wayward civilization that just was failing to try in their day to day lives. Our calling to come down here to take action was finalized when a girl decided not to apply for a scholarship.” Is he talking about me? “Of course I am. I thought you of all people would be interested in watching the processions.” No, no, no, no…no way “Yes way!” I want to scream. … This story is an exaggerated version of something wrong that could happen, but the message is still the same. What could go wrong? Anything, really. There’s a slim chance of possibility in anything. That’s why it is important to explore being more positive and ask ourselves what could go right. For Leila, her town wouldn’t have been abducted by aliens and she would’ve had a chance at winning the scholarship. For me, it’s thinking about how one day, I’ll be able to write my own book if I put in effort and hopefully become more proficient in coding as I practice more. Looking at what could go right always passes my mind when I embark on a new adventure, or I’m faced with life changing opportunities like this scholarship. Anything could go wrong, but our mindset can play a huge part on whether or not that idea becomes a reality. That’s why I choose to ask myself, even as I write this essay: “What could go right?”. The answer is simple. Everything.

In my late high school years, I finally decided that I would be among the people who have read the book series “A Song of Fire and Ice”. I’d been searching for lengthy and rich stories that could keep me intrigued and I thought that George R.R. Martin’s books would be a good place to start. It turned out to be one of the best decisions that I’ve ever made. I fell in love with the world that was able to challenge my morality, create images I never would’ve on my own, and most importantly of all, allow me to experience that child-like excitement that I got from reading my fairy and princesses books when I was a young girl. I later learned that the type of genre that the series falls under is high/epic fantasy and since then, I’ve continued reading more literature under it. “A Song of Fire and Ice” also did something I didn’t expect. It made me reflect on the type of works I’ve read over the years. From my favorite Disney fairytales, which was mainly “Cinderella” and “Aladdin”, to the dashing adventures of pirates and kids who could jump between universes, reading romances as I was slowly growing into a teenager, and experiencing stories like “A Series of Unfortunate Events”, “Frankenstein”, and “A Certain Hunger” that matched the complexity of emotions in my real life as a young woman growing into adulthood: I couldn’t help but realize that all of the changes I experienced in real life were reflected in what I’ve read. I could go back and tell you that those romance books were read by a young middle schooler who dreamed of getting her first boyfriend one day and the fairy tales were read by a child with a large imagination who wanted nothing but to explore the world around her. I thought about this time and time again and I’ve realized that all of the words that I’ve consumed over the years have taught me many lessons about people, the world around me, and myself. These books changed in maturity, lessons, and content, and I made sure to apply those lessons to the major transformations I’ve experienced. But most importantly, they taught me that change is okay, which has never been more relevant to me as it is now. I am a young woman who has entered adulthood and I’m still trying to figure things out. It’s frightening not knowing the unknown, but I’ve learned from reading, that the journey is something worth looking forward to, and I will go through this exciting new stage of life knowing that I’ve already learned so much from the amazing stories that many authors have shared with us. The books I’ve read have shaped my goals by encouraging me to keep on learning, especially in my education, because there is so much out there that is still unknown to us. Books are the main reason I stay curious and optimistic about life, my future, and more. Books are the reason why I constantly feel encouraged to explore the world around me. I feel lucky to have fallen in love with them at a young age and I hope I’m also able to impact others through my words when I get to publish my own works someday. Thank you for giving me this opportunity for not just the scholarship, but for allowing me to truly think about the impact books have had on my life.

My name is Frida Morha and I’m a first generation Nigerian-Italian immigrant. I’m a rising college freshman, but I’ve had the chance to complete a semester of my studies earlier thanks to the dual enrollment program at my high school. I successfully completed my college semester with a 4.0 GPA while balancing my extracurriculars, self studies, and home/personal life. After completing my associates degree, I intend to transfer to a four year university to earn a Bachelor of Science degree in computer science with a specification in cyber security. I have hopes that in the future I’ll be able to use formal education to improve the lives of others. My journey to discovering my passion for STEM started in third grade when I had just received my first tablet. I went on an app downloading spree and stumbled upon an interactive story app called “Episode”. I loved how us readers were able to have some control by choosing story elements. When I learned that it was regular people out there making these stories, I decided quickly that I wanted to be among them. So I quickly got on the family computer and went to the website. To a nine-year-old me’s horror, I found out that making these stories wasn’t dragging pictures around and writing, but it was actually code. I was about to turn off the desktop, but I stopped myself. I was afraid of the information I lacked but my yearn to make the story was even stronger. So I watched tutorials and coded story scenes that were awful, yet despite how badly it turned out, I was still proud of myself. After two weeks of practicing, I was able to code three decent chapters and publish them. Ever since that moment, I’ve continued to learn more and more ways to apply coding to many of my interests. I grew passionate about it because through experience, I’ve got to learn how coding can spark creativity that’s hard to find elsewhere. I grow even more passionate as time goes on seeing how it continues to evolve for its multiple purposes. Coding is the future and I’d like to be a pioneer in its growth. I chose a cyber security specification because I was subjected to multiple cyber attacks and exposed to mature information as a child. This brought me feelings of anxiety because I didn’t have a clue what I was doing wrong and I couldn’t grasp many of the mature concepts. Cyber security is much more mundane than what it’s made out to be in television but knowing that specific mundane job can protect millions of people out there, much like myself when I was younger, is something I find rewarding. I hope that in the future, I can also use my acquired knowledge to teach classes about cyber security and internet safety so more people can protect themselves and their loved ones. Thank you for this scholarship opportunity!

I was in fourth grade when my teacher appointed me as her mini assistant. I remember that early feeling of exhilaration I’d get walking into the classroom each day knowing that I would get the opportunity to showcase my hardwork and brilliance, but those feelings changed the more I spent time helping. I initially started out as a paper grader but later on, I was allowed to help my peers with their work. I remember there was this one specific day where I had a group of four other kids who were struggling with the math lesson we were on. I took my time to teach it to them and try to clear any confusions they had on the matter. I still remember the look on their faces when they realized that they, too, had learned a skill that was hard for many of us to pick up. “Frida, this wasn’t hard at all, thank you!”, is a line from the girl next to me that has stuck with me since. I felt very accomplished in that moment and that’s when I realized my reason for helping had changed. It was no longer about proving myself, but rather those positive feelings I got when I helped others do better. Since then, I’ve still upheld the same feelings that push me to continue helping people. It is not my skill set that makes me a leader. I am a leader because I continue and strive to influence people around me for the better. I enjoy knowing that my acts of influence can bring about good change. Since then, I’ve taken up many leadership and volunteer roles to help others. I’ve had the opportunity to become the first girl acolyte at my church which resulted in the younger girls wanting to be more involved in the services. In my senior year of high school, I realized that the class spirit was low, so I decided to run for the public relations officer role with a clear plan to combat this problem. Through my work on social media and increasing communication between the students and student council, we were able to see a large turn up for volunteer events and more participation in school spirit days. I also took up the task of running the library during my lunch in high school so that kids could have a space outside of our restricted lunchroom to communicate with their friends. In the library, I got to run store operations, the library circulation, and helping other kids with technology and schoolwork problems. My involvement in school was a way for me to try and use my time to help others, but I also learned valuable life lessons when it comes to dealing with different groups of people in terms of being communicative and patient with others. All in all, being a leader has brought me a purpose in life that’s far from self-serving. It’s taught me how joyful it is to see others improve because of small actions I have chosen to take. It’s taught me to embrace the differences in all of us and also recognize that there’s still a similarity we all share in our core. I hope that in the coming years, I’ll have more opportunities to find ways that I can become a better leader in my community. Thank you for this scholarship opportunity!