I think that the universe is a very important thing to think about, because it shows us something that is very important. There are a lot of mysteries that make up the universe. For instance, where did the universe come from? Was there always a universe, or did it appear out of nothing? Where did the first bit of matter come from? Where did life come from? How did everything work together so perfectly to create the Earth, with just the right distance from the Sun, the right distance from the Moon, the right atmosphere to protect us, and so on? These questions just keep on coming, and it's hard for science to answer them. Science, after all, can only study things that are repeatable, but the origin of the universe and of life and of the Earth isn't repeatable. What's more, the origin of these things seems to be beyond nature. For instance, the origin of life. Where did that first living creature come from? Did it exist forever? But according to scientific law, life cannot come from non-life. So what happened? These are a lot of questions, and they cannot be explained satisfactorily from a natural standpoint - people have tried to do that for many years, and no satisfactory explanation has been found. However, there has to be an explanation, because life does exist. Since there is no natural explanation, a supernatural explanation has to be found. This may sound unscientific, but as already discussed, science has inherent limitations and cannot explain everything. It does not deny science to go beyond science into areas that science cannot reach. So, what is the supernatural origin of the universe? The best explanation is that there is a God, a supernatural Being that overrode the laws of nature to create the universe, to create life, and to create the world. This God had to have great power in order to do this. This God also had to be greater than nature, since the greater thing always creates the lesser thing. I believe that this God is the God of the Bible, Who created the universe in His power. If this is true, we can learn something about the Creator by looking at the created. There is a part of the Bible that says that God's "eternal power and Godhead" can be understood by looking at the universe. In other words, people can know that there is an eternally powerful God by looking at the universe. There's a lot more to be learned about God than anyone can learn just by looking at the universe, but that's a great place to start. And since God also created science, we can use science to study the universe, reading the Bible at the same time, to learn more about God and His power. That's why it's important to study the universe, and that's my framework for doing it.

I find it important to keep away from debt. Both my parents went to college and incurred large debts, and they warned me to be wise with my money and avoid the mistakes that they made. Although loans make it easier to pay for college while a person is in college, they end up being more expensive in the end because of interest. Thus, a good way to save money on college is to not go into debt for it, since going into debt makes it cost much more over time. I have other things I can do with my hard-earned money than paying it all for interest, and so I am working hard - partly through a job, partly through scholarships - to avoid that route. It might be harder now, but it will pay off later, and it will make it much easier to establish myself once I have graduated, giving me the money to settle myself into a new life without stressing so much over finances.

I love nature because it is so relaxing. There are few things more peaceful than the lapping of waves on a shore, the beautiful songs of the birds, and the rustling of green leaves on the trees in a warm spring breeze. There are few things more beautiful than a sparkling, majestic river winding through green hills and valleys, the silent glory of an exquisite flower, and the towering, splendid waves of the ocean. There is such a vast expanse of nature that no one can really ever see it all and get tired of it. All a person can do is take time to appreciate the nature they see around them. And that is what I try to do. I might not be able to go to foreign lands to see the beauties of nature there, but I can pause in the middle of my busy life to stoop down and enjoy the intricacies of a flower, or to tune my ear to the call of a songbird. And when I do get the chance to go to new places, I delight myself with the wonders of the nature there, appreciating both the big and the little that I have the opportunity to see from nature.

My example of using persistence to overcome an obstacle isn't in the past; it's an example that's still continuing today. I'm going to a private school because I'm pursuing a degree in Biblical counseling, which, since it is a Christian-based field of education, is only offered at specific private schools. Because it is a private school, though, it is more expensive than other schools, and so it has taken a lot of hard work for me to fund my way through. I am working my way through college, have not taken out any loans and have paid for each semester up front, and am at a 3.9 GPA currently and raising it every semester. This is an achievement that I hope to continue through the rest of my college career, which is a little over half done. It is a very difficult achievement, and my finances have been a considerable obstacle for me in accomplishing this achievement. I have had to work hard and persistently to provide the finances for myself; it has required a lot of persistence. However, I keep my eyes on the goal and keep striving forward, and one day, I hope to look back and know that I accomplished the achievement I strove for.

In my life, I hope to accomplish many good things. However, many of these good things I hope to accomplish seem nerve-wracking and perhaps even a little dangerous, making me a little nervous about doing these things. In order to practice bravery, I first evaluate the good thing to see if it really is the best choice to do right then, or if there would be a better time, place, or way to do it. If it is the right thing to do, I remind myself of why I am doing it. Then I take a breath and do it, even if I still am a little nervous. After all, bravery and boldness is not exactly the absence of fear. Real courage is to be afraid but to do the right thing anyway. As I strive to do the right thing boldly in my life, I like to remind myself of that definition of courage. It's not necessarily wrong to be afraid, but it is wrong to let fear keep me from doing what is right. And so sometimes I just need to take a deep breath and do the right thing anyway, living boldly and doing what I need to do even if I am afraid.

Imagine a young woman living in downtown Milwaukee. She's 17 years old, and she's been involved with a local gang since she was 10. She's been to jail six times and to prison once. She's addicted to just about every drug on the street, along with cigarettes and booze. Her boyfriend of 3 years just got her pregnant two months ago. He wanted her to get an abortion. She didn't. So he forced it on her and left her. She has no one to turn to and is feeling pretty hopeless and alone - life just doesn't have any more appeal to her. She's just about to escape from her life once and for all, in the only way she knows how. My goal in life is to show her and others like her another, better way out - a radical change in the way she lives her life. I want to give her help and hope, to help her climb out of the pit of despair she has found herself in and teach her to go out and make a difference in the world herself. I have seen many people in difficulties such as the ones described in the life of the fictional young woman above. My desire in life is to change these things. As I look around the world today, I see many things that are not the way they ought to be. There are already many people and organizations working to change the big-picture things. I, however, believe that change is best made by changing individual people. When individual people are changed, the things they do will be changed. This will change the many horrible statistics that are out there. This will impact the businesses and organizations that are not doing what they should be doing, because they will lose the business of these people who have changed. And this change I plan to go out and make will be self-perpetuating. As I work with people and help them change, I will also teach them how to help others and make a difference in the world in the particular way they were gifted to help others and make a difference. Instead of just adding numbers of people I have helped - one person helped here, one person helped there - I will be multiplying the numbers - one person I helped went on to help five other people, and each of those people helped five other people, and so forth. Although, in the end, it is each person's responsibility to change themselves, I will do what I can to make a dramatic change for the better happen as quickly as possible, to change the world and even the course of history.

I am a doormat. I don’t mean that like you people do. I’m not abused – well, not much anyway. I’m not exactly unhappy. But I am stepped on, dirtied, and generally just ignored. I am a genuine, typical, ‘Welcome to our Humble Home’ doormat. When I was manufactured, I was proud to be a doormat. I was proud to have come from Doormats, Inc., the biggest doormat company for miles around. I was proud of my smiling sun, my fluffy gray clouds, and the fat raindrops coming from them. Back then, I was clean. I was shipped to a big retail store and put on the shelf. I let my smiling sun smile at all the passers-by. I was comfortable and content. Then one day a fat old lady that smelling like cigarette smoke came and looked at me, and put me in her shopping cart. I was a little disappointed, because I had wanted my buyer to be a nice, happy young lady. But I had to live up to that sunshine on me, so I tried to work up some enthusiasm. She took me home and plopped me on the hard concrete in front of a black door with peeling paint. It was all I could do not to yell out ‘Ouch!’ She looked at me with satisfaction. I looked back at her with dissatisfaction. “There!” she crowed to herself. “Old Marge will be jealous of me now, for sure.” Then she waddled heavily into the house and slammed the door. Weeks went by. I was trod upon thoughtlessly by everyone. I got so dirty that it was hard to tell what I looked like. And I felt worse – and worse – and worse. Then that old lady’s son moved in to help her out. The first time he saw me, he looked at me for a long time, trying to figure out what I was. Then he walked in and left me alone again. Five minutes later he was back with a bucket of soapy water and a scrubbing-brush. He knelt down and scrubbed me until I was almost as clean as when I was new. I wanted to thank the man, but I didn’t know how. All I could do was smile at him though that sun picture on me. But he smiled back at me. And later on, he scraped the old black peeling paint off the front door and repainted it a bright, beautiful red. I kept looking for a way to thank the man, and one day I found it. The man was leaving for a trip, and his old mother was saying goodbye to him. Then the man reached over and hugged her, that fat old lady that smelled like cigarette smoke, before getting into his car and driving away. And I knew right away what I had to do. I’m not a stupid doormat. And now I am cheerful, cushioning the cement for that lady who bought me and anyone else who may come in. I smile at them all, and wordlessly welcome them in. I still get heedlessly tromped upon, and I still get dirty. But I am doing what I was made to do, and it is a good and right thing. I am a doormat.

As I mentor others, I try to set a good example for them, while at the same time teaching them verbally. Thus, I hope that they will both listen to what I tell them and imitate me in the good things I do. Sure, I won't be perfect all the time, and they can't necessarily imitate everything I do. Even so, I want them to imitate the good things I model for them, especially the good character qualities I show them. Ultimately, as I mentor them, I want them to get better. As I mentor people, they usually have specific problems that I want to help them with, such as difficulties in school. Thus, the specific impact I want to make on the people I mentor generally depends on the person. The main goal, though, is for them to get better, to build up their character and become more mature, both in the big things and in the small things.

Being selfless and helping others is very important to me. As I look around the world, there are many other people here besides me, and many of them are going through some very hard times. That fact alone is sufficient reason for me to make a difference in the lives of others by helping them where I can. However, I also know that when I am struggling, I also want to be helped, and I know how it feels when someone helps me. Because I know how good that feeling is, I want to give that same feeling to as many others as possible. After all, in the grand scheme of things, I'm not all-important. It's God that's all-important, and He gave everything for me. It's only reasonable that I thank Him for His undeserved sacrifice by serving Him however I can, and one of the ways He tells me to serve is by helping others. This gives me a different perspective in that life isn't all about me, and because it isn't all about me, I need to focus on others besides myself. It's my logical response to God that I would be selfless and help others, and ultimately, that's why I incorporate these things into my daily life.

To me, the confidence I want to have is not a false confidence. If I have confidence, I want it to be placed in something that will hold up and will be worthy of my confidence. Therefore, if I want myself to be confident, I need to equip myself well. This task of equipping is the reason I am currently going to college. I want to make a difference with my life, to help troubled teens. Therefore, I am equipping myself to do this work in my life. I am equipping myself with education, by going to college and working hard to learn and do well there. I am equipping myself with experience, by seeking to help troubled teens in my daily life wherever possible and as much as possible. I am equipping myself with finances, partially by applying to scholarships such as this one, so that when I am finished with college, I will not be held back by unstable finances. By doing all these things, I will improve myself so that I can accomplish much with my life, and go out into the future with confidence.

My biggest goal in life is to help as many people as possible. It's not a very easy thing to measure objectively, but it has a huge payback. Even if the person I help can't exactly ever pay me back, it still makes my day better to know that I've helped someone. That's why I'm pursuing a major that will equip me to work with troubled teens who need all the help and love they can get. Seeing lives changed for the better motivates me to keep going, and so my goal in life is to help as many people as possible. It's not exactly a conventional bucket list, but it's one that will change many people's lives and even the whole city that I end up working in. So, although I hope to have a lot of adventures in my life and do a lot of fun things, my main goal is to keep helping people, as I already have been throughout my daily life, and make a difference every single day.

My favorite way to help others is by talking to them. This would include listening to them and hearing what they have to say, which is very encouraging to them. However, this would also include the things I say to them. I try to focus on the positive and stay cheerful, which helps others stay cheerful. I also try to thank and uplift others who are going above and beyond and who are working hard to do their best. This lets them know that they are appreciated and cared about. Finally, I seek to show them that I care about them as a person in everything I say to them. There can be a lot of harshness in the world, and I show others through my words, as well as my actions, that I will care about them and sacrifice myself for them. In all these things, talking to others is key to helping them, encouraging them, and lifting them up, and because it is so versatile, I enjoy using verbal communication to help others.

One sentence I would like to share with the world is "Listen to many viewpoints and analyze them for truth." There are many viewpoints in the world today, and listening to other people's viewpoints can help us understand a different perspective on the world. However, not all viewpoints are completely correct, which means we have to exercise some discernment on what we accept as truth. For instance, there may be two viewpoints that contradict each other, that cannot both be true at the same time. Both sides of the issue may have good points behind it, which means we have to analyze the good points behind each to discover what is good and true about each one. If we already have subscribed to one viewpoint, it is helpful for us to look at the other viewpoint and their arguments for their viewpoint to give us a better and fuller perspective on the issue. Then, after weighing all the evidence, we can settle on the truth.

I am passionate about helping others. I love the privilege of people coming to me with things they are struggling with, and being able to help lighten their load as much as I can. I am currently in the middle of training myself in everything that I do to become better and better at doing this. It takes hard work, but my passion for helping people keeps me going. I have been able to help several people to some extent with some very difficult things, and I am continually amazed at the privilege I have to know them. I am honored that they trust me to tell me what they are going through, and I try to give them my care and support primarily, and also other forms of help if they need or want it. Having seen the privilege it is to do this, I am passionate about continuing to do this and becoming better at it.

My goal for the future is to become an excellent counselor. It will take a lot of work, but I am determined to work hard to reach that goal. I want to learn as much as I can now so that I can help others well later on. I consider my whole college experience as not just a way to get a degree, but as a wealth of essential and valuable information that I need to know. The more of these things I know, the better of a counselor I will be. Knowing this, I am dedicated to learning as much as I can right now. It is not easy to be a counselor; for one thing, it is overwhelming to try to make sense of people's problems and see where they need help, and for another, it can be depressing to hear all the things people are struggling with. However, I know that with hard work, I can do this and help a lot of people. Remembering that keeps me motivated to work toward my goals.

The impact I hope to leave on the world is not so much global as local. By that I mean that I don't necessarily strive to be someone famous, but I want to have a great impact on those I meet. After all, people are usually more influenced by their friends than their leaders, unless they have a leader who is also their friend. However, the specific impact I hope to make on those I meet is to help them with all my heart to bring them closer to the way they are supposed to be, especially through counseling. The way I plan to achieve that impact is partially through the counseling degree I am currently working on. I am working hard to learn all that I can right now so that I can have the greatest impact on people later, as well as right now while I am still learning. I view everything in my life as an opportunity to learn skills and knowledge that will help me help others in the future.

One thing I do to encourage others is to listen to them - truly listen to them, not just waiting for them to stop talking so I can say what I want to say, but to listen to them in order to encourage them and understand their viewpoint. It is very comforting to be listened to, and that is what I seek to provide to others. Another thing I do is give out hugs when other people want them. This is especially helpful to provide to girls like me, since we are more wired to receive support through touch. Naturally, I check with them to make sure they are OK with it, but if they want a hug, that can be a very encouraging thing to give them. A third thing I do is focus on keeping myself cheerful and uplifting. This obviously includes my words and actions, but it also includes my face. I try to be careful of the expression on my face to make sure that it is a pleasant expression, since my usual resting face - and I don't think I'm alone in this - is not always that pleasant. Being cheerful in what I look like, do, and say helps encourage others.

The thing that gives me the most hope about the future is knowing that someone is in control - specifically, God. Because He is both good and in control, I can have hope for the future. That statement needs some modifiers, though. Just because He is good does not mean that He will prevent all bad things from happening - that is evident just by looking at the world we live in. There is still evil in the world because He allows people, to some extent, to choose to do the wrong thing, which can hurt others. Also, the world itself is broken and no longer the way He designed it to be, such as with disease and death. Finally, there is an adversary in the world, Satan, who hates God but cannot defeat Him, so he tries to hurt those God loves - people. For these reasons, there is still evil in the world. However, because I am trusting in Jesus' death on the cross to pay for my sins so that I am perfect before God, allowing me to enter Heaven, I will one day be in Heaven, with God, forever - and nothing bad can ever happen there. This is an amazing hope to have, and one that I try to share with others on every opportunity I can. This world is full of evil, but I will not be here forever. One day, I will have rest, and I will be with God. That, in itself, is an amazing reward. Those who have understood how much Jesus suffered to pay the cost of their sin, which cost is death, and the great, undeserved love He had for them and for all humans, will naturally be motivated to love Him in return, and for them, seeing Him face to face and giving Him the praise He deserves is the greatest reward they could ever have. I am thankful to know that I am one of these people, and pray that those who might read this essay would also be or become among these people also, because it is only in this that anyone can have an eternal hope that will surely come to pass.

One of my talents is writing; I enjoy doing it, and I like to think that I do it well. I am currently working on either a novel or novella - depending on what length it lends itself to best when I'm done working with it - and that takes a lot of work. I need to make sure every part of the story, big and small, contributes to communicating the story line and ideas behind it in the best way possible. Thus, a big part of practicing my skills is just to keep working on the story, shaving off the rough edges and filling in the holes. Another part of practicing my skills is learning how to write well and intentionally putting the things I learn into practice. This lets me learn from the wisdom of people who have had more experience than I have, while still letting me use my style in my writing. Both these things contribute to quality practice of my writing skills.

Every day, I try to listen to other people. This generally takes two forms: listening to other people to help them and listening to other people to learn from them. Listening to people to help them involves listening with compassion and sincerity while they share something that is going on in their lives, especially something difficult. Often, someone who is going through a difficult time wants sympathy more than advice, and a good listener gives that to them. Even if it might be hard, active listening leaves out giving advice unless it is specifically asked for. Listening to people to learn from them, though, involves asking people what their views on a topic are and then listening to their answer. This would mean not arguing with them, listening politely to their opinion, even if it is far different from my own. It also means considering the merits of what they say, even while not blindly accepting everything they might say. Either form of listening is very helpful in their respective contexts, and both are very important to me.

I'm currently working hard to staying in school without going into debt. I know that many college students go into debt and then have trouble paying it off after they graduate, leaving them stuck paying much more than they would originally have paid through interest. That's why I would save up $1000 for my next semester of college. It would help me over the summer to not have the need to work as much, which is especially needful because this year I will be taking a summer class that will occupy much of my time for a couple months this summer. With the extra money in my bank account, I would have less need to work overtime or even find a second or third job, giving me more time to enjoy friendships, relax, and do the things that make a college experience exciting. It would also help lighten the load during the schoolyear, since I still work through each semester. Having a lightened workload would enable me to spend more time on my homework and more time having fun. All things considered, having this extra money in my bank account would lighten my load in college, and help me enjoy my college experience and maximize the opportunities available to me at this point in my life.

I have a caring heart, which I have had naturally as I have been growing up, and which I have been cultivating to be even greater. Having this caring heart has helped me help other people. For instance, I once had a friend who was feeling down because of something that had just happened to her. My caring heart led me to gently ask her what was going on, and when she confided in me what was going on, I was able to encourage her and give her something to hold on to. There are many other instances like this in my life where I have seen someone hurting and taken the time to talk to them and help them as well as I can. Because I see this characteristic of mine as so valuable to others, I do not exactly see it as something that will purely help me in my life. After all, not everything is about me - I have importance, but so does everyone else. Just because I have this good characteristic does not mean I should use it to serve myself. Having a caring heart is not always easy. When I see someone who is unhappy and I ask them what is going on, they will often tell me what is going on because they know that I will sympathize with them and that I will keep it confidential. However, it is not always very easy to listen to the bad things going on in people's lives - it often makes me hurt along with them. Thus, part of having a caring heart is helping me see that any good qualities or characteristics I have should not only be used to help me. I also have the responsibility to help others where I can and when they let me, even if it hurts me. However, my characteristic of a caring heart will help others on their life journey. I seek to be a person they can trust, someone they can come to with their burdens, someone who will sacrifice for them. As I become better and better at being that kind of person, I hope to be able to give them more and more, and give them some hope for the future and help for the present. Because of all this, I see my characteristic of a caring heart as very valuable, and as something that will help many other people besides myself in their life journeys.

My motivation comes from a variety of sources. One source of motivation for me is seeing what I have been able to do in the past. I am currently a junior in college, and I have only gotten A's every semester in spite of the many hours I have worked. I have also been able to work enough that I have not had to take out any debt, leaving me set to graduate debt-free so that I can use my money more productively after I graduate. Seeing these accomplishments I have been able to reach so far motivates me to keep going and achieve these same accomplishments during my remaining semesters. Another motivation for me is seeing how applicable the things I am learning in school will be to my planned career, counseling. Counseling is definitely not an easy field, but I can see clearly how my classes will help me succeed and help many people in this field. This motivates me to attend my classes, pay attention, and learn as much as I can from my time in school.

I am currently in my second year of college, majoring in counseling. I am working hard to stay in college, even though it is expensive, by working around 20 hours a week during the school year and 40 hours a week during the summer. I am also doing well in my classes with a GPA of 3.98. It is not easy to balance these responsibilities, but I do it by keeping my eye on the goal. This goal is very special to me and sums up my desire for my life - to be a counselor. I know that being a counselor will not be easy for me. I will be burdened by the burdens I see others bearing, burdens I will be trying to help them with. However, I also see the purpose of doing this type of work, in spite of its difficulty. I want to find people who are hurting, who have no one else to go to, and show them what true, self-sacrificial love looks like and help them live the way they were meant to live. I am interested in this type of work not because it is easy - because it isn't at all easy - but because that is my passion. It is my desire in life to help as many people as I can in the best way I can, and I am working toward that goal and putting it into practice at every opportunity. I also am an avid reader and have read a wide variety of books. Some of these books tie directly into counseling, since I have read many books about counseling and how to do it well. Some of them do not directly relate to counseling, but they help me expand my worldview. A well-written fictional book, for instance, helps me see what is going on in the characters' minds. Usually, the characters think in different ways than I do, and reading about their thought processes helps me gain a different perspective on the world. It also helps me learn about human nature, such as how humans of all walks of life make decisions, which is helpful to know in counseling when the counselee is making bad decisions. Thus, although reading did not exactly help me find my goals in life, since that has been with me since I was quite young, but it did help prepare my mind for when I am counseling. Because of the impact for good reading has had on me, I intend to keep reading to better my mind and help me reach my goals.

One of my favorite hobbies is crocheting. I find it very relaxing, and have made a lot of things through crocheting. The biggest project I have crocheted so far is a blanket. I crocheted many small granny squares in a rainbow of colors, arranged them so they made diagonal stripes, sewed them together, and crocheted a border around it. One of my favorite things to crochet, however, is dishcloths. I enjoy making them because not only can I relax by crocheting, but I can also produce something useful by doing it. I have made many dishcloths, and have found them to be very sturdy and useful for washing dishes. When I make dishcloths, I can enjoy myself and be productive at the same time. I have also learned to improvise, so that if I have enough yarn, I can crochet anything I want, usually without a pattern. I can make a purse, a hat, an oven mitt, a bag, and many more things. Thus, I have had a lot of fun with crocheting, and have produced a lot of helpful things that I have needed.

Although I've read hundreds of books on a wide variety of subjects, the most inspiring book I've ever read is the Bible. That answer might sound cliche, but I have read many classics, and none of them are as amazing as the Bible. The Bible provides answers to the problems all of us face, even though it uses different terms to describe them. For instance, it talks about depression in the character of a man named Elijah. After he received a death threat for an unpopular thing he had done, he fell into serious depression and wished he would die. God helped him deal with these feelings by having him eat, drink, sleep, and exercise, and then, once his physical needs were met, gave him a purpose and hope. By going through this course of action, God showed how to help people with depression, and this course of action still works today - taking care of physical needs first, and then giving them a Biblical purpose for living and Biblical hope. This is only one example out of hundreds that show how relevant the Bible is to our lives. The Bible has inspired me to have a strong passion for helping people whether I feel like it or not, and has also shown me how to do it. It has helped me grow in character and has brought a lot of comfort. Even though it was written a long time ago, it has truly spanned the ages to still bring truth to our rapidly-changing society. Because of its timelessness, help, encouragement, and comfort, I can say with complete certainty that the Bible is the most inspiring book I have ever read, out of the hundreds of choices I have to draw from.

One thing I have begun to focus on in my life to make those around me feel loved is giving out words of appreciation and love. For example, if I notice that someone has been working hard, I thank them for their hard work. For my family in particular, I try to vocalize my love for them as a family member, since it can be rare for families to verbally express genuine love to each other. I also talk to my friends and others in my life about how their lives are going, giving them a listening ear if they are going through a hard time and showing them that I care about them as a person, even if they are going through difficulty. If there is an area where I am able to help them, I offer my help to them, and give it to them if they are willing to take it. Also, even though my life is busy, I try to spend time with people, talking with them about meaningful subjects, such as how their day is going and what they have planned for the rest of the day (as opposed to a non-meaningful subject, such as the weather). By doing all these things, I try to be present when those in my life need me, and doing what I can to help them when I am able.

One life lesson I've learned is that people like being around a kind person. My personality naturally inclines me toward being a kind person, but I still have to make the choice to be kind even when I don't feel like it. I have learned that people appreciate kindness, and because I have learned this, I strive to be kind more consistently in my life. Seeing how I have been able to help people by my kindness has been an encouragement in my life, but it is also something of a challenge. Because I have seen how much of a difference kindness can make, I have some idea of what could have happened when I fail to be kind. I know better, and that makes the times that I fail to be kind more of a challenge to me to grow in kindness. This kindness can come in many ways, such as driving a person to a place they need to be if they don't have a ride, giving a word of encouragement, or serving others. The idea of kindness also includes being humble, knowing that I don't have to be recognized for the kindness that I do. If I do something kind for the sake of being noticed, it is no longer an act of service to the other person - it is an act of kindness to myself, making myself look good in front of others. Thus, kindness is not just doing the right thing, but doing the right thing for the right reason. This is not always easy to do, even for someone who is already inclined toward kindness - as I have discovered. I don't always feel like helping other people, and I tend to want to be treated kindly more than I want to treat others kindly. It is a real challenge to keep being kind when others are not being kind to me, and I have failed at this multiple times. However, the struggle to always do what is right in this area of kindness has built me up as a person, strengthening my character. I have learned the importance of kindness, and in continuing to grow in this area, I will set myself up for success in life. Although it does not always happen, people in general treat kindly those who treat them kindly, and respect them. Thus, by learning to be kind, I am more likely to be treated kindly and respected. Naturally, this cannot be the motive for being kind, as I already mentioned. My motive still needs to be right, but I can also recognize at the same time that the results can help me, though I do not be kind for that reason. In other words, I have learned that kindness is an important concept and have begun to incorporate it more into my life. I have also learned to recognize the results that kindness brings, both for me personally and for my life.

I deserve this scholarship because I am working hard in college to achieve my educational goals. As I take my difficult tests, I often find myself giving a lot of wrong answers. In fact, I have accumulated so many wrong answers over the years of my schooling that I consider myself an expert in wrong answers. Therefore, I am also an expert in the field of this scholarship. My dream career is a daisy picker. Daisy picking is an amazing job because it pays very handsomely and includes being out in nature. Of course, daisy picking is a demanding job, and I am currently in college pursuing a degree in daisy picking. It is a difficult degree, but I stick to it because I keep myself focused on achieving my dream career - daisy picking. One major obstacle I have overcome is my fear of talking to people. This may sound like a normal introvert, but this fear was more profound, so that I was unable to even say "Hello" to a friend. But, with a lot of hard work and perseverance, I have finally been able to diminish this fear to introvert level, which I consider a major achievement.