Pursuing higher education has always been very important to me. My parents never had the chance to go to college so it has always been a goal of mine to keep up good grades so I could get into college and get the opportunity to grow and achieve my dreams. When it comes to short term goals, I have accepted my offer from Emmanuel College in Boston, MA to work towards gaining skills I will need in the future to be a nurse. Going to college will allow me to dive deeper into the medical world and work hands on with research, internship opportunities, and more than anything gain the skills I will need to deal with patients with as gently and with as much care as I can. Long term, I am hoping to graduate from nursing school and pass my NCLEX exam. I am planning to work locally for a few years and then apply to be a traveling nurse. I have always wanted to travel the world, so being a traveling nurse and being able to do what I love while traveling would be a dream come true. After being a traveling nurse for a few years, I plan to settle down and start a family while working at a local hospital wherever I choose to stay. Due to being a first-generation college student, receiving this scholarship would be very helpful financially. My family has had some financial issues over the past two years, so they are not going to help me as much as they would like to. I have been trying to apply for as many scholarships as possible to hopefully get a head start on my portion of paying for my education. I have always been a dedicated and hard-working student and worker and have worked two jobs on top of playing two sports for my entire high school career, so I am confident that this scholarship would be worth it. Beyond the financial help, receiving this scholarship introduces many additional opportunities that will further my education journey. It would give me the chance to get out of my hometown, see the world, and help people in need. In conclusion, higher education is not only going to school. It is a chance to transform and grow into a better version of yourself and realize your full potential. I plan on continuing my education to make my dreams a reality and continue my determination to achieve my goals.

My whole life, I have watched my dad and my gramma going in and out of hospitals for surgeries. My dad was diagnosed with Chiari Malformation when I was a baby and went for his first surgery when I was 18 months old. While I don't remember the the surgery, I remember some of his more recent ones. My gramma was diagnosed with breast cancer twice. Once when I was born and the second time 11 years later in 2016. She still has to get surgeries due to the radiation from her rounds of chemo and all her scar tissue. Between the two, I have heard many stories about nurses that took care of them and how they made them feel while they were in the hospital. One story that has stuck with me was one that my grandma told me after second diagnosis. She has never liked hospitals and going in for surgery makes her very anxious. As she was going in and getting prepped, her nurse saw that she was a wreck. She was hyperventilating and crying from the panic she was feeling from her upcoming surgery. So, the nurse went up to her and told her she would sit with her through the whole process. My gramma told me that she was able to calm down because the nurse had started asking questions about her family. My gramma shared many pictures of myself and the rest of my family, sharing stories about our family vacations and our traditions. When it was time for her surgery, her nurse walked to the room and continued to talk about me. I’ll never forget the way my grammas eyes lit up telling me about this nurse. My dad has told me many stories about several nurses he has had as well. The one that sticks out to me the most is one that he told me a couple of years ago. This nurse that he had was having a rough day, so my dad tried to cheer her up with jokes. He told me that he finally got her to crack a smile and then it was like a whole new person came into the room the next time she entered. She would walk in and immediately start joking with him. Hearing this story made me realize that nursing isn’t always just about how the nurse helps the patient, but that sometimes the patient helps the nurse too. It opened my eyes to how hard being a nurse can be, but also how sometimes you have a bigger support system than you ever thought you’d have. As I was making my schedule for my senior year, I decided that I wanted to take the DLE class where I would be able to have an internship at a local hospital. This was the best decision I ever could have made. I followed around many nurses and went into patients' rooms to watch their care plan unfold. I was not able to do any actual patient care, but I was able to bring them water, clean up bedside tables, and most importantly talk to them. Talking to them was my favorite part about my internship. I created relationships not only with the patients, but with the nurses I worked with. I got many compliments on my desire to learn and for that reason I believe I learned much more than others did during that time. I cannot wait to continue on with my education and someday be able to walk into a patient's room and be their reason to smile that day.

Pursuing higher education has always been very important to me. My parents never had the chance to go to college so it has always been a goal of mine to keep up good grades so I could get into college and get the opportunity to grow and achieve my dreams. When it comes to short term goals, I am hoping to accept my offer from Emmanuel College in Boston, MA to work towards gaining skills I will need in the future to be a nurse. Going to college will allow me to dive deeper into the medical world and work hands on with research, internship opportunities, and more than anything gain the skills I will need to deal with patients with as gently and with as much care as I can. Long term, I am hoping to graduate from nursing school and pass my NCLEX exam. I am planning to work locally for a few years and then apply to be a traveling nurse. I have always wanted to travel the world, so being a traveling nurse and being able to do what I love while traveling would be a dream come true. After being a traveling nurse for a few years, I plan to settle down and start a family while working at a local hospital wherever I choose to stay. Due to being a first-generation college student, receiving this scholarship would be very helpful financially. My family has had some financial issues over the past two years, so they are not going to help me as much as they would like to. I have been trying to apply for as many scholarships as possible to hopefully get a head start on my portion of paying for my education. I have always been a dedicated and hard-working student and worker and have worked two jobs on top of playing two sports for my entire high school career, so I am confident that this scholarship would be worth it. Beyond the financial help, receiving this scholarship introduces many additional opportunities that will further my education journey. It would give me the chance to get out of my hometown, see the world, and help people in need. In conclusion, higher education is not only going to school. It is a chance to transform and grow into a better version of yourself and realize your full potential. I plan on continuing my education to make my dreams a reality and continue my determination to achieve my goals.

Pursuing higher education has always been very important to me. My parents never had the chance to go to college so it has always been a goal of mine to keep up good grades so I could get into college and get the opportunity to grow and achieve my dreams. Getting the chance to o to college will ensure that I can make an impact on people's lives. When it comes to short term goals, I am hoping to accept my offer from Emmanuel College in Boston, MA to work towards gaining skills I will need in the future to be a nurse. Going to college will allow me to dive deeper into the medical world and work hands on with research, internship opportunities, and more than anything gain the skills I will need to deal with patients with as gently and with as much care as I can. Long term, I am hoping to graduate from nursing school and pass my NCLEX exam. I am planning to work locally for a few years and then apply to be a traveling nurse. I have always wanted to travel the world, so being a traveling nurse and being able to do what I love while traveling would be a dream come true. After being a traveling nurse for a few years, I plan to settle down and start a family while working at a local hospital wherever I choose to stay. Due to being a first-generation college student, receiving this scholarship would be very helpful financially. My family has had some financial issues over the past two years, so they are not going to help me as much as they would like to. I have been trying to apply for as many scholarships as possible to hopefully get a head start on my portion of paying for my education. I have always been a dedicated and hard-working student and worker and have worked two jobs on top of playing two sports for my entire high school career, so I am confident that this scholarship would be worth it. Beyond the financial help, receiving this scholarship introduces many additional opportunities that will further my education journey. It would give me the chance to get out of my hometown, see the world, and help people in need. In conclusion, higher education is not only going to school. It is a chance to transform and grow into a better version of yourself and realize your full potential. I plan on continuing my education to make my dreams a reality and continue my determination to achieve my goals.

Pursuing higher education has always been very important to me. My parents never had the chance to go to college so it has always been a goal of mine to keep up good grades so I could get into college and get the opportunity to grow and achieve my dreams. When it comes to short term goals, I am hoping to accept my offer from Emmanuel College in Boston, MA to work towards gaining skills I will need in the future to be a nurse. Going to college will allow me to dive deeper into the medical world and work hands on with research, internship opportunities, and more than anything gain the skills I will need to deal with patients with as gently and with as much care as I can. Long term, I am hoping to graduate from nursing school and pass my NCLEX exam. I am planning to work locally for a few years and then apply to be a traveling nurse. I have always wanted to travel the world, so being a traveling nurse and being able to do what I love while traveling would be a dream come true. After being a traveling nurse for a few years, I plan to settle down and start a family while working at a local hospital wherever I choose to stay. Due to being a first-generation college student, receiving this scholarship would be very helpful financially. My family has had some financial issues over the past two years, so they are not going to help me as much as they would like to. I have been trying to apply for as many scholarships as possible to hopefully get a head start on my portion of paying for my education. I have always been a dedicated and hard-working student and worker and have worked two jobs on top of playing two sports for my entire high school career, so I am confident that this scholarship would be worth it. Beyond the financial help, receiving this scholarship introduces many additional opportunities that will further my education journey. It would give me the chance to get out of my hometown, see the world, and help people in need. In conclusion, higher education is not only going to school. It is a chance to transform and grow into a better version of yourself and realize your full potential. I plan on continuing my education to make my dreams a reality and continue my determination to achieve my goals.

Pursuing higher education has always been very important to me. My parents never had the chance to go to college so it has always been a goal of mine to keep up good grades so I could get into college and get the opportunity to grow and achieve my dreams. When it comes to short term goals, I am hoping to accept my offer from Emmanuel College in Boston, MA to work towards gaining skills I will need in the future to be a nurse. Going to college will allow me to dive deeper into the medical world and work hands on with research, internship opportunities, and more than anything gain the skills I will need to deal with patients with as gently and with as much care as I can. Long term, I am hoping to graduate from nursing school and pass my NCLEX exam. I am planning to work locally for a few years and then apply to be a traveling nurse. I have always wanted to travel the world, so being a traveling nurse and being able to do what I love while traveling would be a dream come true. After being a traveling nurse for a few years, I plan to settle down and start a family while working at a local hospital wherever I choose to stay. Due to being a first-generation college student, receiving this scholarship would be very helpful financially. My family has had some financial issues over the past two years, so they are not going to help me as much as they would like to. I have been trying to apply for as many scholarships as possible to hopefully get a head start on my portion of paying for my education. I have always been a dedicated and hard-working student and worker and have worked two jobs on top of playing two sports for my entire high school career, so I am confident that this scholarship would be worth it. Beyond the financial help, receiving this scholarship introduces many additional opportunities that will further my education journey. It would give me the chance to get out of my hometown, see the world, and help people in need. In conclusion, higher education is not only going to school. It is a chance to transform and grow into a better version of yourself and realize your full potential. I plan on continuing my education to make my dreams a reality and continue my determination to achieve my goals.

Looking back at 2023, 1989 (Taylor's Version) is the perfect soundtrack for my life. It all started amazing. I had been in a relationship for a year and everything was going very well. But then it all started to go downhill in May. My relationship that felt like Sparks Fly quickly turned into feeling like Say Don't Go, so that song is the perfect first song for my soundtrack from 1989 (Taylor's Version). We had gone from talking every day to him ignoring me like I was the plague in no time at all. But I was still hopeful, standing in that doorway of out love hoping for him to tell me not to go so I could go running back into his arms. When he did, I fell right back into the trap. Everything was good for a couple weeks. Or at least I thought it was. But instead, he took that knife and stabbed it right back into me. He twisted it by ignoring me yet again and calling me things that I never thought would come out of his mouth. The silence between us was deafening. After days went by of us not talking yet again, I decided it was time for us to meet up so I could put an end to the pain he was putting me through. This was the perfect time for my next song on my playlist, Now That We Don't Talk. After I made the decision to end out relationship, I was absolutely heartbroken. I turned to my mom who reassured me that it was for the better, and that the more I gave up for him and begged him to stay, the less he wanted me. After I built up the courage to have the conversation and say what I needed to say, I was broken and beaten down even more, and left with more questions than answers. All these questions after the breakup were repeated over and over in my head. I didn't get the closure I needed and it didn't feel like it was over. We still say each other every day at school, keeping our heads down in shame not knowing whether or not to smile or wave. This was until I had heard from others that he had lied to me when I asked if there was anyone else. This leads to the next song in my playlist, Is It Over Now? Since we weren't talking, I wouldn't get any sense of closure until 2 months later when he started dating the girl I had in mind when I had asked if there was someone else. I couldn't help but wonder, was it over when we broke up? Or was it over two months before that? After seven months of heartbreak and watching him move on, I got introduced to someone that would remind me what it felt like to be loved, and make my life feel like How You Get the Girl. I was nervous to get hurt again, so I kept walls around the shattered pieces of my heart. But piece by piece, he picked them up and put it back together. It truly felt like he wanted me for worse or for better. He reminded me what love felt like and I have never related to a song more than the next song on my playlist, You Are in Love. Now, just about five months into our relationship, I am filled with love and so grateful to have him in my life. Being with him makes the world stop turning.

Pursuing higher education has always been very important to me. My parents never had the chance to go to college so it has always been a goal of mine to keep up good grades so I could get into college and get the opportunity to grow and achieve my dreams. When it comes to short term goals, I am hoping to accept my offer from Emmanuel College in Boston, MA to work towards gaining skills I will need in the future to be a nurse. Going to college will allow me to dive deeper into the medical world and work hands on with research, internship opportunities, and more than anything gain the skills I will need to deal with patients with as gently and with as much care as I can. Long term, I am hoping to graduate from nursing school and pass my NCLEX exam. I am planning to work locally for a few years and then apply to be a traveling nurse. I have always wanted to travel the world, so being a traveling nurse and being able to do what I love while traveling would be a dream come true. After being a traveling nurse for a few years, I plan to settle down and start a family while working at a local hospital wherever I choose to stay. Due to being a first-generation college student, receiving this scholarship would be very helpful financially. My family has had some financial issues over the past two years, so they are not going to help me as much as they would like to. I have been trying to apply for as many scholarships as possible to hopefully get a head start on my portion of paying for my education. I have always been a dedicated and hard-working student and worker and have worked two jobs on top of playing two sports for my entire high school career, so I am confident that this scholarship would be worth it. Beyond the financial help, receiving this scholarship introduces many additional opportunities that will further my education journey. It would give me the chance to get out of my hometown, see the world, and help people in need. In conclusion, higher education is not only going to school. It is a chance to transform and grow into a better version of yourself and realize your full potential. I plan on continuing my education to make my dreams a reality and continue my determination to achieve my goals.

Growing up, I have always been an avid reader. But, a few years ago I had a bit of a drought with reading, and it wasn't until I started seeing new books all over my TikTok for you page that I decided it was time to pick up a book again. I have been a part of BookTok for a couple years now. It has influenced many of my favorite reads and made my physical and digital TBRs endless. There are many must-have titles that I first came across on BookTok. Starting with what I have already read, there is the book that kicked off BookToks popularity, which is It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover. I was a little hesitant to read this book at first because I had heard mixed reviews about Colleen Hoover's books, but I ended up not only loving this book, but her style of writing. Moving on to my next must-have, I would have to say Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover. This book quickly became one of my favorites and was a quick read for me. the next book I need to add to this list is November 9th. This book was not only one of the best books I have ever read, but it also brought me and one of my now very close friends closer together. We bonded over this book and still talk about it and reread it together all the time. One more CoHo book that I would add to my shelf is Reminders Of Him. This book had me in tears almost the whole time I read it. The attention to detail and the way the story clicked together as I read was incredible. Moving away from Colleen Hoover books, BookTok introduced me to authors and books that would change my life forever. The first book that brought me on the biggest emotional roller coaster ride was The Things We Leave Unfinished by Rebecca Yarros. This book had me speechless. The emotions that I was feeling while reading this were all over the place and my jaw was left on the floor. One more book that I'd add to my bookshelf would have to be Icebreaker by Hannah Grace. This book had me on my toes the entire time I was reading it and I fell in love with this authors' style of writing. I felt like I was in the book watching everything happen as I was reading, and felt like I was feeling everything the characters were feeling. My ideal bookshelf obviously has to have a TBR as well. Some books that I would include would be If He Had Been With Me by Laura Nowlin along with its sequel If Only I had Told Her, the Fine Print series by Lauren Asher, the Shatter Me series by Tahereh Mafi and We Were Liars by E. Lockhart. Between the books that BookTok has already inspired me to read and the books it has my eye on, this bookshelf is not only my ideal bookshelf, but part of my dream home library.

From a very young age, I have been impacted by mental health issues. I have done gymnastics for 15 years, and I have come to realize that not many people understand how physically and mentally demanding the sport is. I started classes when I was two years old and started competing when I was 9. Once I started to compete, my free time became very limited. I went from being in the gym only a few hours a week to being there 20+ hours. It was very important for me to learn how to manage my time. I had to learn how to balance school, gymnastics, work, family, and friends in a very small amount of time. While it was tough, I completely believe that this skill will forever help me in the future. Not only is gymnastics time-consuming, but it is physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausting. The demanding practice hours, fears, mental blocks, and injuries all add up at take a huge toll on a gymnast's mental health, leading anywhere from increased anxiety and depression to eating disorders. Personally, I have been affected by all of these. It all started for me when I was about 10 years old. I started to realize that I didn't look like many of my teammates. I was shorter and bigger than everyone. So I thought I had to go on a diet. I started asking for salads and wraps for lunch and dinner, stopped eating breakfast, and eventually started cutting down what I was eating throughout the day. I became weaker and more tired and the negative self talk continued. I started to get injured more and my anxiety grew and grew. This went on for years. It started to get to the point that my teammates, coaches, friends and parents started to notice a difference in me. When I was about 16, the fake smiles and laughs flew right past everyone around me and I was forced to sit down and have a long talk with my parents about everything I had been feeling for years.It was a tough conversation but we came to the conclusion that I needed to try therapy and eventually I went on anxiety medication. For a while, I also had to track everything I ate in an app on my phone until I started creating good eating habits again. Pushing past these mental health issues was the hardest thing I have ever had to do, and I am still working through different issues today. But luckily, I have had supportive family, teammates, and coaches by my side my whole career who have helped me see how strong I can be. This experience with issues involving mental health made me realize I wanted to go into healthcare. By being a nurse, I will be able to help other people through some of the darkest times in their lives and hopefully give them a little bit of hope and light.

From a very young age, I have been impacted by mental health issues. I have done gymnastics for 15 years, and I have come to realize that not many people understand how physically and mentally demanding the sport is. I started classes when I was two years old and started competing when I was 9. Once I started to compete, my free time became very limited. I went from being in the gym only a few hours a week to being there 20+ hours. It was very important for me to learn how to manage my time. I had to learn how to balance school, gymnastics, work, family, and friends in a very small amount of time. While it was tough, I completely believe that this skill will forever help me in the future. Not only is gymnastics time-consuming, but it is physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausting. The demanding practice hours, fears, mental blocks, and injuries all add up at take a huge toll on a gymnast's mental health, leading anywhere from increased anxiety and depression to eating disorders. Personally, I have been affected by all of these. It all started for me when I was about 10 years old. I started to realize that I didn't look like many of my teammates. I was shorter and bigger than everyone. So I thought I had to go on a diet. I started asking for salads and wraps for lunch and dinner, stopped eating breakfast, and eventually started cutting down what I was eating throughout the day. I became weaker and more tired and the negative self talk continued. I started to get injured more and my anxiety grew and grew. This went on for years. It started to get to the point that my teammates, coaches, friends and parents started to notice a difference in me. When I was about 16, the fake smiles and laughs flew right past everyone around me and I was forced to sit down and have a long talk with my parents about everything I had been feeling for years.It was a tough conversation but we came to the conclusion that I needed to try therapy and eventually I went on anxiety medication. For a while, I also had to track everything I ate in an app on my phone until I started creating good eating habits again. Pushing past these mental health issues was the hardest thing I have ever had to do, and I am still working through different issues today. But luckily, I have had supportive family, teammates, and coaches by my side my whole career who have helped me see how strong I can be.

Sports have always been a huge aspect of my life. I grew up going to racetracks for NASCAR races, watching sports on TV, dancing, doing gymnastics, and playing golf. While all of these have been almost equally important, gymnastics and golf have taught me so much about myself not only as an athlete but as a person. I started golfing for fun when I was about 7 years old. I would go to charity tournaments with my dad and Grampy. When I was in 7th grade, I decided to start playing for my school. For my first two years on the team, I was the only girl. It was tough not having anyone to talk to on the team, but it also allowed me to focus on improving my game. I was on the JV team from 7th grade to 10th grade, and of those four years, I was the only girl on the team for two years. Not only was this tough due to the other players not talking to me much but for my first couple of years on the team, the varsity coach did not talk to me or work with me because "golf is a boy's sport". He did not pay any attention to me and made me go off on my own to putt around while everyone else got the chance to get out on the course and improve themselves. Luckily, the JV coach took me under his wing and helped me improve, and eventually, the varsity coach saw my potential and started helping me as well. Finally, during the season of my junior year, I was put on varsity, played in matches, and even won the coaches award at the end of the season for always showing up to practice with a smile on my face and trying every day to improve. My experience with golf has taught me to believe in myself and not give up on something even if someone else thinks it isn't possible or isn't reasonable. While golf taught me a lot over 5 years, nothing compares to what 15 years of gymnastics has taught me. I started classes when I was two years old and started competing when I was 9. Once I started to compete, my free time became very limited. I went from being in the gym only a few hours a week to being there 20+ hours. It was very important for me to learn how to manage my time. I had to learn how to balance school, gymnastics, work, family, and friends in a very small amount of time. While it was tough, I completely believe that this skill will forever help me in the future. Not only is gymnastics time-consuming, but it is physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausting. The demanding practice hours, fears, mental blocks, and injuries all add up at take a huge toll on a gymnast's mental health, leading anywhere from increased anxiety and depression to eating disorders. Luckily, I have had supportive family, teammates, and coaches by my side my whole career who have helped me see how strong I can be. Gymnastics has taught me how determined and dedicated I am to something I put my mind to.

Golf has taught me so much about myself not only as an athlete but as a person. I started golfing for fun when I was about 7 years old. I would go to charity tournaments with my dad and Grampy. When I was in 7th grade, I decided to start playing for my school. For my first two years on the team, I was the only girl. It was tough not having anyone to talk to on the team, but it also allowed me to focus on improving my game. I was on the JV team from 7th grade to 10th grade, and of those four years, I was the only girl on the team for two years. Not only was this tough due to the other players not talking to me much but for my first couple of years on the team, the varsity coach did not talk to me or work with me because "golf is a boy's sport". He did not pay any attention to me and made me go off on my own to putt around while everyone else got the chance to get out on the course and improve themselves. Luckily, the JV coach took me under his wing and helped me improve, and eventually, the varsity coach saw my potential and started helping me as well. Finally, during the season of my junior year, I was put on varsity, played in matches, and even won the coaches award at the end of the season for always showing up to practice with a smile on my face and trying every day to improve. This past season was my final season playing for my school. The varsity coach retired and my JV coach came back to coaching varsity. The season had its ups and downs, but I ended up shooting my lowest score in a match on my senior night. Being able to share this experience with my teammates was amazing. I couldn't help but think back to my first years playing the sport when I had nobody to talk to or share these memories with. We grew so much as a team both playing wise and friendship wise. I was able to walk away from this season not only with friendships that will last a lifetime, but with the pride that I was able to push through the tough times. My experience with golf has taught me to believe in myself and not give up on something even if someone else thinks it isn't possible or isn't reasonable.

It wasn't until about two years ago that I decided I wanted to be a nurse. For as long as I remember, my dad and gramma have got to different hospitals for various surgeries, and every time they come back with different stories to tell me about their nurses. Some may not be the greatest at times but most are good. There was one in particular that stood out to me and really made me think about becoming a nurse myself. My gramma has had breast cancer two times. Once when I was a baby, and once when I was about 10 years old. She has gone in for many different surgeries and has trouble with infections and healing due to so much exposure to radiation from the chemo treatments from her first diagnosis. Once I became old enough, she would call me after every surgery to let me know how everything went and that she was okay. One particular call stuck out to me the most, and happened about two years ago. I have known for a long time that she hates surgeries because she is afraid of being put under the anestesia. She stresses for days going into her surgeries because she hates the feeling of being put under. So normally, the first thing I ask her when I answer the call is how it was going under. Normally the answer is "awful" or "I hated it". But this time was different. She had told me that going under for that surgery wasn't so bad at all. Hearing this, I was equally happy and shocked. So I asked what made a difference this time. She told me her nurse was the sweetest and most caring nurse that she had ever had. As she was laying there scared and in tears waiting for the anesthesiologist, her nurse tried her best to keep her mind occupied. She asked her about her favorite places to vacation and her family. She even got her laughing with some corny little jokes. But all in all, her nurse made her feel more calm and more safe than she ever had going into surgery. The moment I heard her telling me this, all I could think was how much I wanted to be able to provide that much comfort to someone in a situation like my grammas'. By deciding to take the steps to become a nurse, I am dedicated to making sure my patients have light in some of their darkest times. Right now, I am doing an internship at a local hospital. Every morning I get to go in and help out nurses and PCTs on the unit. Being able to go to a patient and ask them if I can do anything for them or checking in on some long term patients has been the best part of my day since I started. Each day I walk into that hospital, I think of my gramma and how that one phone call helped me make the best decision of my life.

Golf has taught me so much about myself not only as an athlete but as a person. I started golfing for fun when I was about 7 years old. I would go to charity tournaments with my dad and Grampy. When I was in 7th grade, I decided to start playing for my school. For my first two years on the team, I was the only girl. It was tough not having anyone to talk to on the team, but it also allowed me to focus on improving my game. I was on the JV team from 7th grade to 10th grade, and of those four years, I was the only girl on the team for two years. Not only was this tough due to the other players not talking to me much but for my first couple of years on the team, the varsity coach did not talk to me or work with me because "golf is a boy's sport". He did not pay any attention to me and made me go off on my own to putt around while everyone else got the chance to get out on the course and improve themselves. Luckily, the JV coach took me under his wing and helped me improve, and eventually, the varsity coach saw my potential and started helping me as well. Finally, during the season of my junior year, I was put on varsity, played in matches, and even won the coaches award at the end of the season for always showing up to practice with a smile on my face and trying every day to improve. This past season was my final season playing for my school. The varsity coach retired and my JV coach came back to coaching varsity. The season had its ups and downs, but I ended up shooting my lowest score in a match on my senior night. Being able to share this experience with my teammates was amazing. I couldn't help but think back to my first years playing the sport when I had nobody to talk to or share these memories with. We grew so much as a team both playing wise and friendship wise. I was able to walk away from this season not only with friendships that will last a lifetime, but with the pride that I was able to push through the tough times. My experience with golf has taught me to believe in myself and not give up on something even if someone else thinks it isn't possible or isn't reasonable.

For many years, golf has been a huge part of my life. I grew up going golfing with my dad and Grampy many weekends over the summer. At first, I just went so I could drive the golf cart, but eventually, my love and respect for the sport grew and I became fully engulfed in the sport. I started golfing for fun when I was about 7 years old. I would go to charity tournaments with my dad and Grampy. When I was in 7th grade, I decided to start playing for my school. For my first two years on the team, I was the only girl. It was tough not having anyone to talk to on the team but it also allowed me to focus on improving my game. I was on the JV team from 7th grade to 10th grade, and of those four years, I was the only girl on the team for two years. Not only was this tough due to the other players not talking to me much but for my first couple of years on the team, the varsity coach did not talk to me or work with me because "golf is a boy's sport". He did not pay any attention to me and made me go off on my own to putt around while everyone else got the chance to get out on the course and improve themselves. Luckily, the JV coach took me under his wing and helped me improve, and eventually, the varsity coach saw my potential and started helping me as well. During the season of my junior year, I was put on varsity, played in matches, and even won the coaches award at the end of the season for always showing up to practice with a smile on my face and trying every day to improve. My experience with golf has taught me to believe in myself and not give up on something even if someone else thinks it isn't possible or isn't reasonable. These past 10 years playing golf have taught me how to be patient with myself. Many people don't realize how much time, patience, and persistence goes into this sport. With this past season being my last in my high school career, I put my all into it and ended up having the best season of my life. I was able to shoot my lowest score on my senior night and I couldn't be more proud of myself.

When my mom was pregnant with me, my grandmother was diagnosed with breast cancer. She wasn't sure if she could push through everything she was going through, but then I was born. I became her world and her reason to push through chemo treatments and radiation. Her cancer went away after a long uphill battle, but 11 years later when my cousin was born it came back causing her to have to get a double mastectomy. Since I was old enough to realize what cancer was and how bad it could be, I was terrified and thought I was going to lose my gramma. Now, it has been about 6 years and she is still dealing with complications due to scar tissue from radiation and constantly having to get more surgeries. "Cancer" is probably the most terrifying word I have ever heard come out of a family member's mouth. The second I was told my gramma had cancer again, it seemed like the world stopped spinning and my heart skipped a beat. Watching my gramma go through all of this has been a struggle and very upsetting at times, but it has made me realize how important it is to spend time with your family and appreciate every moment you have with them because tomorrow is never promised for anyone. Ever since that day, I have taken into consideration that something could happen to me or my loved ones at any given time, and I have been trying to live my life to the fullest with no regrets and cherish every moment with my friends and family. I don't think I realized until recently just how much hearing that one little word affected me. As I've been looking deeper into what college I think I want to go to and what career path I may want to take, my family, especially my gramma, has played a huge part in my thoughts and ideas. My gramma's experience with cancer and learning how it could have possibly been passed down to my mom or even myself has driven an increased interest in the healthcare field. As of right now, I plan on going to college to become a nurse. I have fallen in love with the idea of helping people like my gramma and my family during some of the hardest times of their lives, and being there to listen to and understand how these patients and families are feeling. I hope to one day be the reason someone was able to keep their hopes and spirits high in the lo sweat times.

Growing up my parents always worked hard to be able to support me and make memories that would last me a lifetime. For years, I have watched the hard work and dedication that came from my parents, even in tough times when we did not bring home as much money. As I get older, I grow to appreciate all that my parents have sacrificed for me more, and I have learned to always put in 110% effort and never give up on my dreams. Whether that be to buy something that I wanted, pushing myself in sports, or making sure I continue to grow as a person. When I was 7, I saved up enough money to buy myself an American Girl Doll bed that I had been begging my parents for. My mom said she had just bought me a new doll so she wasn't going to spend another $300 on a bed for it, but if I wanted it, I could help out around the house and earn the money to buy it myself. So, that is exactly what I did. For months I did as many chores around the house as I possibly could and even dedicated time to making bracelets and other crafts to sell at a craft fair that I went to with my mom and grandma. Finally, the day came that I had enough money to buy the bed. I was so excited to make my first big purchase on my own. I will never forget how proud I was of myself and how proud my parents were of me. Working hard to save up this money at such a young age has helped me to appreciate the process of pushing yourself in both good times and bad. This appreciation has definitely helped me over the course of the past couple years. With COVID hitting at the end of 8th grade and losing my entire freshman year of high school to zoom classes and online assignments, I found myself starting to lose sight of the hard work that I have always put into everything I do. I became more careless and unfocused to the point where it began to affect my mental health. It took more effort, dedication, and determination than I knew I had to get myself back on track and focus on school and deciding what I wanted to do in the future. I finally was able to get to the point where I started focusing on college decisions, as well as scholarships to help me get there. This scholarship will help me get one step closer to my goals that I have worked so hard to reach. Continuing to write essay after essay for different scholarships may be time consuming and difficult at times, but I will not let that stand in the way of my dreams. I will continue to put in the effort and push myself to not only improve as a student, but to grow and be the best version of myself that I can be.

My dream Barbie Dream House would be located on the shores of Hawaii. It would be a beautiful powder blue color with a gray accent stone on the outside. This house would have a wrap-around porch that goes around the entire house giving a full 360 view of the beach surrounding it. Inside, there would be an open floor plan with high ceilings and huge windows to show off the path to a private beach. The kitchen would be complete with a large walk-in pantry and a stainless steel fridge. There would be plenty of storage for all pots and pans needed to cook meals to feed anyone who came to visit and a large island in the center for food prep and entertaining. Due to the open floor plan, the kitchen would flow into the dining room towards the back of the house which would have large sliding doors that opened up to the outside patio. Moving to the living room there would be a large Love Sac sectional sofa accompanied by cozy throw pillows and blankets to ensure everybody's comfort. Moving upstairs there would be a balcony to overlook downstairs that leads to the back of the house where the master bedroom would be. This bedroom would include a small library with a bay window that opens up to a small balcony overlooking the ocean for reading. Connected to the bedroom will be a master bathroom with a rain showerhead and vanity mirrors, along with a walk-in closet. Across the hall from the bedroom would be an office space doubled as a craft room. Walking back to the main staircase and the other side of the upstairs you could find guest rooms as well as a common area complete with a TV and sofa. Finally, the house would have a finished basement completed with more guest rooms and a hangout area with a foosball table, pool table, and ping pong table. Down the hall, you would find a large theater with lounge chairs, popcorn machines, and a snack and drink bar perfect for watching movies with a group of friends and family.

I started golfing for fun when I was about 7 years old. I would go to charity tournaments with my dad and Grampy. I always had so much fun and my interest and desire to learn more about and play the sport continued to grow every year. When I was in 7th grade, I decided to start playing for my school. My parents took me to the sports information night at the school at the end of 6th grade so I could meet the coach. to our surprise, he was the only coach that didn't speak at the information session. At the end, my parents and I went up to introduce ourselves to him and get me onto the list to sign up for golf. He looked at us with a blank expression and said, "This is a boy's golf team.". I was in shock at the comment but my mom quickly stood up for me and said that since there was no designated girls golf team I could join the team anyways. This first interaction with the coach put a bad taste in my mouth and had me worried that choosing to play golf wasn't going to be a good idea, but I decided to give it a try anyway. My high school has grades 7-12 in it, so it was very intimidating showing up to the first day of tryouts not only as the youngest but as the only girl. By the time I got there, most players were already warming up and practicing on the putting green or on the driving range. As I walked over with my beginner set of clubs swung over my shoulder, all of them looked at me in unison. It terrified me even more as I watched them start to move away from me and whisper to one another. The varsity coach called everyone over to introduce himself and the Junior Varsity coach and began telling players to go either out onto the course to play or go to the driving range to practice. Everyone but me. He did not pay any attention to me and made me go off on my own to putt around while everyone else got the chance to get out on the course and improve themselves and show themselves worthy of a spot on the team. Luckily, the JV coach took me under his wing and helped me improve. Eventually, the varsity coach saw my potential and started helping me as well after me working as hard as I could for 5 years. Finally, during the season of my junior year, I was put on varsity, played in matches, and even won the coaches award at the end of the season for always showing up to practice with a smile on my face and trying every day to improve. My experience with golf has taught me to believe in myself and not give up on something even if someone else thinks it isn't possible or isn't reasonable. Now, going into my senior season I am beyond thankful that I decided to stick it out and be a part of the team. It allowed me to make friends, improve my game, and reminded me how much I love playing the sport.

When it comes to Disney, it is hard to pick one specific thing to call my favorite. Any Disney fan could go on and on about what they think is the best part of Disney, whether that be in movies or the parks. But as someone who grew up going to Disney World every year I would have to say my favorite thing about Disney is the memories it has created for me. One of my earliest memories is when I went to Disney World for the first time. My mom had made me a countdown board with little Mickey heads. I remember waking up each morning leading up to the trip and running down the stairs to pick out a Disney sticker to put on the Mickey head for that day. As each day passed I grew more and more excited. The day finally came when I put on the last sticker and we headed to the most magical place on Earth. I will never forget the feeling of being able to meet all of my favorite characters for the first time. It was a dream come true. Fast forward seven years later and I was in Disney with my best friends after we had gone on a Disney cruise. With our rose-gold minnie mouse ears on, we walked through Magic Kingdom like there was nobody else there. One year, I even got to go to Disney for a gymnastics competition. That was one of the best experiences of my life. I was able to walk around and spend time with my teammates, going on rides, sitting down and eating dinner, and watching the fireworks. these are all memories that I will carry with me forever. These amazing memories of Disney have shaped me as a person and taken up a huge portion of my life. Many people in my school have known me as the girl who is obsessed with Disney for as long as I can remember. Everyone always wanted me on their team for our end-of-the-school-year Disney-themed Kahoot game. Any time someone walks into my house the first thing they see is a display case filled with Disney snow globes that my mom has been collecting since she was a little kid. Every mug in my house has something to do with Disney. All these small details, from collectibles to pictures of me at Disney around my house remind me every day of the amazing memories created by my favorite place on Earth.

My dream version of myself is successful, happy, and healthy.

Sports have always been a huge aspect of my life. I grew up going to race tracks for NASCAR races, watching sports on TV, dancing, doing gymnastics, and playing golf. While all of these have been almost equally important, gymnastics and golf have taught me so much about myself not only as an athlete but as a person. I started golfing for fun when I was about 7 years old. I would go to charity tournaments with my dad and Grampy. When I was in 7th grade, I decided to start playing for my school. For my first two years on the team, I was the only girl. It was tough not having anyone to talk to on the team but it also allowed me to focus on improving my game. I was on the JV team from 7th grade to 10th grade, ad of those four years, I was the only girl on the team for two years. Not only was this tough due to the other players not talking to me much but for my first couple of years on the team, the varsity coach did not talk to me or work with me because "golf is a boy's sport". He did not pay any attention to me and made me go off on my own to putt around while everyone else got the chance to get out on the course and improve themselves. Luckily, the JV coach took me under his wing and helped me improve, and eventually, the varsity coach saw my potential and started helping me as well. Finally, during the season of my junior year, I was put on varsity, played in matches, and even won the coaches award at the end of the season for always showing up to practice with a smile on my face and trying every day to improve. My experience with golf has taught me to believe in myself and not give up on something even if someone else thinks it isn't possible or isn't reasonable. While golf taught me a lot over 5 years, nothing compares to what 15 years of gymnastics has taught me. I started classes when I was two years old and started competing when I was 9. Once I started to compete, my free time became very limited. I went from being in the gym only a few hours a week to being there 20+ hours. It was very important for me to learn how to manage my time. I had to learn how to balance school, gymnastics, work, family, and friends in a very small amount of time. While it was tough, I completely believe that this skill will forever help me in the future. Not only is gymnastics time-consuming, but it is physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausting. The demanding practice hours, fears, mental blocks, and injuries all add up at take a huge toll on a gymnast's mental health, leading anywhere from increased anxiety and depression to eating disorders. Luckily, I have had supportive family, teammates, and coaches by my side my whole career who have helped me see how strong I can be. Gymnastics has taught me how determined and dedicated I am to something I put my mind to.

When my mom was pregnant with me, my grandmother was diagnosed with breast cancer. She wasn't sure if she could push through everything she was going through, but then I was born. I became her world and her reason to push through chemo treatments and radiation. Her cancer went away after a long uphill battle, but 11 years later when my cousin was born it came back causing her to have to get a double mastectomy. Since I was old enough to realize what cancer was and how bad it could be, I was terrified and thought I was going to lose my gramma. Now, it has been about 6 years and she is still dealing with complications due to scar tissue from radiation and constantly getting having to get more surgeries. "Cancer" is probably the most terrifying word I have ever heard come out of a family member's mouth. The second I was told my gramma had cancer again, it seemed like the world stopped spinning and my heart skipped a beat. Watching my gramma go through all of this has been a struggle and very upsetting at times, but it has made me realize how important it is to spend time with your family and appreciate every moment you have with them because tomorrow is never promised for anyone. Ever since that day, I have taken into consideration that something could happen to me or my loved ones at any given time, and I have been trying to live my life to the fullest with no regrets and cherish every moment with my friends and family. I don't think I realized until recently just how much hearing that one little word affected me. As I've been looking deeper into what college I think I want to go to and what career path I may want to take, my family, especially my gramma, has played a huge part in my thoughts and ideas. My gramma's experience with cancer and learning how it could have possibly been passed down to my mom or even myself has driven an increased interest in genetics. As of right now, I plan on going to college to become a genetic counselor. I have fallen in love with the idea of helping people like my gramma ad my family understand all of the options they have, and to help them keep their spirits high during some of the hardest times of their lives.

I have been working and volunteering since I was 12. Being able to make money and start saving up for college has been great, but it wont get me anywhere near where I would need to be to not be in a lifetime of student debt and loans. This schoilarship would help me get one step closer to being able to pay for my college. Being a first generation college student, my parents not only don't know how to go through the college choosing/ paying process, but are not going to be able to help mer out as much as they would like to financially. Along with working 2 jobs, I have leaerned to juggle schoolwork, demanding sports, work, family, and friends. This is all because of having to learn time management skills at a very young age. This important skill has also helped greatly with my independence. My parents have told me that I've always been independent. I have been ordering my own meals at restaurants since I was three and I have always been determined to do things on my own. When I was younger, if someone asked if I needed help with anything, I would always respond with "no thank you, I can do it". This independenced continued to grow as I got older. I always try things and try to work through problems on my own before asking for any help and I am constantly offering to pay for myself if I go out with someone else. Time management, independence, and determination will be a huge help to me in the future by ensuring i never give up on something I start and never lose hope in myself.

In my eyes, general wealth doesn't just include money. Yes, it is a very large part and someone who is considered a wealthy person may have a lot of money, a nice house, a fancy car, or be able to afford anything they want, but to me, true wealth comes from loving what you do and having people you love to come home to. That's where generational wealth comes into play. Sure, money may be passed down through generations, but nothing is more important in life to me than experiences and happiness. In the future, I plan on attending college and saving up money to support my family one day. I know it won't be easy, but I will work as hard as I can every day to be the best version of myself and keep my head held high. There are always going to be ups and downs in life but if I keep my eyes on what I'm working towards, I believe that I can achieve anything. Working my way toward wealth is going to be a long and bumpy road, and it has already started. I have been working since I was 12, and just recently got a second job. Balancing my priorities between school, work, and sports has been tough but it has taught me the very important skill of time management. This skill will ultimately be one of the biggest helpers on my road to wealth. I plan on keeping both of my jobs until I go to college, some of which will be paid for by me, as well as coming back home every summer to continue working these jobs. When the time comes, I plan on getting a well-paying job and working my way up in the company or establishment to save as much money as possible to be able to build my dream house and support my family. But those are all long-term plans. Right now, I will continue to work and save my money and apply for as many scholarships as I can. Being in debt from trying to get an education isn't going to make my road to wealth any easier, but the harder I work, and the more help I try to get from applying to scholarships, the easier my goals will be to achieve. Generational wealth may not be prominent in my family, but I am a strong believer that if I continue to keep my eye on the prize and work as hard as I have worked for the past few years, I may be able to make it a part of my children's lives one day.