Growing up, I didn't even have the chance to realize what a real family is supposed to look like. My parent's got divorced when I was only 5 years old. At the time my brother was 8 and my sister was 6. As I started to age, I realized quickly what had happened and why it happened. My mother had a bad addiction to marijuana and she had cheated on my father. My mother also had a bad addiction to shopping, and as my parents were in a rough patch with jobs, the money was quickly going away. She was unhappy with that and decided to sleep with another man and ended up getting pregnant. For about 8 years m and my siblings would go back and forth between my mom and my dads house. My mother started to mistreat me and would make me feel worthless. The name calling, the neglect to do basic needs for me like make me dinner or bring me to practice was emotionally degrading on a 13 year old. I didn't understand how a "mother" could have that title, but treat me the way she did. I started living with my father who was always there for me. He is a firefighter and works every third day on a 24 hour shift, so I was alone a lot, but he always did the best he could for me. As I got into high school, I realized that I was going to have to be more independent for myself and not rely on anyone else. My freshman year of high school I decided to try out for the varsity beach volleyball team. At the time there were 9 seniors, and only 15 spots on the team. I wasn't sure I would even make it. Though, surprisingly enough, I did. I started off the season as a practice player, and was eager to work and show them I was good enough to play, despite my young age. About halfway through the season we had lost 2 games in a row and my coaches were ready to try something new, and for me, it was my time to shine. I ended up winning my games and eventually our team made it to states. It was the most memorable season of my life, and I learned so much about who I was and will forever be grateful for that. I realized that I am not who my parents are, and I can do amazing things on my own. I don't have to be defined by a circumstance, or consumed by a situation. There is so much joy in other things, so that is what I started to find for myself. Now I am moving on to play collegiate beach volleyball. Thank you so much for taking the time to read my essay scholarship application.

My name is Hanna Hall and ever since I have been in school, I have faced different struggles with anxiety. Walking into a class I always felt like all eyes were watching me. Every move I made, every breath I took, I felt as if I was being judged. I always wondered if that was a normal feeling. Did every kid grow up feeling this way? Or was this only an effect on me. As I grew older and started observing the kids I grew up with, they seemed so comfortable with one another. I envied how free they felt with the words they said. They weren't scared to participate when the teacher asked the class a question. I always felt like I physically couldn't raise my hand. I couldn't speak my mind and say what I felt. So it always stayed inside me. As I entered high school, and started taking more college based classes, we started doing a series of different presentation projects, where you had to get up in front of the class and present your project. It wasn't optional. I felt like I was being thrown into a lion's den as a piece of steak, even though it may not seem that scary to others. I stuttered, stammered words, had a hard time making eye contact, and my grade in that area of the presentation wasn't as good as the individual work I had done on my own. It made me feel like something was wrong with me, and there was no way to fix it. Finally, my senior year of high school I decided to move online for my senior year of schooling. I was able to do my presentations on video tap, and didn't have to feel the constant overwhelming presence of others around me. I finally felt like maybe this option made me feel normal. Pursuing an education is important to me because I want to be able to bring awareness to kids who struggled with selective mutism just like me. I realized that I am not alone in this feeling, and it may not be a ton of kids that feel this way, but a handful do. I believe it is important to bring awareness to the kids who may not be able to stand up for themselves. Just because the in school atmosphere may be harder for some than others, it shouldn't have an effect to diminish the chance to learn and succeed in a child's dreams. Your anxiety isn't YOU. Your stress isn't YOU. Your well-being, your hobbies, your personality is who you are. A higher education would allow me to show that a social fear that is installed internally, doesn't define the path of your life. You do. Thank you for taking the time to read my scholarship essay application. i

My relationship with Jesus is the most important thing in my life. From the moment I was 12 and first found Jesus, sitting on the floor in my cousins room, needing an answer. He was always there for me. Growing up, I always went to church, but I was never as into it as I should have been. I was young still, but seeing all the other kids around me as we got to middle school start to try different things and veer off on a path that I knew I could not go down, I really didn't know what my path was. I felt very lost. It's like if I wasn't doing what everyone else was doing, I was in the wrong by their perspective, but if I did do what they were doing, I was guilty as it was morally wrong. That is when I started taking my relationship with Jesus more serious. I knew that he was my path. I didn't know exactly what that meant but I had comfort in knowing he knew where I was going and he would never lead me astray. My relationship with Jesus has kept my faith firm. Why would I change my beliefs in what has worked for me and gotten me this far? I stand firm I his word and when he tells me he will never fail me. I have the understanding to know that does not mean everything will be smooth sailing, but in the end it will be okay. Throughout my educational journey, I want to share the light of Christ. Without him, I know I would not have the opportunities I have. I want other people to go down the path that Jesus has for each and everyone of us. I also would love to go into youth ministries. I think the issue with our youth is there is too much pressure to be perfect for Jesus. Instead of sharing that we just need to come to him as we are and he will clean us. I want to go on mission trips and share the word of Jesus by teaching other's around the world that may not have the chance to learn about Jesus like I do. I think learning and education is a form of teaching about Jesus. My faith has never let me down and I know it never will. I want everyone to seek and find, just like I did when I was in need of Jesus. Thank you for reading my essay scholarship, and have a blessed day.

Ever since I was a young kid I have always dreamed about playing on a big stage. I loved volleyball. From the first time I went to camp at the age of 6, to playing and training at high competition everyday now; I knew it’s what I always wanted. I played indoor all the way up until my freshman year. I wasn’t enjoying it as much as I had been so I decided to try something new. As soon as I had my first practice, I knew this is what I wanted to start focusing on. There was so much to learn because it’s such a completely different game that I found it more like a puzzle, and you put the pieces together more and more each practice. Though, there was a lot of rough days throughout high school, my sport was always a light for me. It’s a big transition in life all throughout the four years of high school. I had a lot of family stuff going on at home as well, and was losing myself. The one thing that always was consistent in my life was beach volleyball. No matter if I had a bad day, got a bad test grade, something happened with a friend, as soon as I stepped on those beach courts everything went away. The passion and drive I hard for my sport ended up carrying into other areas of my life, including school, work, and helping around at the house. I felt myself becoming more positive about the things around me and I became a hard worker at everything I do. Beach volleyball is something I could never see myself giving up after my senior year. That is why I have decided to play college. After college, I wish to pursue my career in sports broadcasting. I see myself in the sports field, as different sports like hockey, football, and baseball have always interested in me as well. I feel as if I have a good base knowledge for that career and I also love the journalism aspect of it. I love to write. I would love to see more women in this field, knowing there’s a lot of other females that have a passion for sports like I do. Hopefully I can inspire other people as well through my job. Thank you so much for reading my essay, and I hope you can see my love for beach volleyball.