Today I am here applying for a college scholarship. Which is not something I ever imagined I would have the opportunity to do. I am going to be the first in my family to attend a four-year college. And also the first of my adopted family to graduate high school. I come from a background of addiction within my family, biological of course. When I was four I was put into the foster care system with my younger sister. We had 3 other siblings on our mom's side that got separated from us. And you can probably imagine how confusing and heartbreaking it was at such a young age to have to be taken from your mom and dad and siblings and not quite understand why. After being with a few families for about a year my aunt and uncle started to foster my sister and me. Eventually, around the age of 8, I was officially adopted by them and reunited with my other 3 siblings. Growing up I could never fully grasp the concept of how my parents wanted to just give me up. Why didn't they want me? It took a lot of time to comprehend that it wasn't my fault. Although this took a toll on my mental health. It was hard to be able to trust the new parents that did want me because all I could think is that they could leave me just like they did. Today I am closer than ever with my adopted family and all of my siblings, and even in the last 2 years I was able to reconnect with my biological father and we're working on building that relationship back up again. My Grandfather is ex-military, a retired police officer, and a forensic fire investigator. Ever since I heard about his career I took an interest. Since I was 14 I have wanted to pursue a career in Law Enforcement, I do not want to be a police officer I want to work in crime investigation. For a while, I wanted to also work in the field of social work. It would bring me back to my childhood for the social workers who helped me and my family and give back to the community. What I experienced as a child has inspired me to want to help our world. And through lots of struggles with anxiety, depression, and PTSD, I am very proud of who I have become and where I am now.

Today I am here applying for a college scholarship. Which is not something I ever imagined I would have the opportunity to do. I am going to be the first in my family to attend a four-year college. And also the first of my adopted family to graduate high school. I come from a background of addiction within my family, biological of course. When I was four I was put into the foster care system with my younger sister. We had 3 other siblings on our mom's side that got separated from us. And you can probably imagine how confusing and heartbreaking it was at such a young age to have to be taken from your mom and dad and siblings and not quite understand why. After being with a few families for about a year my aunt and uncle started to foster my sister and me. Eventually, around the age of 8, I was officially adopted by them and reunited with my other 3 siblings. Growing up I could never fully grasp the concept of how my parents wanted to just give me up. Why didn't they want me? It took a lot of time to comprehend that it wasn't my fault. Although this took a toll on my mental health. It was hard to be able to trust the new parents that did want me because all I could think is that they could leave me just like they did. Today I am closer than ever with my adopted family and all of my siblings, and even in the last 2 years I was able to reconnect with my biological father and we're working on building that relationship back up again. My Grandfather is ex-military, a retired police officer, and a forensic fire investigator. Ever since I heard about his career I took an interest. Since I was 14 I have wanted to pursue a career in Law Enforcement, I do not want to be a police officer I want to work in crime investigation. For a while, I wanted to also work in the field of social work. It would bring me back to my childhood for the social workers who helped me and my family and give back to the community. What I experienced as a child has inspired me to want to help our world. And through lots of struggles with anxiety, depression, and PTSD, I am very proud of who I have become and where I am now.