I am currently majoring in environmental science which means I am currently taking a lot of science and STEM classes. I currently have a 4.0 GPA and to achieve this I have employed many study strategies. One of the most helpful study strategies I have is using a hard copy of my planner. Every page has three days with plenty of space to hand write everything I need to do each day. This helps me manage my time and stay on top of all my assignments and tests. It also gives a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction when you finally cross off a task after completing it. The next major help in my studying is that I hand write note cards for each chapter I read from my textbooks. After attending class, I will make more note cards from the notes I took in class to later review. I know many hate note cards, but I have a system that makes them bearable and very helpful for exams. My system is to start with all the note cards from a chapter and review them. From these you know well, move them to a new pile and review them every other day but review the ones you don't know well everyday. If you still know the ones well from every-other-day, move them to every three days and so on. If you forget any concepts while reviewing, move them down to the previous pile. This allows you to space out your note cards, so you do not have to do 100 or 200 note cards a day. Studying can be very hard to get motivated for, but by using your time wisely and having good strategies, one can achieve academic success.

What is a goal? The Merriam Webster Dictionary defines it as “the end toward which effort is directed.” This is important because anyone can have a goal but if you want to achieve your goals you must put in the work and the effort required. The main goal in my life right now is to graduate college with a degree in Environmental Science, a 4.0 GPA, and with as little student loan debt as possible. As a way to achieve these goals I am currently taking classes at Collin Community College to both get a good education and keep my costs low. Along with this I am working at least ten hours a week and saving the majority of it to pay for school. My parents are also generous enough to let me live at home for a year to continue to save money until I move to a university in August. As for keeping my 4.0 GPA that I currently have, I put in an immense amount of effort studying. Another main and difficult goal in my life is to become a Texas Game Warden. To become a Texas Game Warden is a huge goal of mine because I will be able to help and protect both the people of Texas and its environment. This is an exceptionally hard position to serve in, as Texas only needs a finite amount of Game Wardens and they want the best of the best. I plan to obtain this vocation through my hard work and determination. I have already begun to figure out how I might best prepare myself to get this job by reaching out to currently serving Texas Game Wardens. Goals are a part of everyone's life and I am determined to work hard to achieve my goals.

The definition of persistence is “firm or obstinate continuance in a course of action in spite of difficulty or opposition.” The largest obstacle in my life that I face everyday and have to persist through is my dyslexia. Dyslexia affects me in many aspects of life, such as work, and it is a very large obstacle when it comes to my education. I pushed through my HS career with a 4.0GPA and I currently have a 4.0GPA in my college career. Everyday I find myself struggling with not only the regular stress of school that all students face but also other barriers. It is very discouraging when it takes me twice as long as my classmates to read my text book or do my homework, quizzes, and tests. Many times I have missed questions on tests because of my dyslexia. After the test is over it is crushing to look over my test and see that I know the answer but got it wrong because I misread a single word. Every assignment, every quiz, every test, every email, can be a much larger challenge than what it should be and can crush my motive to keep going. I work very hard for my 4.0 GPA and I never use my dyslexia as an excuse to not do as well as others. My grade is proof to me that I can overcome the obstacle of my dyslexia and that I can persist my way through school and life.

Throughout my whole life I was always told to tell the truth and that speaking the truth was the right thing to do. I had this drilled into my head but it was not until I accidentally destroyed someone else's property that I had a real experience where telling the truth was the hard but right thing to do. This experience really helped shape my character to this day even though it happened when I was twelve. My twin brother and I were mowing our neighbor's lawn to earn some money like we did every week. This week, however, would have an effect on me that I still remember to this day. It was a hot summer Texas day and we were mowing the lawn as we always did with no problems. The problem arose when I saw the green lid to a sprinkler box was sitting near the top of the grass and not tucked into the ground as it should be. I thought to myself “I should probably go and move that so I do not hit it with my blade.” Then I thought, “That is a lot of work and I probably will not hit it anyway, so what is the big deal?” I decided to go ahead and not move the sprinkler cover and mow over it. Needless to say, as I went over the lid I heard a loud cracking noise of plastic being smashed and I turned around to see the lid in pieces across the lawn. My mind started to race and I thought about what to do. I thought of hiding the pieces and acting like I did not know what happened to the lid. I realized that is not what my dad had taught me to do, so I took the pieces over to him and asked him what to do. With tears in my eyes, I showed him the broken pieces of plastic and he put a hand on my shoulder and said, “Go and tell Mr. Horn, what happened and offer to pay for a new cover.” I went and told Mr. Horn what happened and he thanked me for telling the truth and letting him know about it. He declined my offer to buy a new cover and I went and finished the law with my brother. This may seem very simple and boring, to some but to me I was reminded that being honest is always the best thing to do and to always own up to your mistakes and take responsibility for your actions. I have used this to help me move forward in life because it reminds me to tell the truth and if you tell the truth your words are far less likely to come back and bite you. In the same way it has helped me move forward in life, it has also helped make me a stronger and better person. Who would you rather have be your worker, coworker, boss, spouse, friend, neighbor? Someone who lies and frets away from telling the truth or someone who tells the truth? When I learned that lesson all those years ago, that telling the truth is the right and best option, I would have never guessed it would help me to be a better worker, friend, coworker, and neighbor. I would have never guessed it would help me be honest with not only others but with myself as well.

Being pro-life in today’s world can be a very dangerous position to hold for both your social life and your career. I do believe that abortion is wrong and I have come to this conclusion from both a religious and secular route. Both schools of thought lead to the conclusion that abortion is wrong. I am a Christian and I have been my whole life and we believe that abortion is wrong. God commands in Exodus 20:13 “you shall not murder.” This, however, does not mean that God is against killing but he is against the spilling of innocent blood. Exodus 23:7 says “…do not kill the innocent and righteous, for I will not acquit the wicked.” Proverbs 6:16-17 says, “These six things doth the Lord hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him. A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood.” The definition of innocent blood is “not guilty of a crime or offense.” I ask what has a baby who has not even left the womb done to harm anyone? What crime have they committed? God says not to kill innocent people and a fetus has harmed no one; killing them would go against what God commands. The secular way I have come to conclude that abortion is wrong is that everyone has a right to life. When a man kills someone he has taken away that person's right to life. No matter what the circumstance is for the “justification” of an abortion it does not stand. Why should a child, who has harmed no one, be punished for the mistakes or horrible circumstances of their mother? How can someone have the power to take away an innocent's right to life, let alone a baby's right to life? How can it be just to remove the most important right, the right to life? Even under the circumstance of rape why should a child be punished for another man’s crime? Abortion removes one of the most pivotal rights and this is ignored by those who support abortion. Whether or not someone is pro-life or pro-choice, everyone who lives in America lives under the protection of the constitution. Everyone who lives in America enjoys the luxury of having their right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness protected. How can one live in America and enjoy the right to life but then deem that certain people do not get to enjoy this right? When a baby is in its mothers womb, it is alive. From the moment of conception that baby is alive and under the constitution their life is protected even if they don't know it. I believe that abortion is wrong because it is commanded by God; and how can I have the right to spill innocent blood? How can I say a life is worth less than mine because it can not advocate for itself? How can I take away the most fundamental right that all people have? How can I call myself a proud American or Christian if I am not willing to protect the rights of all people and not just the born?

1. I don't deserve this scholarship because I am a middle class Christian white boy who obviously never had to work for anything in my life and of course my parents paid for everything I own. I don’t need no stinking scholarship when everything in my life should be super easy for me already and I don’t need any help from anyone. 2. I have big aspirations when it comes to my career. I want to be a professional couch potato. Sounds difficult, I know. Believe me, it took a lot of effort to become this good at doing nothing and just living off someone else's work, but through determination I will continue to do it. 3. One time I had this huge obstacle in my way. I had to get out of bed before 2pm. I know it sounds crazy, but I needed to because I had a doctor's appointment at 3pm and not at 5pm, when I like to get out of bed. Anyways, I mustered all the willpower I could and forced myself to move and slowly made it to my clothes.

What is a goal? The Merriam Webster Dictionary defines it as “the end toward which effort is directed.” This is important because anyone can have a goal but if you want to achieve your goals you must put in the work and the effort required. The main goal in my life right now is to graduate college with a degree in Environmental Science, a 4.0 GPA, and with as little student loan debt as possible. As a way to achieve these goals I am currently taking classes at Collin Community College to both get a good education and keep my costs low. Along with this I am working at least ten hours a week and saving the majority of it to pay for school. My parents are also generous enough to let me live at home for a year to continue to save money until I move to a university in August. As for keeping my 4.0 GPA that I currently have, I put in an immense amount of effort studying. Another main goal in my life is to become a Texas Game Warden. To become a Texas Game Warden is a huge goal of mine because I will be able to help and protect both the people of Texas and its environment. This is an exceptionally hard position to serve in, as Texas only needs a finite amount of Game Wardens and they want the best of the best. I plan to obtain this vocation through my hard work and determination. I have already begun to figure out how I might best prepare myself to get this job by reaching out to currently serving Texas Game Wardens. Goals are a part of everyone's life and I am determined to work hard to achieve my goals.

Do you like the outdoors? Do you like wildlife? Do you like to help others? Do you want to serve your community? If the answer is yes to these questions, then you might also be interested in my dream career. I love the outdoors and everything in it, from the animals that live in it to the people who enjoy it, and I want to help and protect both. The way I plan to do this is by getting a degree in Environmental Science and becoming a Texas Game Warden. I plan to complete this very difficult task of becoming a Texas Game Warden in four years and I plan to serve as a Game Warden for the majority of my career. The reason I see myself as a Game Warden in four years and not sooner is because first I need to finish my bachelor’s degree from Stephen F. Austin State University. Along with this, becoming a Texas Game Warden is exceptionally difficult as Texas only needs a finite amount of Game Wardens and they want the best of the best to serve this role. If for some reason being a Game Warden is not in the cards, I can find a different job for a firm where I can help the environment from a private role instead of a public one. Five, ten, even twenty years down the line is a long time from now. I, however, plan to work hard to achieve the goals I have set before myself and if my plans change sometime down the road I plan to work just as hard to achieve those goals as well.

What keeps me going in life and gets me out of the bed every day are my personal goals and the fact that I do not like to let people down. The next major goal in my life is one that I hope to achieve in the near future and that is to graduate college with a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science and a 4.0 GPA. With this degree I plan to become a Texas Game Warden and help the environment and the people of Texas. This is a huge motivator for me as it is a job I believe I will love as I get to help others, animals, and be in nature for a large portion of the job. Another motivator of mine is my religion. I believe we are meant to serve God in many different ways and I frequently try to remind myself that I am here to serve the Lord in many ways. This could be something small like comforting a friend or protecting the wildlife and people by one day serving as a Texas Game Warden. One motivation that I find many do not understand is that I do not like to lose or be beaten by others. This is a large motivation for me as it helps me keep things like my grades high, job performance above others, and makes me not quit because if I quit then someone else will beat me which means I lose. Finally, I hate to let people down or not fulfill a commitment I make. This is a good motivator as it allows me to keep going; if I do not push forward I will let either a friend or family member down.

In today's culture it can be very hard to speak one's mind without the rest of society around you ridiculing you for your opinion. When speaking your mind about something that the culture does not like, you very likely will be shunned for it. Nonetheless I always try to stay committed to what I say and to what I believe and this can be very hard to do at times. When everyone around you thinks your opinion is wrong there is an urge to keep quiet and just play along like you agree with the crowd. I hate to admit it, but I have done this before. I, however, have stopped doing this as it goes against myself and my beliefs. If I cannot be true to what I believe, even if it goes against the popular opinion, then I am no better than a sheep who follows the flock off a cliff. If I am not committed to speaking my mind and standing my ground on my beliefs how far can I really make it in life? If I let the naysayers bring me down, I am once again no better than a sheep. I always try to keep in mind that those who follow the crowd hardly do anything spectacular in their lives. If Martin Luther, Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein, or Martin Luther King Jr had listened to the crowd, would they have been able to achieve what they did? I think not. Speaking my mind and staying committed to what I believe can be very hard to do, but it allows me to stand out from the crowd, stay true to myself, and not be a sheep like the world wants me to be.

Everyone has a bucket list even if they do not think they do. The definition of a bucket list, according to the Merriam Webster dictionary, is “a list of things that one has not done before but wants to do before dying.” My bucket list consists of exciting and not so exciting achievements and activities. My major bucket list items include skydiving, obtaining Eagle Scout, graduating college, becoming a Texas Game Warden, getting married, bungee jumping, dirt biking, firing a shell out of a M1 Abrams tank, riding in a F-15 fighter jet, riding in a P-51 Mustang, owning a motorcycle, and owning a 50 caliber desert eagle. As with most bucket lists, I will be constantly adding and removing items and recently I've been working on doing this more and more. The items I have completed so far would be obtaining Eagle Scout which I earned on 12/8/18 and in January of 2022 I was able to cross skydiving off of my bucket list. I am currently working on going bungee jumping and graduating college by earning my Bachelor Degree. I am hopeful my current 4.0 GPA and earning a degree in Environmental Science will put me even closer to becoming a Game Warden. The main problem that is holding me back from completing more of my bucket list is my financial state. The majority of my money is spent on paying my way through college and completing some bucket list items are expensive as they are usually once in a lifetime experiences. Bucket list items can be forgotten about or continually put off until it is too late. I have no intention of doing this and I plan to continue crossing items off my list until all of the items are accomplished.

If someone handed me $1000 right now I would not spend any of it right away. I realize that my initial thought would be to go and spend it on something that I want for fun but that is not what I truly need. I may want a new computer, a new bike, or a new phone but these will only benefit me in the short term. I would put the $1000 straight into my bank account so that I can use it only for my college expenses or to save for an emergency situation. The reason I would not spend it on something for fun is because my parents taught me the ideals of saving money and avoiding debt. My parents are not against using money for fun but taught me that I need to know when it is ok to spend money and when I need to save money. I am having to pay for college and my car both out of my own pocket, not my parents. This reality that college and a car are both extremely expensive have been haunting me for years through out my high-school career and even more now that high-school is over. I have been working and saving money since I was thirteen and every chance I get to save a pay check I take it as I know the value of graduating college without debt and with an education is worth more than have some temporary fun right now.

What is confidence? The definition according to the Merriam Webster dictionary is having assurance in one's self. It stresses faith in oneself and one's powers or abilities without any suggestion of conceit or arrogance. Having confidence means a lot to me because if you lack confidence it severely hinders one's ability to deal with the challenges and trials of life. Having confidence in oneself helps improve almost every situation of life. If someone has confidence it will help them be a better leader, driver, friend, spouse, worker, and the list goes on. This is because if someone is confident in their ability to make decisions it eases one's mind knowing they did the best they could. If one lacks confidence it causes stress, worry, and anxiety which can hinder their decision making and that decision could haunt them for days or years. In recent years I have begun to improve my confidence by getting out of my comfort zone and trying new things with the idea that “I am learning.” By having this idea of “I am learning” it makes me comfortable in being not completely confident in the current situation, because I am learning something new. This helps me increase my confidence because I accept the fact that it is impossible to be completely confident in every new situation. Realizing that I need to trust my initial instincts while I'm figuring out this new situation and this allows my confidence to increase at every step. Confidence is very important to have as it helps one through almost every stage in life. Whether at home, on the job, or out in the world, confidence lets you trust yourself and can remove worry and anxiety from a decision or situation.