Design has been an escape for me. I grew up in a family made up of angry people. There was never a sense of peace, harmony, or anything remotely nice. So, I had to find a distraction. I turned to anything art-related: coloring, drawing, painting, etc. It soothed me. It has become a safe space for me. In a way, my family has motivated me to grow through design. I started designing shoes and finding my passion in architecture. Design has made, and will continue to make, me a better person. It has weaved its way into my blood and I couldn't imagine who or where I'd be without it in my life.

Ever since I was little, I've been obsessed with Spider-Man. I never knew why, but I always thought he was different than other superheroes. Lately, I realized it's because he's relatable. He was a regular high school kid who loved math and science until one day he got bit by a spider and gained superpowers. The fact that he was the first superhero in high school made me believe that I could become one too (even though I know now that I can't). That's why Tom Holland is my favorite Spider-Man. Because he makes it believable, he made me believe. The core of Spider-Man is that he had to learn how to navigate his newfound powers while in high school. Toby Maguire, respectfully, looks too old for high school. It took me out of the magic of the movies. However, Tom always looked and sounded young. His reaction to finding out that he had powers felt more real to me. I was really able to feel the anxiety and fear that he felt. I also adore his sense of humor. It's very similar to if I was talking to one of my friends and that's what makes it special. I think that a lot of people forget that Spider-Man is more than a superhero; he's a kid and I think Tom Holland embodies that the most.

This scholarship is one of many that could change my life. In my family, success is minimal. My mom was the only one who went to college and finished. Everyone else? Barely made it through high school. It's frustrating to see because I have intelligent people in my family and I've watched their quality of life decline over time. My aunt and sister have children, but one has three jobs and the other lives off a Chicken Shack check. My dad wasted his life away drinking nonstop and his mother did nothing but pray and smoke weed. I don't want to be like them. I want to be like my mom. I want to go to college and get my degree, flip it, and give it back to my community. Unfortunately, college is expensive. On paper, my mom's income states that she should be able to pay, or at least contribute, to my higher education. However, that's not the case and it's nowhere near accurate. In reality, my mom has to split her income in what seems to be a million different ways. The biggest check consumer is the endless amount of medical bills coming our way. When I was younger, my nana (my mom's mother) was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer. It was severe, but she decided to receive chemotherapy. Fast forward to the present day, we found out it was a misdiagnosis and she received chemo and countless other procedures for essentially no reason. So now my mom has to cover medical bills stacked on top of each other like Jenga, buy medical supplies, and pay for a lawyer. My mom throws the majority of her income into everything medical. Because of this, going to college has seemed a little far out of reach. For the last two years, I've been studying architecture and architectural design. This is a very small, yet niche field and because of that, finding colleges with that major is almost impossible. Key word here: almost. Lawrence Technological University felt like a blessing. I was familiar with this school before, but I never dove deep into researching what it was. Not only is its campus beautiful, but it has one of the best architecture programs in the state of Michigan. Unfortunately, it's a private school and it's extremely expensive. This scholarship would help me alleviate some of the cost and work toward setting myself apart from the rest of my family and work toward creating so many new spaces within my community.

This scholarship is one of many that could change my life. In my family, success is minimal. My mom was the only one who went to college and finished. Everyone else? Barely made it through high school. It's frustrating to see because I have intelligent people in my family and I've watched their quality of life decline over time. My aunt and sister have children, but one has three jobs and the other lives off a Chicken Shack check. My dad wasted his life away drinking nonstop and his mother did nothing but pray and smoke weed. I don't want to be like them. I want to be like my mom. I want to go to college and get my degree, flip it, and give it back to my community. Unfortunately, college is expensive. On paper, my mom's income states that she should be able to pay, or at least contribute, to my higher education. However, that's not the case and it's nowhere near accurate. In reality, my mom has to split her income in what seems to be a million different ways. The biggest check consumer is the endless amount of medical bills coming our way. When I was younger, my nana (my mom's mother) was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer. It was severe, but she decided to receive chemotherapy. Fast forward to the present day, we found out it was a misdiagnosis and she received chemo and countless other procedures for essentially no reason. So now my mom has to cover medical bills stacked on top of each other like Jenga, buy medical supplies, and pay for a lawyer. My mom throws the majority of her income into everything medical. Because of this, going to college has seemed a little far out of reach. For the last two years, I've been studying architecture and architectural design. This is a very small, yet niche field and because of that, finding colleges with that major is almost impossible. Key word here: almost. Lawrence Technological University felt like a blessing. I was familiar with this school before, but I never dove deep into researching what it was. Not only is its campus beautiful, but it has one of the best architecture programs in the state of Michigan. Unfortunately, it's a private school and it's extremely expensive. This scholarship would help me alleviate some of the cost and work toward setting myself apart from the rest of my family and work toward creating so many new spaces within my community.