I have known that I have had social anxiety my entire life. It was not until middle school that I noticed my reactions to certain situations triggered voicelessness. When asked a question by a teacher or an unfamiliar student, I tended to freeze up. I knew that I had a good answer but I could not seem to think of it until later. The fear of saying something embarrassing puts a dependency on not speaking at all. I panicked at the thought of stuttering in front of others, so I resorted to silence as a safeguard. When I am trying to sleep, I cringe as I recall something awkward that I did in a social setting or foresee another experience with selective mutism. As a result of my battle with severe anxiety, I am faced with tasks that require courage daily. For me, this includes asking questions, joining conversations, and volunteering. I was first diagnosed with anxiety by a psychiatrist at 11 years old. For the next 5 years, I consulted with 3 different therapists, but my problems did not seem to go away. My social anxiety brought about anticipatory anxiety. I anxiously anticipate events hours or days before they are to arrive. When talking to adults, I still overthink my mannerisms and get choked up. Nevertheless, these feelings of fear, unease, and anticipation do not stop my spirited desire to improve. I have always striven for perfection, ranking first in my class. Anxiety causes me to doubt myself so that I cannot perform at my highest potential. This school year, my feelings of anxiety caused me to feel as if I should settle for less, quit my extracurricular activities, and stop applying myself to awards. Instead of taking the route of defeat, I reflected on all of the achievements I have made. This gave me the courage to grow, improve in math, win MVP of my track team, and be accepted into the National Honor Society. My younger self never would have imagined getting involved in these high school social activities. These past few years, I have learned that my thoughts held me back as often as they pushed me forward. Anxiety is a survival mechanism built in all of us. Our brains have a protective-circuitry to warn us before a disaster occurs. If anything, anxiety has taught me to be courageous. Failure is an essential component in the process of success. Being the first in my family to attend college, pursuing a degree is important to me. I plan to major in exercise science. I have a passion for this career. I have always been curious on how to optimize my own and others' health. I dream of working with clients by seeing them experience the reward of consistency and progression like I have. While pursuing my degree, I hope to meet like-minded people who I can share my curiosities about exercise with. I look forward to surrounding myself with skillful individuals who can push me to reach my highest potential in my career. There are so many misconceptions about the correct ways to train and eat for certain performance goals. Studying exercise science will give me a better understanding of it all, which will in turn allow me to enhance the lives of others as much as I can. This scholarship will help fund my education and drive my persistence to not give up when my anxiety heightens. Thank you for providing this chance to bring me closer to my goal of high achievement.

I have known that I have had social anxiety my entire life. It was not until middle school that I noticed my reactions to certain situations triggered voicelessness. When asked a question by a teacher or an unfamiliar student, I tended to freeze up. I knew that I had a good answer but I could not seem to think of it until later. The fear of saying something embarrassing puts a dependency on not speaking at all. I panicked at the thought of stuttering in front of others, so I resorted to silence as a safeguard. When I am trying to sleep, I cringe as I recall something awkward that I did in a social setting or foresee another experience with selective mutism. As a result of my battle with severe anxiety, I am faced with tasks that require courage daily. For me, this includes asking questions, joining conversations, and volunteering. Nevertheless, these feelings of fear, unease, and anticipation do not stop my spirited desire to improve. I have always striven for perfection, ranking first in my class. Disappointment hit me hard when I got my first B in college algebra in high school. I worked so hard for my 4.0 GPA. When it dropped, I felt as if I should settle for less, quit my extracurricular activities, and stop applying myself to awards. Instead of taking the route of defeat, I reflected on all of my achievements. This gave me the courage to grow, improve in math, win MVP of my track team, and be accepted into the National Honor Society. My younger self never would have imagined involving myself in these high school social activities. If anything, anxiety has taught me to be courageous. Failure is an essential component in the process of success. These past few years, I have learned that my thoughts held me back as often as they pushed me forward. Anxiety is a survival mechanism built in all of us. Our brains have a protective-circuitry to warn us before a disaster occurs. I am able to tell myself “You’ve done this before,” and draw back on positive experiences. Additionally, caring less of what others think of me is an approach that has been extremely beneficial. Recognizing that everyone is more worried about themselves than me, is eye opening. Another coping strategy that I use is repeating positive thoughts. These could be affirmations leading up to a big test or race. I find quotes on mental toughness from the books that I read, and store them in my phone to re-read when I am in a nervous situation. I try my best to reject thoughts of angst and fear throughout the day. I have noticed that it will take many positive thoughts to offset a negative one. Being the first in my family to attend college, I plan to major in exercise science. I have a passion for this career. I have always been curious on how to optimize my own and others' health. I dream of working with clients by seeing them experience the reward of consistency and progression like I have. While pursuing my degree, I hope to meet like-minded people who I can share my curiosities about exercise with. I look forward to surrounding myself with skillful individuals who can push me to reach my highest potential in my career and enhance the lives of others. This scholarship will help fund my education and drive my persistence to not give up when my anxiety heightens. Thank you for providing this chance to bring me closer to my goal of high achievement.

One night 3 years ago, my mom and I came across a documentary called “What the Health.” This film posed many questions in my head and presented a multitude of subject matter that I was curious to research. Being raised in a christian home, my parents reminded me how our bodies are temples, and valuing our health is honoring God. The first health related book that I decided to read was The China Study by Dr. T Colin Campbell. I was persuaded to read individual books on each of his arguments. I realized that the health problems my loved ones faced originated from their diet and lifestyle. Any chance that I got, I would bust a myth that the health and food industries spread to promote their products. Books and films are the single biggest influence on my aspirations to improve the health of others. Health has been a passion of mine from a young age. I can remember my second grade self trying to cut back on sugar. This love for healthy eating turned into a devotion to movement and exercise. Around the same time, I watched the documentary “Game Changers.” I did further research to discover the mindset that optimizes health, and fuels great endurance and strength. The success stories of many athletes have uplifted me in this way too. They demonstrate how exercising is living intentionally and utilizing God’s gifts in his honor. I was already someone interested in how exercise can change one’s physique, but my faith inclined me to view exercise in a different way. Rather than exercising for physical results or just burning calories, I decided to start acquiring my accomplishments by grace. As Paul the apostle said, “Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Thessalonians 5:23). Awaiting the lord's arrival has made my fitness journey all the more enlightening. I put this mentality to the test by becoming a runner, joining my school's cross country team, and progressively overloading weight training. I have always stressed the importance of daily exercise to others. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 reads, “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.” Paul’s words resonate strongly with my intention to show people that movement is a gift. We can express our admiration to God every time that we exercise. We should see physical activity as a gratitude practice, not a punishment. Exercise science is my current major of interest. I want my future career to involve sharing my passion with others and using my knowledge to help them optimize their health. I want to show people the benefits and liveliness that healthful eating plus exercise entails. I dream of working with clients by seeing them experience the reward of consistency and progression like I have. While pursuing my degree, I intend to meet like minded people who I can share my curiosities about exercise with. I look forward to surrounding myself with skillful individuals who can push me to reach my highest potential in my career. There are so many misconceptions about the correct ways to train and eat for certain performance goals. Studying exercise physiology will give me a better understanding of it all, which will in turn allow me to enhance the lives of others as much as I can.