I was adopted out of foster care at six years old by a family member. There were a lot of traumatic events that took place during that time that shaped me into the person that I am today. I was heavily influenced by abuse and substance abuse. Being in foster care did not negatively affect my academic success but instead only pushed me to work harder. I strive to push myself to the best of my abilities and work hard to earn good grades. I currently am a senior in high school and have maintained a 3.7-grade point average. All of these experiences led me to want to pursue a career in clinical psychology. I would love to make the world a better place by helping those who are struggling with their mental health. I would especially love to be able to help people with experiences similar to mine. Foster care heavily affects children's mental health and I hope that I can be just a small light in the darkness for those struggling. As a senior in high school, I've started making big plans for my future. I'm currently taking an online college psychology course and will be taking a college speech and sociology course this fall. After high school, I plan on applying to a four-year university in Illinois. I am going to get my bachelor of science in psychology. I then will go on to get my master's degree in clinical psychology. I would love to be able to get a Ph.D. at some point in my life. Aside from getting a degree, I would love to do some volunteer work to help those struggling with mental health issues. I also want to help fight for LQBTQ rights. My passion for psychology and life experiences will help me to achieve these goals. Receiving this scholarship will help me to achieve these goals. I come from a one-parent household and don't have a lot of support financially. Receiving this scholarship will help me to decrease the amount of money I will have to spend in order to go to college. I have also faced a lot of discrimination in my hometown due to my sexual orientation. It has destroyed my mental health recently. I believe that going off to college will be in the best interest of my mental health and will help me to live a life that I am happy with.