“In a time when kingdoms come. Joy is briefly as summer’s fun. Happiness, its race has run. Then pain stalks to plunder” - Maya Angelou “In a time”. As a First-Generation daughter, of African Immigrant parents, I've learned life won't come easy and you have to fight for the change you want. My parents came from a place they wanted to escape. They wanted better life for themselves, but also one for the children they were bringing into the world. They didn't have access to a stable education. My mother completed part of high school, but never received her high school diploma or a GED. My father completed high school, and part of college in the United States, but he didn't graduate. My parents didn't get the proper education they needed, but they've always tried to help their children out as much as they can. In high school I was enrolled in "free and reduced lunch", and many other programs to get things easier, to have accessibility to a good life and a better education. They put 3 children through high school, are paying of loans for one sister in Graduate school right now, counting the loans of another sister in College. I would hate to add to their stress of paying money for things they can't afford. This scholarship would benefit me in ways I can’t explain. I believe I am deserving of this scholarship because of my emotional attachment to helping people. We strive in fields that we believe will benefit ourselves and others. Some fields help others more than they help us sometimes. But before we realize it, we notice the change in personality. Happiness grows when you’re doing something you love, and your impact improves as well. This scholarship would make the biggest impact on my educational pursuit because we are born to fulfill a purpose and seek happiness. I’ve looked at all my options for college. I’ve asked myself “how am I going to pay for this?”. With no answer, I try to find possible solutions. I am trying to find as many scholarships that I can that align with the person I am. I wouldn’t change my personality and write an essay for a scholarship that doesn’t align with the person I am now. Scholarships are the only thing that’s pushing me forward, from the financial challenges that are trying to hold me back. I’ve heard from many admission counselors that talking about how much your family is willing to invest in your college experience is important. But with the knowledge I have, knowing that my parents are struggling financially and are making less than they work for, I try my hardest to make a plan of how I’m gonna pay for college first, and then ask for the bare minimum from them. Money is the one thing holding me back from everything I could possibly accomplish at UW-Tacoma.

There is nothing worse than a horrible mental mindset. It affects your personality, beliefs and your interactions with others. Over the years, I have definitely had experiences with depression and anxiety. I've felt like nobody understands what I'm going through, life would be better if people didn't have to deal with me, if only I wasn't alive. I had constant thoughts that made me cry multiple times every day, where I was isolated in my room. Relationships decreased. I talked to my parents and sisters, but I never talked to them about what was going on. I decided that it was better to keep these things to myself, so they could pile up and weigh down on my heart. I had gotten a therapist for those exact reasons, she was there if I ever needed anything, but there were still so many things I wasn't telling her. I learned that in order to be lifted from this hole of sadness, I would need to be open with others. I needed to tell my therapist what was going on, so she could help me understand why I was feeling this way. She gave me ways to free my problems if I didn't want to talk to anyone. Poetry. I wrote poems everyday, thoughts that I wanted to release but knew I shouldn't. They all related the pain I was feeling and how that correlated with the people around me. Poetry is still something I write everyday. In January, I wrote and published a poetry book, called 'drowning', which may be similar to everything teens out there are feeling. Just like how I felt. Poetry is a shoulder I'm able to lay my head on, if I don't want to rely on a human being. The lines of my notebook, play as the friend that I never had, but always wanted. With everything that's going on in the world with Immigrants being deported, our Civil Rights getting lost somewhere, it is so important for me to write. Our 1st amendment focuses on freedom of speech and expression, but it doesn't seem like I have that as a right. I want every individual out there to know, they matter, and their voice matters. If you have something to say that greatly affects you. Say it, don't hold it in, don't let it weigh down on your heart. Don't hold it in. Don't ever let anybody dim that light for you.