When it comes to my personal experience in coming out as a gay man, it was a struggle to understand myself and when it came to telling my family I thought id never be able to. I was raised in a Christian household where I was taught my life's purpose was to marry a woman and have children after but never before. Most importantly to never sin. However being gay is seen as a HUGE sin; so when I discovered I was heterosexual in middle school I thought I failed. A natural born sinner never to be redeemed. I felt I had nobody to lean on since I didn't have any close friends and my family completely shunned homosexuality, I felt truly alone. I used distractions such as video games and intensive study as a way to ignore my negative thoughts, but it never worked. That was until I met one of my best friends today and they had helped me feel less alone and that it was perfectly fine on which sexuality I was interested in, that I am worth something no matter who or what I believe in. Hearing those words and feeling true support was the key to breaking my shackles of shame and guilt. The thoughts had finally stopped and I was completely ready to express myself the way I wanted to with no shame and spread positivity everywhere I go. When I told my mother and family inside the house that I wasn't heterosexual, they were filled with shame and disappointment, not only with me but all the factors that related to me. My friends, the internet, school, shows movies, and anything else they could blame on. Even though it was a bad reaction, thankfully I was still able to live in the house, and slowly my family grew into the idea of me being homosexual, because I was genuinely happy with who I was, and deep down, that's what a family is all they could ask for. Graduating high school and now going to college has been a bumpy road due to COVID but I finished it and grew a passion for wanting to spread more positivity into the world. My lifelong goal is to accomplish what my best friend helped me with my struggle in coming out and making me feel like I belonged instead of being considered an outcast. I will major in psychology for my master's and maybe even a Ph.D. in Psychology to better understand the human mind and to become someone people can talk to. Not only due to my profession but to also understand that I genuinely want to help people from all backgrounds and that I can be the key to their shackles for them to be their best selves. This scholarship would alleviate the financial burden of being a step closer to having to look for loans and working a full-time job to instead focus on school full-time so I can quickly get my degree in Psychology and help those in need. Becoming a psychologist or therapist for those who are struggling and to help them understand more about themselves and the support they need to get so that they can be their best self and spread more positivity.