ALS has just recently begun to impact my life. In July of 2024, my family received the devastating news that my dad has ALS. We had some fears for a while that he might have it, but I had thought that it was impossible that something like that could happen to my own dad. For a few weeks, I grappled with all the horrible thoughts I would picture for our future. I had always looked forward to the days when my dad would meet my future husband, walk me down the aisle, play with my kids, and even teach them how to play baseball, just as he did with me. But with a sudden diagnosis, all of those dreams began to seem impossible. However, in the short time that ALS has been a part of my life, it has taught me dozens of lessons, and it continues to show me new lessons everyday. My dad's diagnosis has shown me the importance of family, gratitude, and hope. I came to the realization that the only reason that the news of my dad's ALS was affecting me so much, was because of how much love I have for him. My dad was one of my first best friends, as we have always had so much in common. Since the diagnosis, I have found myself more excited to come home, eager to spend more time with the people I love as often as I can. ALS has also taught me about gratitude. Recently, I have found myself more and more grateful for the little things and the not-so-little things around me. For the fact that my dad is still able-bodied, for the days when we can sit around and play card games for hours, for the family recipes that we can enjoy together, and for all the little moments I will always treasure with my dad. Lastly, ALS has also taught me to have hope. I don't know what the future is, but I know that everything will work out the way it is supposed to. I have hope for how much longer we still have with my dad, hope for how much longer he can walk, and hope for how much longer I can hear him laugh. This has affected my education in mostly positive ways, as I have been able to apply the life lessons I’ve learned to every aspect of my life. Learning to be intentional about spending time with the people I care about has gotten me a lot closer with my best friends. And now that I practice gratitude more, I can find something to be grateful for and look forward to everyday. My dad’s situation has affected other parts of my life that I didn’t expect. Because of his state, he no longer works, so we don’t have any current income and with medical expenses and upcoming medical expenses, my family has been working hard to find new ways to save and budget money. On all of my financial assessment papers that I send in to scholarships, it shows that my family was making money, as it shows last year's expenses and salary information. This means that the money I would receive from FAFSA and other scholarships would not reflect the money I need to pursue higher education. Because of this, I have applied to many scholarships (such as this one) and plan to apply to more. All of the scholarship money I earn will go directly to my college expenses so I can pay for my college independently and without financial support form my parents.

It is important for me to receive this scholarship because my family is not in a situation to financially support me as I seek out my college education. This last summer, my father got diagnosed with a neurological disorder called ALS. It is a disease that slowly kills you, taking away all of your muscle control over time. This news devastated my family at first, but it has also taught us so much about gratitude and appreciating the little things in life. We have found ways to look for the bright sides in life, no matter the challenges we are faced with. My dad’s diagnosis has really changed our lives in a lot of ways. My dad is retired, and my mom doesn’t work so she can stay home and take care of our house and my dad if he needs it. Although my parents weren’t planning on paying for all of my college, the amount that they can help me with has steadily decreased as we look at the upcoming expenses. Our home will change a lot as my dad’s condition worsens, as drastic changes need to happen for our house to be accessible for low- mobility conditions. With all the upcoming changes and medical technology that we need to buy, I also feel uncomfortable asking my parents for money, because I know that they need it way more than I do, even if they want to try to help to pay for my college. Not only this, but my dad’s retirement was recent, so on our recent tax- information, it still shows our family as having a steady income. This will impact how much money that I will receive from FAFSA, as our tax information does not accurately reflect the state of my family's current financial need. My older brother is one grade above me, meaning that he is currently going to college and will be attending college for most of the same time that I will be attending college. This is further adding to the strain of expenses that my parents have to deal with. Now that you know why I am in need, I’ll explain why you might consider selecting me for this scholarship. Over my high school experience, I have been devoted to excelling in all my classes. I have maintained a solid 4.0 with high A’s consistently in high school, and I have often been told that I had the highest grade in specific classes. To me, maintaining a 4.0 was never a goal or an option, it was the standard, and I knew that I had to keep my grades as high as possible. This is because I knew that someday, when I was applying to colleges and scholarships like this one, the hours of doing homework and studying late into the night would be worth it. I have been working hard to apply for many scholarships in the hopes that I will be able to pay for my college independently and without taking out any loans. In conclusion, it would mean the world to me to be selected for this scholarship. I hope you will consider selecting me for the hard work I have put into my grades and assignment and the fact that my family is not in a situation to financially support me while I pursue higher education. Thank you for taking the time and money to support students in need.

As humans, we can better understand the nature of our universe by working to better understand each other, and treating each other with compassion and empathy. By this I simply mean we need to care more about the people around us. For me, going to a public high school perfectly illustrates just how thoughtless my generation has become. The toxic fumes of the overpowering colognes must have mixed with the odors of addiction coming from the bathroom stalls and desensitized us as a generation, because it seems like no one really cares for each other anymore. I remember when, as a kid, no child was ever left behind. If someone was sad, you would give them hugs and play with them until they felt better. If someone was hurt then you would get snacks and band-aids while trying to make them laugh. I remember even comforting random kids at the park if they fell off the swings, not even minding that I had never talked to them before. Even at such a young age, we understood how to take care of each other. Now, as I walk through the halls seeing dozens of other kids frowning or anxious, I feel like it would be weird if I tried to ask them what's wrong. To me, it seems that if you asked someone that wasn’t your friend why they seem down, you would be “out of line”. I’ve even heard my classmates call people nosy when asked if they were doing okay. Let me be clear, I don’t think that anyone who is rejecting compassion is a mean hearted person. It’s just the climate that we grew up in. COVID hit me and my classmates at a point in our life when our brains and self identity were rapidly developing, isolating us to the point where it's often hard for people my age to extend (or accept) a helping hand to strangers. There was a moment that I experienced freshman year that I think about often. I was washing my hands in my high- school's bathroom, and a girl came up to wash her hands in the sink next to mine. I noticed that there were cuts all over her arms, and not just scars, but recent, fresh cuts. I recall staring in shock, concerned for the stranger next to me and racking my brain, trying to figure out what to say. In the end, I didn’t get the courage to ask her if she was okay, worried that I would seem intrusive or triggering. I left the bathroom without saying a word to her, and I was immediately filled with regret. I never saw her again, and I never got the second chance to make up for my silence. When I think about that moment today, I am disgusted and disappointed in myself. By not suppressing my own fears, I missed the opportunity to potentially change someone's life. That might seem to be an exaggeration, but I am a firm believer that your kind actions can have a butterfly effect in someone else's life. I just wish I had considered that in those fleeting moments by the sinks that day. Since that day, I’ve tried to make up for my mistake. I began to ask people, even strangers, if they were doing ok, asking how I can help, and just listening when an encouraging ear was needed. Through this, I have learned so much about not just the people around me, but also how I can live a better life. I have learned so many beautiful, tragic stories that have taught me to appreciate my life more and have made me more sensitive to how others around me could be feeling. But before you start taking care of others, it's important to take care of yourself. Cliché, I know, but how can you try to help the people around you if you can’t ask for help yourself? This was one of the harder lessons I learned, but since I’ve learned to tell people when I need an extra hand, I have been far better at assisting those around me. Going back again to when I was a kid, we all knew how to ask for band-aids, a hug, or even a snack. Asking someone to tie your shoes for you may seem easier than telling your friend you’ve been struggling recently, but fundamentally, they are the same. (I would like to note that I do know how to tie my own shoes now.) So, I think that to better understand the world around us, we need to start trying to understand the people around us. It sounds absurdly simple, but maybe it doesn’t have to be super complicated. Maybe to understand the universe, we don’t need telescopes, satellites, drones, and microscopes, but instead, compassion, patience, empathy, and graciousness. After high school, I plan on studying psychology to become a therapist, so I can work to better understand humans and how I can help them.

I am currently a high school senior, and I am taking two College in High School classes, CiHS Statistics and CiHS English 170, which will get me a head start in my collegiate studies. After I graduate high school, I plan to go to Western Washington University and get my bachelors degree studying Psychology. Psychology has always been fascinating for me, as I love learning about how humans work, especially when it comes to emotions and their brains. I plan on getting a part time job in college to help pay for my studies. For this job, I hope to work at one of Western Washington University’s libraries, as I worked in my high school library my junior year, studying library science, and now know the inner workings of a school library. After getting my bachelors degree, I hope to become a therapist. More specifically I would love to be a family therapist. I love listening to people talk about their feelings, and I also enjoy coming up with advice and solutions to help them. I have always been the “therapist” between my friends and family, and I take that un-official title very seriously. I want to specifically be a family therapist because my family has faced internal problems that I think could've been solved if we had had better communication. I want to be the person to help other families communicate clearly, work things out, and face their problems head-on. For a while, I couldn’t decide on what I wanted to do for a career, as I can see myself being happy in a number of jobs. But as I considered other possible future careers, I asked myself “Would I still want this job if I didn’t get paid or if I didn’t need the money?” If I was a family therapist, the answer to both of these questions would be yes.

I have learned countless lessons from the books I have read. Over my 17 years on this earth, I have been constantly curating a collection of stories, memories, and yes, lessons, from the books I have read. Although I don’t have time to explain all the teachings I have gathered over the years, here are the top three lessons I have learned. I first read the Harry Potter series when I was about eight, and my eyes were opened wide to the amazing world of witchcraft and wizardry. I had read books about fairies and magic before, but none as magical and enveloping as J.K. Rowlings intricate stories. This series taught me the importance of finding and making your own magic. The magic of hearing the birds sing in the morning, the magic of watching the sun come out from behind the clouds, and the magic in the flavors of your favorite family recipe. Learning to look for magic and whimsy in my everyday life has taken a large role in shaping the person I am today. It has taught me to always look for the bright side, to encourage others to find the beauty in small things, and overall, it has made me a happier person. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky has taught me the importance of actually living. Not just being alive, but living. I related a lot to the main character, Charlie, because, like him, I was okay with being a wallflower, just an observer in life. But throughout the story, he realizes that it is much better to be an active player in life, instead of waiting on the sidelines. This book taught me to not just float through life with my head down, following the crowd, but instead, it made me realize just how amazing it is that I am alive! I have this amazing opportunity to live and breathe on this earth, and I should not waste one single moment. I feel as though since reading this book, I have been a lot better at being alive. The last book that taught me a valuable lesson is It’s Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini. I think about this book often. At the beginning of the story, the main character, Craig, checks himself into a mental hospital because he thinks he might hurt himself. Later, as he talks to his mom about what happened, she tells him how proud she is of him for asking for help. That is the biggest thing she tells him. I think about this dialogue often, because I had never been one to ask for help. Growing up, I always wanted to be the helper, not the one in need. I didn’t like feeling like a burden, so I tried to take on everyone else's burdens, while still bearing my own. Reading It’s Kind of a Funny Story totally changed my perspective. It showed me that if I want to take care of people, I also need to take care of myself. Now, I know how to take care of myself, I know how to ask for help, and I understand that I need to prioritize my own well being. It even made me love helping people even more, and now, I plan to study to become a therapist, so I can help people professionally. Reading has always been something that has brought me great comfort and joy. Reflecting on the lessons I’ve learned makes me excited for the lessons I have yet to learn as I continue to read.

ALS has just begun to impact my life, and the lives of my family. In July of 2024, just a few months ago, my family received the devastating news that my dad has ALS. We had some fears for a while that he might have it, but I had thought that no such thing could happen to my own dad. For a few weeks, I grappled with all the horrible thoughts I could picture for our future. I had always looked forward to the days when my dad would walk me down the aisle, play with my kids, and even teach them how to play baseball, as he did with me. But with just a quick diagnosis, all of those dreams had begun to seem impossible. However, in the short time that ALS has been a part of my life, it has taught me dozens of lessons, and it continues to show me new lessons everyday. My dad's diagnosis has shown me the importance of family, gratitude, and hope. I came to the realization that the only reason that the news of my dad's ALS was affecting me so much, was because of how much love I have for him. My dad was one of my first best friends, growing up, we had so much in common. Our shared love for card and board games is always what I tell people about when I talk about my dad. For as long as I can remember, my dad and I would play game after game, always in good company and close completion. Since the diagnosis, I have found myself opting to come home from school and extracurriculars, more eagerly, excited to spend as much time with the people I love as often as I can. ALS has also taught me about gratitude. Recently, I have found myself more and more grateful for the little things, and the not-so-little things around me. For the fact that my dad is still able-bodied, for the days when we can sit around and play card games for hours, for the family recipes that we can enjoy together, and for all the little moments I have had, and still will have with my dad. Lastly, ALS has also taught me to have hope. I don't know what the future is, but I know that everything will work out the way it is supposed to. I have hope for how much longer we still have with my dad, hope for how much longer he can walk, and hope for how much longer I can hear him laugh. Moving forward, there are so many ways I want to help others, those also affected by ALS, and those unaffected. I have been trying to spread awareness in the little ways I can, such as talking and posting online about ALS, participating in ALS-related studies, and reaching out to people affected by ALS online. When I told my best friends, their support meant the world to me, and I have tried to support others in the same way. I have been trying to help those around me more often, asking people how I can support them, and listening to them as they tell me what they have been dealing with recently. I'm proud that I can continue to be an advocate of ALS, even in my small town, because through awareness, I hope that we can move towards a change.