I was in the foster care system from the age of less than a year old to 4 years old. I experienced things no child should have gone through in my early childhood. The care system didn't do a good job handling me. The first home I got placed in abused and malnourished me. The person who put me there later found out what they had been doing and decided to remove me from that environment. I then got moved to the second house where the other kids started to bully me. They bulled me for looking so skinny, how my hair looked, and how I always acted on edge. I did not know who any of them were and what happened at my last home placement made me wary of what they might do.. I soon got adopted but the happiness didn't last long. We lived near Detroit, so gunshots were on a more normal basis. I made a new friend and things were well. One day in the summer, 2 months before we moved to Jackson, we decided to play outside, I just had my 5th birthday and we got finger puppets. We decided to go outside and play with them on the sidewalk. A man came running towards us and a black car was zooming behind. They put a gun out the window and shoot 3 times. The people in the car missed the man but hit my friend, right in front of me. They drove away while I held my friend as she died. My mother called 911 and she was rushed to the hospital, but she was already dead. Two weeks passed and we went to her funeral. The following week, we moved to Jackson. My mother did not want that to happen to me. I still have those finger puppets. As time went on, my health got better and I found interest in doing hair. When I heard that there was a cosmetology program, I was overjoyed. In two months I will be getting my license in Cosmetology and pursuing a business degree. With a degree in business, I can open my salon. I love it when people come in and when they see their new cut or hair color, they smile and they feel more confident. I want to bring people joy, boost their confidence, and have them freely express themselves. They come in looking for an enhancement in their appearance and the look of happiness on their faces when they see their new style makes my heart warm. I was never given that in my childhood, so I love making people feel better about themselves. With this scholarship, I plan on using it to help pay for college so I can finish achieving my dream.

You have bled in us and now we bleed… your greed for us comes at terrifying speed. "Don't you want to be a grown-up?" my caretaker said. I was 3. When you hop from abusive foster homes in Flint, Michigan, like hopscotch, you grow more mature than you realize. Now, I am not saying being mature at a young age is terrible, but it takes away your childhood. Maturity bleeds in all of us over time, but others may bleed faster. "Why don't you act like an adult, stupid child? Be like the older children here!" the 3rd caretaker shouted. I kept my head down, saying only 'yes ma'am, yes sir', taking the beatings like a champ. I was 4 years old then. I experienced what most children won't ever see in their lifetime, forcing me to mature at a very young age, and this was only the start of my journey to where I am now. " Look, that's going to be your mother! Hopefully, she doesn't bring you back because you're a burden. I'm surprised you're still alive." "Yes ma'am," " Ha! You keep saying that like you’ll earn anyone's respect in life. You're wrong, ugly child." "Yes, ma'am" I whispered. I was the girl broken from birth with no love to guide her. I prayed to the gods that we cannot see, that this new 'Mother' would be a lot nicer. Thank the gods because she is the mother I have today. Soon after I was adopted, we moved to Jackson, and I started school at a charter academy. "Comparison is the thief of joy"- President Roosevelt. I was judged because I was always polite to the teachers. I let everyone have their way and children always whispered that I sounded like an adult. In first grade, I compared myself heavily to others. Now as a first grader, I thought it would get better over time and that was a lie I told myself. As one would know, it didn't get any better through my middle and high school years, but I learned that I don't need validation or acceptance from others to make me feel worthy of being myself. I've learned that sometimes people come into your life to help them get better and send them on their way. In this sense you are their healer, helping them fix what is broken and let them go. Don't hold on to the past because it will affect your future. The people that I have helped, turned out to be better versions of themselves. My one dear friend realized that I helped him get out of a situation that could have been a life-or-death. I would say to some that I have been their haven for them to heal and grow. I have dealt with pain and I do not wish to see others in a position I was in. I am from the demons that have shaped my past but shall not shape my future. But darkness brings the light, for what I am is what I Make Myself to be.