My favorite K-pop group in the world is TXT also known as TOMORROW X TOGETHER. I first started my kpop journey in 2018 with the discovery of BTS. I was only a casual kpop listener until around covid time when life got very hard for me. TXT was a wonderful discovery to me as I felt their music really connected and related to my emotions. Their music was fun and light, but also deep and meaningful at the same time. I especially fell in love with Beomgyu who quickly became my ultimate bias. His chaotic and carefree attitude made me love him and it really comforted me when he would easily make me laugh. I wanted to be just like him confident, funny and himself. During 2023, I faced the hardest months of my life. My sister got into some trouble with the cops, I developed severe depression and anxiety to the point I couldn't take it anymore and tried to do something awful, and all my friends left me due to my irrational behavior. My family and home situation was a wreak and even writing about it months later, I still feel the tears well up. Kpop was one of my only happy places that I could escape to. Listening to TXT music especially made me feel happy, and watching their performances always captured my attention making me forget everything bad in my life. TXT's lyrics always bring tears to my eyes as I am reminded that I am not alone. A lot of the people in my life hate kpop and view it through a biased and Xenophobic lenses, but I don't mind because I know how wonderful and full of love this genre is. In a way, TXT was there for me when my friends and even family were not. I am adopted in my family and am Chinese. When my siblings see or hear me listening to kpop they always like to criticize me for listening to 'Chinese anime music' which deeply offends me and I can't help but feel annoyed that they don't understand. Everyone in my family knows of my love for TXT and actually some of my siblings and parents are very kind as they have gifted me TXT merch before. I love my parents very much and am grateful that they are willing to listen to kpop for me, especially my dad. My dad and I listened to TXT's new album in the car one day and he said that he understood why I liked their music which delighted me since we don't get along well. Ultimately, TXT has become a great source of motivation for me to keep on living and keep on smiling. Hearing their music brings me unfiltered joy and I look forward to their activities every day. Kpop is one of my only passions in my world full of school and studying and is a real stress reliever for me on a hard day. Thank you for listening to my story and I want to send love to TXT. I'm a MOA forever and always.

My name is Vivian Hillard; my parents and friends call me Harlow. I am a 16-year-old high schooler who was diagnosed with cerebral palsy at around the age of 2 or so. I was born with cerebral palsy but was not properly diagnosed until later years. I was adopted from China and was brought to the US before the age of 1. The doctors told my parents that I would most likely never walk, and if I could, I would have to walk with heavy assistance. The threat of seizures and my overall disability concerned my parents, but they loved and accepted me. The extent of my disability is that I do not have complete control over the right side of my body. My hand twitches when I type, my legs are not very strong, I have damaged motor skills in my legs feet, and arms, and it is hard for me to pronounce my R's. Overall, I am a bit weaker and way more clumsy than everyone else. In my elementary school years, I was in the special needs program where an aide was around me to help. I was with a walker up until the start of 2nd grade where I had previously gone through intense physical therapy to help my muscles and movement. Honestly, the aides who helped me only pushed me down and made me feel bad. I am and always have been a sensitive person, and hearing them complain or ask others about my mood swings always made me upset. While I was young, I've always been wise about what others think and say of me. Throughout my elementary to 6th-grade years, I have done multiple surgeries on my legs and stomach, and gone through intensive therapy until I begged my parents to let me stop. Being pulled out of school to do speech and physical therapy has made me a very conscious and embarrassed person, though I am grateful for the help and opportunities that my parents have provided me. My whole life I have lived with this disability, but never once have I come to hate it or myself. This is all thanks to my parents. They have showered me with love and accommodation. My mother is always there looking out for me and making sure I am comfortable. She knows that I find 'special treatment' slightly embarrassing, and is always looking for ways to help me lightly. My family overall is very diverse with 14 people in it, half the children are adopted, and the others are biological. My parents are amazing and my biggest motivation. They gave up on college to start a family, and I want to make them proud. I want to get into a good school and show them that all of their support and sacrifice were not wasted. My parents have made me the best version of myself and I am ready to show them how much I've grown from a small child to a strong, persevering woman. The financial assistance I would gain from this scholarship would greatly benefit me. I plan to apply to a more prestigious college to have a successful future and make my parents proud. The money I would gain from this scholarship would help me pay for textbooks, application fees, and overall college tuition. I want to graduate from college and enter the workforce worry-free about student debt, so any amount I can put toward college is greatly appreciated. I would also use the potential money for a dormitory/room if needed since I may go out of state to college.

I love math because it holds problems that almost always have a solution. Math is like a game made to be played over and over to achieve maximum status. Like a puzzle waiting to be solved. The hardest math problems can be reduced down to the basics as long as you know the strategy or formula to solve them. I love how you don't need to be smart or creative to do math. Anyone can solve math by just remembering a few steps to solve and it is way easier to practice math than any other subject since math is constant and repeating. There is always a pattern that can be found in math. Why is that? math holds numbers and equations. There is always a solution or no solution at all. After all, numbers never lie ---unless they are imaginary, then they are fake and lying to you!!--- but even imaginary numbers hold a sense of pattern and reasoning. Math is simple to learn and doesn't require extra effort such as English or History where you are constantly learning new things and having to remember rule after rule after rule. Math basics are taught to you in elementary school, and throughout the years, you only add to your previous knowledge. Think of it as a pinata. You start with the foundation, and little by little you add another strip of paper until it is complete; LIke a pinata, math skills are learned little by little until a math genius is born! When I tutor other students, my favorite subject to tutor is math. This is because I love explaining the rules of math and watching their eyes light up in understanding when they find the pattern I was directing them toward. Math makes me excited as I love to think logically and solve my way through problems. If I could I would take all 6 classes as a math class. I already know that I am going to live and breathe math until I can't anymore, and it makes me happy to know that I have a special skill. Lots of people can do math and lots can probably do math better than me, but not many can express their love of math like me. Not many can write a 400-word essay about their love of math like me. I love math so much because it gives me happiness.