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.