This past year being daddy’s little girl has cost me a lot when it came to my mental health. My dad suffers with an addiction to alcohol. What made this so difficult for me is the fact that this hasn’t always been an issue for him. At least not that I’m aware of. It seems as if it came out of nowhere. The most challenging part was this affected my senior year of high school which was supposed to be my most exciting year. At the age of 16 I was so excited to be hired at my first job. I had goals for my paychecks that I hadn’t received yet. My number 1 goal was to save as much money as I possibly could to help my dad with the expense of college. My dad was the only parent in my life because my mom is current serving a 25 year sentence in prison of which she has 10 more years to serve. Although I’ve become accustomed to accepting and dealing with hardships all of my life, my dad’s new situation almost got the best of me. In order to make my dad happy and maintain the title of daddy’s little girl I found myself giving him money from my paycheck when I got paid to help with the household bills because he spent a portion of his paycheck to purchase alcohol. When my dad was having alcohol withdrawals he was a mean person in addition to him being sick. I didn’t like seeking my dad in this way. This was the man who took care of me when my mom chose to make poor decisions. This was the man who took me to the doctor when I didn’t feel well. So I viewed this as paying back a favor not knowing I was causing more harm than I knew. My grades started to drop which caused me to fall into a depression. I always took pride in being a high honor student. I always knew I wanted to earn a college education. In April of this past year I was able to participate in a week long college tour and get accepted into the college of my choice on site. This lit a fire in me and I knew I had to make some serious changes. I began with talking to my school’s social worker because I recognized the need for professional health. My best friend was someone I could confide in but my dad’s addiction was something bigger than I could handle. With seeking professional help I realized I had to set boundaries with my dad. I realized that my decking mental health was affecting me more than I realized and in order for me to be successful I had to address it. There’s a stigma that comes with seeking professional mental help but my overall success was my number one priority. I didn’t want my physical health to become an issue which happens most times when your mental health is affected. I have built a support network outside of my dad. I was able to get my grades back to where they needed to be and graduate from high school with high honors. Adversity doesn’t have to be the end. I’ve learned that it is ok to need and ask for help. That will be what I use to be successful throughout my college career and beyond. This scholarship means more to me than just money. It’s another part of the process of knowing help is available in aiding me to reach my goals.

Abuse of any kind is horrific. Before my mother found the courage to leave my father I witnessed many years of physical abuse, mental abuse, and emotional abuse due to my father’s substance abuse problem. When my father abused drugs and alcohol he became a different person, a stranger. Witnessing this year after year has impacted me by making me not want to be married. Before I knew better I equated love with all of the abuse that my mom endured from my dad. But as time went on I asked myself how could someone say they love you and then turn around and blacken your eye? Or say things to you to try to damage your self esteem? I am going to college to study to become a Registered Nurse. Once I accomplish this goal I plan to work in public health, particularly in an urban city. Abuse affects women all over the world but African American women have a higher percentage rate of being abused. According to the National Institutes of Health approximately 34.6% of white women in the United States have experienced some form of abuse by an intimate partner which is lower than the 43.7% of black women and 46% of American Indian/Alaska Native women. Women who live in urban areas are more likely to face challenges than women in rural areas due to lack of education, lack of financial stability, and lack of support to name a few. I have learned that people are more receptive to learn from people who look like them or people that they may feel would be able to empathize with them. I plan to work in clinics that are located in urban areas and use my degree as a Registered Nurse to educate the women there. With resources I also plan to host events to make women feel better about themselves such as makeovers (hair and makeup), workout plans, meal plans, massages, etc. Being a Registered Nurse is more than just working in a hospital or passing medications. It’s about taking care of the whole person within the scope of practice. Although I have never experienced abuse directly, I have been impacted by it. I have seen my mother be torn down and with the right guidance and resources I have seen my mother build herself back up. Through my mother’s mishaps I have learned what real love is.

My life experience of being raised by a single mother of 3 children who worked hard to fulfill her dream of becoming a nurse has influenced me to choose nursing as a career. Although I don’t have children of my own yet, I witnessed my mom use us as motivation especially when times were challenging. My mom worked in addition to attending school. I was able to see firsthand how hard work, determination and perseverance helps you to achieve your goals. Now that my mom is a successful nurse I see how rewarding nursing is. Also I see how diverse a career in nursing can be. You have the luxury to work in different capacities and learn new things. You are able to find your niche and master it. My maternal grandmother lost her battle to breast cancer while my mom was studying to become a nurse. It wasn’t until after my grandmother died that my mom studied oncology. She was able to understand from a clinical level what my grandmother endured. As I begin my studies to become a nurse I have the privilege of watching my mom further her education to now earn her Masters of Science in Nursing. Through my mom I am able to see just how rewarding a career in nursing can be. I know that this is the career for me. During my mom’s clinical rotations she would use my siblings and myself to practice on. My favorite was the head to toe assessment. I was always fascinated with how she would tell me how the different systems worked. I am just beginning to take the necessary steps to begin my nursing career but I see myself going just as far as my mom. I know that it’s going to take a lot of studying and a lot of hard work no matter what life may bring. While I was in high school I set myself up to succeed for this moment. I was able to maintain a 3.7 gpa and graduate with high honors. I was also dual enrolled which means I was taking college courses while still in high school. I also worked part time and completed volunteer work at my church and community. I was able to pull on my mom’s strength to conquer everything I set out to do. Being a single mother isn’t easy but it isn’t the end of the world. It’s only a limitation of someone allows it to be.

Being an African-American has been challenging from the beginning of time and in my opinion daily living is not getting any easier. In the year 2025, so many years after slavery was abolished one would think I would not have to have such an awful opinion. African Americans have had an uneven history in this country and yet I am most proud to be a part of this culture. I do not have to read history books or watch any documentations to learn about the unfair treatment of African-Americans in the past. All I have to do is have a conversation with my maternal grandmother like we have done and continue to do. I appreciate the knowledge and the wisdom that she is able to pass down to me firsthand. My grandmother was born in 1947 in Monticello, Georgia and her mother, my great-grandmother was born in 1919. Her mother was a black slave and her father was a slave master. Enslaved mothers gave birth to children that were enslaved. I am a prime example that those who were enslaved passed on so much more. With each generation powerful lessons were left about what meant most. Through their memories and stories it has been proven that their voices live on. This is where I come in. Although I was not afforded the opportunity of knowing my great grandmother, I have her values instilled in me. These values were passed down from generation to generation. I was taught the importance of having an education because there was a time when African-Americans were not allowed to learn to read or write. But that did not stop them. My grandmother was only able to attend Job Corps because there was an opening for an African-American female. My grandmother makes sure that I understand the importance of having an education. She looks at me and says, “once you get it in here (pointing to her head) no one can take it from you”. Recently I asked her what she meant by that. She told me there was a time when African-Americans were stripped of everything and there was a lot that they could not do. The older I get, the more it makes sense and now I understand why my mother was able to skip a grade in school which allowed her to graduate from high school 1 year early. When I began school, the board of education wanted me to wait 1 year due to my birthday being in December. My mom told me that she would not allow them to put any limitations on me. Many years later I graduated from high school with high honors at 17 years old. I was the youngest best student in my class and will still be 17 when I attend college in the fall. I am proud to be attending a HBCU. These colleges for African Americans were established mostly through the efforts of African American churches. My major is nursing. During segregation nursing was one of the few professions that were available to African American women. In the US only 9% of Registered Nurses with a Bachelor’s Degree are African-American. Through my continued hard work I will be included in that number. This scholarship will help to alleviate some of the cost of my tuition and aid in me achieving my career goals.

Growing up with a single mother wasn’t always easy for my mother or for me. As I think back now that I’m a little older life could have been easier living in a 2 parent household or it could have been worse. My mother worked hard to take care of my 2 siblings and myself. There were times where she worked 3 jobs at 1 time to be able to provide for us. There was also a period of time when she attended college part time. My mom gave birth to my oldest sibling when she was only 17 years old. She graduated from high school but was unable to attend college. A year later she gave birth to another child. Although 9 years had passed when she had given birth to me her financial and educational situations had not improved. As a child I did not realize the severity of my mom having to provide for 3 children on her own. Throughout my life my father was incarcerated which caused my mom to not only be a single parent but the only parent. As I continue to get older my mom shares a lot of her struggles with me in hopes that I would not make the same choices she made when she was my age. When you have children your life is no longer your own. Due to many sacrifices that my mom had to make she had to place going to college on hold. Although she was only attending part time it began to interfere with her raising us. She was missing out on events primarily at school that we needed her to attend. She was unable to devote the proper amount of time needed to study. Those conversations that my mom had with me were very effective. I worked hard my entire high school career and was able to graduate with high honors. I applied to 7 different universities and was accepted into all 7. I will be attending college in August of 2025 and when I graduate in May of 2029 I will be a first generation college graduate. My mother is my superhero. Although life hasn’t been as easy as it could have been for her she never gave up. Her faith in God is what has sustained her the most. The many tears that she cried watered the seeds that she planted for her children to thrive. Knowing of and seeing some of my mom’s struggles allowed me to see a different aspect of hard work. I know that I will continue to be successful in my college career. My mother has proven to me that faith in God, making good choices, hard work and determination are the tools needed to succeed. My mother does not have a college degree but I still view her as a success. I’m grateful for all that she has instilled in me and when the time comes for me to be married and have children I will share all of my mom’s wisdom with them.

Being daddy’s little girl was never enough for my dad to stop abusing drugs and drinking alcohol. I never looked at my father’s addiction as being a disease. All I knew was that his addiction was more important than me. To me, the hardest part of his addiction was when he relapsed. It was so hard because when my dad was sober he was the best dad in the world. We laughed together, we cooked together, we exercised together & most importantly I felt that my dad loved me. This would go on for months until he caved in to the urge of needing drugs and alcohol. My dad’s addiction has caused him to serve time in prison intermittently since I was a young girl. My dad has missed a lot of important events in my life. There were times when I would cry because my friends were attending daddy daughter dances with their fathers and even their stepfathers. The only positive thing that came from seeing my dad struggle with his addiction is knowing that will never be my story. It’s very unfortunate because I know there are some moments where alcohol could be used to celebrate. At weddings I know that champagne can be used to make a toast. At elegant restaurants you might be offered a nice glass of wine. But for me I will never view these as celebratory. Alcohol has also affected my life because a close friend of mine was killed by a drunk driver. In drivers education there was a simulation that we had to participate in that showed us how it felt to drive while intoxicated. I will never understand how someone could make the choice to drive while intoxicated. I pray daily that my dad will be able to overcome this disease that has a stronghold on him. There are times when I hate him and then there are other times when I feel sympathy for him. I know the man and father that my dad has the potential to be. I see what the years of abusing drugs and alcohol has done to his body. At this current time my father’s liver is damaged. Unfortunately due to his history with drugs and alcohol he is not eligible to receive a liver transplant. Seeing firsthand what happens when someone is addicted to drugs and alcohol is what made me to decide to never indulge. I am constantly reminded of all there is to lose even if I were to try once. We have one body and we have to take care of it the best way that we can.

My grandmother was a very strong woman who unfortunately lost her battle with breast cancer two years ago. Before cancer took over her life my grandmother made me feel like I had my very own superhero. There wasn’t anything that she couldn’t do. She taught me everything from my alphabets to changing a car tire. When my grandmother was first diagnosed with this awful disease she was very optimistic. She told me and my other family members that she was going to beat this disease. My grandmother put up a fight for 17 long months. I saw the changes that her body was going through but she still continues to say that she was going to beat the disease. At the time one of the last things I said to my grandmother was I reminded her that I was going to graduate from high school in 2 years. I was her youngest grandchild and wanted to make sure she knew how much I wanted her to be at my graduation. Grandma responded and told me she was going to be there. She was there but in spirit. While my grandmother was in the hospital I saw how the nurses cared for her. Each shift there was a different nurse but the excellent care remained the same. The doctors would come in my grandmother’s room as well but it was something about the time and care that the nurses gave. While my grandmother was still in the hospital I decided to do some research and study to get more familiar with this diseases that was taking the life of my superhero slowly but surely. I started to learn about one of the difficulties she was dealing with due to the cancer speeding to her liver from her breast. I learned the medical terminology for it which is metastasized. I began to understand why her body was filling with fluid and why it was important for the fluid to be drained so that it didn’t affect her breathing. The little bit of knowledge that I was learning opened my eyes to a whole new world. It was very intriguing to me. At one point I thought to myself maybe I’ll study to become a medical doctor. But then I thought back to how the nurses cared for my grandmother in her last days and that’s when I decided I wanted to be a nurse. In the beginning of my essay I stated that my grandmother made me feel like I had my very own superhero before cancer took over her life. As I come to the conclusion of this essay I realize that she still is my superhero. She just traded in her cape for wings. I found out about this scholarship on Instagram.