How can someone live through injustice, humiliation, murder, and torture, and still come out of that situation with a heart to help others? The story of holocaust survivor, Corrie Ten Boom, in her memoir "The Hiding Place" is such a story, and it has inspired me for decades. After being abused herself, and witnessing her sister's naked dead body, this woman of incredible strength continued to pursue empathy for her fellow prisoners. The most striking piece of this story is that after Corrie is released from the concentration camp and his faced with one of her captures in a church, she fights her own inner hatred to extend her hand to the gentleman. I admit that I am still working on this kind of love toward others. This kind of love story is exactly what we as a human family need to read and practice today. Corrie Ten Boom is one of the most amazing women I have ever read about, and she will continue to inspire my actions for the rest of my life.

There is a new term I have learned that describes certain types of people, and I am discovering that this term describes me perfectly. A creative. A creative is anyone who is artistic. I have ignored this part of me for too long, focusing instead on the more practical needs in life. In my free time, I am always pursuing artistic ventures. It's just that the time I spend in those ventures often was not balanced well with work and caring for my family. However, the discovery that I am a creative need not mean that I separate work from art. I am learning that art and work can coincide in a way that is life-giving to myself and those around me. The practical can weave intricately with creative outlets, and joy is something that has sprung from this realization. Food is a necessity for all humans, and I find happiness in cooking food that is appealing to the eye and the taste buds. Sewing has many practical applications, and I use this to make my home more beautiful and create unique gifts for others. Writing, one of my favorite fuels in life, can be used for lists, correspondence with businesses, or to comfort the souls of my friends who are facing agonizing situations. There is so much pleasure to be found in art of all types. Pleasure fuels our hearts and minds to keep going in life. It brings us happiness. Art is a critical piece in life that, when combined with the practical needs we face, brings harmony and purpose that fuel my own soul and bring fuel that those around me can use to keep living life day-to-day.

Charting my own path is my main goal. A new career path. As a single parent, I was scared for quite some time to even consider this a goal. As I have learned in the past few years, it often takes a great amount of courage to make things better in life. I am now choosing courage over fear! What does my new goal look like? I am currently taking steps to switch careers in order to do something I love, while still taking care of my family's income. My mindset is changing from keeping the practical and safe business employment I have had to reaching for a more creative endeavor. Creativity brings me joy, and I want to bring that joy to others. So, I am now pursuing a master's degree in creative nonfiction writing. Success, I believe, can only come with a well-thought-out plan, carrying out each step in a methodical manner. During my studies, I have created a start-up LLC as a first step in taking control of how I make my income. Eventually, this will bring new flexibility to my working day to provide more time for my children when they need me. The progress is slow but calculated. Only when I know my new company can provide for myself and my children will I make the switch to running my own business full time. Pursuing a master's degree has already increased my knowledge and provided greater tools to be the creative writer I want to be. All the knowledge I have gained in my business career, including writing and editing, will culminate with my new learning to create a dream job and dream life for myself, my children, and all those that I will serve and support through my new work.

Being a single mother of three children, time for self-care is hard to come by. I have to provide care to my employer so I can keep my income streaming in. I give care to my children so that they are nurtured and loved. So much of my time and energy is spent on caring for others. However, I have come to realize that self-care is a reminder that I also need, and deserve, to be cared for. My self-care includes taking time to listen to all kinds of music. Depending on my mood, it could be spa music, jazz, modern pop, or even a little flamenco! Sometimes self-care means picking up a latte on my way to work. Taking naps on a Saturday afternoon give me the physical and mental respite needed to relieve a long week of work. Watching documentaries or fun movies tantalizes my brain into enjoyment. Pursuing a long walk, or a long shower always soothes my mind and body. All of these actions help me to relax and take in some of the things I enjoy. In order to care for all the others in my life, I need to be healthy in both body and mind. The only way to do that is to be mindful of my own self-care.

Fortunately, when my office building was shut down due to the pandemic, I was able to keep my job by working remotely. However, when our offices reopened almost six months later, the workload was at a snail's pace, and I found myself spending hours and days sitting at my desk doing nothing. Always one to find opportunities in difficulty, I began to brainstorm how I could make life better for myself and my children. How could I gain back some of the flexibility and reduction in stress that I had while working remotely? Could I possibly increase my income in another career? I began to research different career paths, considering my experience, strengths, and weaknesses. Remembering a long-forgotten desire of obtaining my master's degree, a plan was beginning to culminate. Being a single mother of three, there had never been enough time or finances to pursue further education. However, the low workload caused by the pandemic provided that time to complete coursework. I decided to take a risk on the issue of finances and I am now halfway through my master's program! Although the pandemic has caused worldwide suffering, I am thankful to have a silver lining for my family.

After many years of putting off mental health care, I finally scheduled my first therapy session to battle depression and past abuse. That decision saved my life. This personal experience with mental health is one reason the issue is so important to me. However, another reason stems from the effect mental health has had on a very dear friend of mine. I met Gabriel while serving together in the Marine Corps. His wife helped with my wedding, and Gabriel played piano for the ceremony. After serving his time in the Marines, Gabriel reentered the civilian world to start the next part of his life with his family. One year afterward, the 9/11 attacks caused him to be reactivated. While he walked away with his life, those subsequent duties left him with TBI and PTSD. Both of these issues caused Gabriel to be homeless for a time, and almost destroyed his marriage and relationship with his daughters. After seeking aid through Veterans Affairs, he received mental health care that saved his life, his marriage, and his family. Gabriel now has a service dog who senses when a nightmare is coming and lays across his body to calm him. This even helps Gabriel's wife get more sleep each night, not having to awaken to help Gabriel. His dog also provides companionship during the day while his wife works, as he can no longer work himself. I am thrilled to see the stigma behind mental health care beginning to lift. My own mindset has changed as I gained positive change through the help of mental health care professionals, and as I have seen the life-saving effects mental health care and service pets have had for my friend Gabriel. Photos: my promotion; boot camp pictures of myself and my brother; Gabriel and his family.

In a word, time. The best thing I do for those around me to make them feel loved is to give my time. That doesn't sound like enough, you might say. However, there is a myriad of ways one can show love with their time. Here's what giving my time looks like: I share my presence. I share my finances. I give affirmation. I give wisdom. I provide a meal. I babysit. I clean. I bake. I play. I listen. I laugh. I cry. I hug. Using my words, whether on a call from 1200 miles away or sitting close, I lend a listening ear and speak support or advice. Using my hands, I help with dishes, or shopping, or yard work. Using my warmth, I hold someone tight while they celebrate a special occasion, or cry out their fears and frustration. Using my energy, I play board games, or tickle monster, or hide-and-seek with my children. Using my presence, I sip coffee with my friend while they spill their secrets, or their future plans, or their disappointments. Time is precious. Time is a gift. Time is the best way I know to show those around me that they are loved.

My busy schedule raising kids and working full time had me pushing my own mental health care to the bottom of the priority list. I was in counseling for a while, but I found that taking time off of work and trying to schedule around my children's appointments and activities was very stressful. My mental healthcare was causing me stress! I stopped going to counseling, all the while knowing that if my mental health fails, everyone else I am supporting will suffer along with me. Not only does my mental health matter to others, more importantly, but it is also a right for my own well being and nurture. I matter! Therefore, one practical solution that I have discovered that has helped me is telehealth counseling. It's important for every individual to take into account their own mental health, as well as the mental health of others. Utilizing telehealth, I have been able to schedule counseling sessions during the evenings or weekends, eliminating the worry of taking time off work. I also can conduct my counseling sessions in the comfort of my own home. Telehealth counseling is a solution that has truly saved my mental health. For those who need help but find it difficult to find the time during most normal working hours, telehealth is a tremendous benefit that provides additional options to receive mental health care. I believe this also provides an additional level of privacy that can help many who resist mental health care due to the negative stigma that has been placed on receiving therapy treatment.

This is not a current story of mothering infants. This story only starts with mothering infants. Three of them. On my own. The current challenge I face as a mother is being a SINGLE mother. Twelve years of it, in fact. I can begin to feel the shift as I have raised my children on my own from their diaper stages to their teens. Parenting at this stage is more of a mental and emotional challenge. With the increasing quantity of energy being spent to ensure my children receive my best advice, redirection, and love, I also must continue to leave my home daily to provide for us all financially. The income I receive from employment is critical, but it also critically soaks my energy throughout the day, leaving little to give to my children when I return home. The end of my day looks like this: leave work and drive to the grocery store. Take the groceries home and start supper. Eat with my children, clean up the cooking mess (if energy allows), and then try not to fall asleep as my children tell me about their day and we dive into schoolwork. There is little energy, let alone time, for anything further except to collapse into my bed at night, shower or not. At that, there are more evenings than not in my children's now teen and tween years that they seek out lengthy and emotional discussions about life issues. These usually come when the house activity has settled for the evening and everyone's brains are free from distraction. Curled up warm but exhausted and only half-conscious in my bed, I hear the quiet, sometimes hesitant knock at my door: "Mommy, can I come in?" They can see and sense my fatigue, but I never allow a thought in their minds that they can't come to see me any time they need to. I am all they have. I am their sole protector and mentor. I am the one who loves them when others won't. In between we have lawn care, housework, medical and dental appointments, shopping for clothes that they grow out of astronomically fast, and personal care, just to name a few. Weekends are our downtime and you might catch us on a bike ride or spending time with friends. These times seem astronomically short. I want my children to have the most and the best of my daily energy. For this reason, I am seeking a career change that will allow me to capture my current business skills while attending school to pursue professional creative writing. I plan to take my career to the 'next level by working from home and taking control of my hours. It's true that I must provide financially for my household, but I am breaking out of the exhausting 8-5 mold and have begun the process of starting my own business. This will provide the daily flexibility to care for my family's needs, save more of my precious time and energy, and provide an example of hard work and entrepreneurship to my children. At some level, we all need self-care. Especially, I would say, in the case of a single parent. This career change will also help me to take back some of the time I have lost with a typical job in order to begin recuperating my own energy and healing. My business will also be my own! I will be able to bring in that financial support doing something I love to do, and will show that my business education and job skills will come full circle as an asset in making my venture a success. Although I was placed forcibly into my role as a single mother, I am pushing forward to show my children how important they are to me by making this career and life change. Receiving this scholarship would help me to continue to pursue my degree in writing, lower my student loan expenses, and help launch my new career. Thank you for this opportunity to share my story, and for your willingness to provide a welcome relief to any mother who would be the recipient of this scholarship.

This is not a current story of mothering infants. This story only starts with mothering infants. Three of them. On my own. The current challenge I face as a mother is being a SINGLE mother. Twelve years of it, in fact. I can begin to feel the shift as I have raised my children on my own from their diaper stages to their teens. Parenting at this stage is more of a mental and emotional challenge. With the increasing quantity of energy being spent to ensure my children receive my best advice, redirection, and love, I also must continue to leave my home daily to provide for us all financially. The income I receive from employment is critical, but it also critically soaks my energy throughout the day, leaving little to give to my children when I return home. The end of my day looks like this: leave work and drive to the grocery store. Take the groceries home and start supper. Eat with my children, clean up the cooking mess (if energy allows), and then try not to fall asleep as my children tell me about their day and we dive into schoolwork. There is little energy, let alone time, for anything further except to collapse into my bed at night, shower or not. At that, there are more evenings than not in my children's now teen and tween years that they seek out lengthy and emotional discussions about life issues. These usually come when the house activity has settled for the evening and everyone's brains are free from distraction. Curled up warm but exhausted and only half-conscious in my bed, I hear the quiet, sometimes hesitant knock at my door: "Mommy, can I come in?" They can see and sense my fatigue, but I never allow a thought in their minds that they can't come to see me any time they need to. I am all they have. I am their sole protector and mentor. I am the one who loves them when others won't. In between we have lawn care, housework, medical and dental appointments, shopping for clothes that they grow out of astronomically fast, and personal care, just to name a few. Weekends are our downtime and you might catch us on a bike ride or spending time with friends. These times seem astronomically short. I want my children to have the most and the best of my daily energy. For this reason, I am seeking a career change that will allow me to capture my current business skills while attending school to pursue professional creative writing. I plan to take my career to the 'next level by working from home and taking control of my hours. It's true that I must provide financially for my household, but I am breaking out of the exhausting 8-5 mold and have begun the process of starting my own business. This will provide the daily flexibility to care for my family's needs, save more of my precious time and energy, and provide an example of hard work and entrepreneurship to my children. At some level, we all need self-care. Especially, I would say, in the case of a single parent. This career change will also help me to take back some of the time I have lost with a typical job in order to begin recuperating my own energy and healing. My business will also be my own! I will be able to bring in that financial support doing something I love to do, and will show that my business education and job skills will come full circle as an asset in making my venture a success. Although I was placed forcibly into my role as a single mother, I am pushing forward to show my children how important they are to me by making this career and life change. Receiving this scholarship would help me to continue to pursue my degree in writing, lower my student loan expenses, and help launch my new career. Thank you for this opportunity to share my story, and for your willingness to provide a welcome relief to any mother who would be the recipient of this scholarship.

While it's true we have moved into a place of information abundance, the scarcity of intelligent and helpful information has been swiped left. There are too many important lives being ignored, abused, or used in the world today, and there are not enough outlets shedding light in these areas. In a country with a motto of "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness", what I see is a growing obsession with self pleasure and a fanatical addiction to all things celebrity life. What did "so-n-so famous socialite" wear today? That is not something I care about, and not something I feel contributes positively to society. This is the type of writing, so-called news, that is numbing minds into self-centered drones following the next big thing that stroked the pleasure centers of fickle brains. My goal in writing is to provide content that is educational, thought provoking, inspiring, and most of all, actionable. I want to bring awareness to human situations that are often ignorantly judged and passed off in the eyes of the general public. I would like to challenge readers to think outside the box about their current livelihoods and open their minds to the worlds of people who not only live hidden in their own backyard, but also across our planet. One example is the plight of the Native American/Indigenous people. Another example is the financial and mental health struggles of permanently disabled people living in low-income government housing. How many people truly understand the suffering occurring to these people today? How many people even care? While my goal is to reach as many readers as possible, I also fully believe that if just one person can be affected positively by sharing a story, the value of that one person is worth a lifetime of work. If I can use my love of writing to have a positive, life changing impact on others, this would be a dream come true. One word at a time, one life at a time, a change of focus in releasing our minds from the pointless click bait news presented to us today can be turned into positive actions of loving our neighbors and caring for the world.

To say that fear was not a factor in my decision to pursue gaining a new skill would be a lie. It was one of the most pronounced obstacles I faced. I had fear of the financial cost of going back to school, and whether or not my funds would be spent in waste if in the end I could not successfully make the switch to a new career. However, I decided to take a calculated risk, push past my fears, and I am now in my first graduate term for professional creative writing, moving out of my career in the business world. Working, mothering, and going to college full time is a tremendous challenge. Being provided a grant to help reduce the financial burden of my degree would not only be a gift toward my own pursuits, but I also believe it would be a gift to those who would be positively impacted by my writing in the future, which I will explain next. You see, my goals are not purely for myself. Through these first courses, I am already beginning to write about stories of perseverance that I want to share with those who struggle in life. I have personally received so much strength from reading biographies and autobiographies of people who have overcome extremely difficult circumstances. I want to pursue my master’s degree so that I can gain the skills to write in such a way that I, too, can bring hope to any who would read my works. My focus in writing is to share my own story of perseverance, as well as the stories of those who have struggled before me and have come out in triumph. Another goal I have is to highlight the struggles of people groups who have been marginalized by society, bringing their struggles into the light in order to bring positive change both through action and knowledge. Thank you for taking the time to read and consider my personal goals in my education and new career!

"I thought this said size large!" @jaaiydub Both of my cats, Cosmo and Dash, absolutely adore exploring, playing and even sleeping in all types of bags! Every bag that comes in my house gets put in the floor for our kitty boys to experiment with. In this photo, Cosmo decides to squeeze himself into this narrow sack, but unfortunately he couldn't get all the way in or back out!

I met my life saver, Elizabeth, at my first job after facing a devastating divorce. We would be working side by side every day. Little did I know that Elizabeth would become a source of strength and love that would carry me through those first very difficult years of single parenting and working, and would continue to stay with me through many more difficult situations to come. We quickly became very close friends, and after 11 years of friendship, and new jobs for both of us, Elizabeth continues her loving support for me. Elizabeth talks with me for hours if I need, and provides non-judgmental advice. I can tell her anything, and she will keep in mind that she is not walking in my shoes. She has stayed with me through the continual string of difficult circumstances, such as court hearings, parenting challenges, co-workers who have treated me poorly, applying for jobs, and major financial decisions that needed to be made. Her advice and her love have absolutely sustained my life. Elizabeth also spoils me by sending encouraging cards, taking me out to eat, bringing me a coffee, or even paying to have my hair cut at a nice salon. In my financial circumstances, these are luxuries and not an option for my budget. If that wasn't enough, we can always find reasons to laugh together! I have learned through my friendship with Elizabeth that it is rare to find someone willing to walk beside you when you consistently keep getting knocked to the ground. Time after time, hit after hit, Elizabeth has mourned with me, but has not left my side. Thankful seems to be a meager word to describe my feelings for my friendship with Elizabeth. Her friendship has saved my life, and has kept me sane so that I can provide the love and care my children need. I am beyond thankful for my friend Elizabeth.

I truly wanted to be a mother and community volunteer when I grew up. However, I knew that I should go to college as plan B. One thing my Dad taught me is to always be prepared as much as I could for when things go bad in life. He told me that you never know what is going to happen in life. I decided to pursue my Bachelor's degree in business because I thought that I should be knowledgeable and savvy as a part of running my household. Obtaining knowledge about business practices and finances would help me make the best choices in purchases, savings, and budgeting for my family. It would also get my foot in the door in a variety of places in case I ever needed to work and support my household. My dreams came true. I had obtained my Bachelor's degree in business, I was married, and we were growing our family. We had a plan for retirement and enough income and good spending habits that we had no worries financially. However, my decision to follow my Dad's advice to be prepared came in as my marriage fell apart and I was left with three children to raise on my own. During this time, I was able to obtain part-time employment so that I could reduce the expense of child care for three children. Eventually, as my children because school age and their care costs were reduced, I was able to obtain employment that sustained us. I could not have done that without obtaining my Bachelor's degree. Now I am experiencing the realization that my Bachelor's degree is not going to continue to provide enough income for retirement on my own, as well as provide for my healthy and growing teen and tween children. I am again looking to education to increase my income by seeking to obtain my Master's degree. At my age, with full time employment, and single parenting my children, the odds would appear to be against me. However, I have realized the protection that my Bachelor's degree provided to myself and my children in a dire time of need, and I have pushed past some incredible situations before this one. I am ready to fiercely push forward in this next educational endeavor to ensure a sustainable life for my family.

One of the biggest personal failures I have had in my life was not properly preparing for college while I was in high school. I did not pay attention to ACT/SAT registration deadlines, and stopped studying for those classes that would keep my GPA up. I knew having a good GPA would allow me to gain acceptance into colleges and provide opportunities for scholarships, however my home life was causing a major bout with depression, and I had no idea how I was going to pay for college due to my lower income status. I stopped studying in several high school classes and missed the deadline for registering to take the ACT. I knew that college was important, but I had lost the motivation to look into the steps I needed to take to be accepted to a college. It wasn't until I received the Semper Fidelis Award for Musical Excellence from the United States Marine Corps at my senior year awards banquet that I began to have some hope. This award propelled me into an opportunity to gain funding for my college degree, and made me realize this could be a second chance to make up for lack of planning and motivation during high school. Although I knew the Marine Corps to be the toughest military branch in the United States, I also realized this might be my final chance at pursuing a college degree and making a better life for myself. I failed to work hard enough in high school to ensure a good path to college acceptance and obtaining financial scholarships. I was not going to allow this opportunity of serving in the Marine Corps pass me by, although it could be one of the most difficult times of my life. The lesson I have learned from this was to take on hard work as soon as it comes. I have also learned to not let difficult situations stop me from what I know will make a better life for me. The Marine Corps only instilled this lesson deeper, showing me that even physical challenges can be overcome with the right mindset. I am very thankful, looking back on this failure, that I received an opportunity to make up for the damage my giving up during high school could have caused. I now take on challenges right away when they present themselves, because I now know that some opportunities may not present themselves a second time.

I am inspired by the song "I Am Not Alone" by Kari Jobe. The playlist I created contains songs that bolster the theme of God being with us, and that explain His powerful attributes. Listening to this playlist inspires me to keep going through tough days, knowing that I am never alone. God is always with me and I have His strength, guidance and love to carry me through every challenge!

I have faced no end to hardships throughout my life, and so far I have overcome them all to gain success and to continue moving forward. I have not let these challenges get in my way of making a better life for myself and my children. I do not plan to let my past or present obstacles stand in my way of my next goal, which is to obtain my Master's degree and make a better life for my family. My first hardship was the divorce of my parents when I was in middle school, leaving me in a single father household with two brothers. This sent me into a spiral of depression and not caring about my school work. An additional hardship I faced in school was having no funding for college from my family, or from scholarships due to my lower GPA. However, there was something inside me that kept pulling at my mind and heart that I can make it past these challenges. Neither of my parents had graduated high school, so college for me was a pipe dream. While all other classmates were having their name, picture and college plans placed up in the high school cafeteria, I had no idea how I could also join this group and get my name on the wall. Maybe many people did not expect me to make it on that wall, but I was motivated to find some way to overcome my challenges! At my senior year awards banquet, which I almost did not attend because I didn't feel I would have any awards to my name, I was surprised to see a military man in a very sharp looking uniform walk up onto the stage. He was a United States Marine. The award he was presenting was the Semper Fidelis Award for Musical Excellence, which I thought would be great, however I was half spacing off, looking down at my table as so many other awards had been presented without my name being called. Suddenly, I heard "This award is presented to: Jennifer Edwards". My jaw dropped, my eyes grew wide, and the adrenaline started coursing through my veins. "That's me!" I was so proud to have received such an award from such a prestigious military branch! This was also not an award I had ever heard of in the past, so it was nothing I had expected for the evening. Looking back, this was one of the most powerful and unexpected keys that launched me into a path for a successful life. After being chosen for the Semper Fidelis Award for Musical Excellence, I spoke with a recruiter and determined that, although the Marines is one of the toughest fighting forces in the world, I was going to join. This was my ticket to experiencing the world, serving my country, and utilizing military benefits to help pay for my college. I made friends with people from countries around the globe, and learned early on what diversity and cooperation look like. I also met my future husband, who was a Marine. Things were looking on the up and up, and my hard work in persevering through high school and in serving in the Marine Corps had paid off. After leaving the Marine Corps, I obtained my Bachelor's degree in Business, becoming the first member in my family of five to graduate from college. My graduation was a tremendous triumph, even though I faced the slight disappointment that my family could not join me on that day. My next plan was to travel with my husband, as he was now in the United States Air Force, and volunteer my time in the community, in the Air Force, and to raise the children of our newly growing family! In an unexpected turn, hardship wielded its ugly head again. In a most shocking and unexpected turn of events, my husband of 12 years filed for divorce, leaving myself, our two young children and one unborn child, left to fend for ourselves. There were incredible odds against me: I would need to give birth to our third child alone, single parent three very young children, try to find a job after being out of the workforce for 10 years, and face the tremendous cost of childcare for three children. I truly was not sure we would make it out of this situation. All I have ever done, and all I truly can do, is take one step at a time, with each challenge that comes. I was able to find a part time job, enough to provide decent income while reducing child care costs. I started building a strong community of friends who supported and cared for me. Eventually as my children have reached school age, I was able to take on full time employment, gaining benefits to care for myself and my household. The next hardship I face is not one I had anticipated, but has become grimly apparent. I will need to obtain more schooling in order to increase my income. I am so proud of my Bachelor's degree, however in today's world, I have to push forward yet again to break past the ever increasing cost of living and preparing for a future retirement. All in all, the past hardships and pushing through them have made me a strong and more confident person. My current hardship of facing a graduate program with full time employment, pay enough to get by, and single parenting may be one of the biggest challenges yet. I thank you for considering my application for this scholarship. It is a consideration to keep blazing a trail for success through hardships, no matter how hard and how many, and will provide my children with an excellent example for them to follow for their future. If my goal of becoming an author comes true, my greatest wish is that writing my story will show many others there is hope and support in their hardships as well!

I have faced no end to hardships throughout my 43 years of life, and so far I have overcome them all to gain success and continue moving forward. I have not let these challenges get in my way of making a better life for myself and my children. I do not plan to let my past or present obstacles stand in my way of my next goal, which is to obtain my Master's degree and make a better life for my family. My first hardship was the divorce of my parents when I was in middle school. This sent me into a spiral of depression and not caring about my school work. An additional hardship I faced in school was having no funding for college from my family, or from scholarships due to my lower GPA. However, there was something inside me that kept pulling at my mind and heart that I can make it past these challenges. Neither of my parents had graduated high school, so college for me was a pipe dream. While all other classmates were having their name, picture and college plans placed up in the high school cafeteria, I had no idea how I could also join this group and get my name on the wall. Maybe many people did not expect me to make it on that wall, but I was motivated to find some way to overcome my challenges! At my senior year awards banquet, which I almost did not attend because I didn't feel I would have any awards to my name, I was surprised to see a military man in a very sharp looking uniform walk up onto the stage. He was a United States Marine. The award he was presenting was the Semper Fidelis Award for Musical Excellence, which I thought would be great, however I was half spacing off, looking down at my table as so many other awards had been presented without my name being called. Suddenly, I heard "This award is presented to: Jennifer Edwards". My draw dropped, my eyes grew wide, and the adrenaline started coursing through my veins. "That's me!" I was so proud to have received such an award from such a prestigious military branch! This was also not an award I had ever heard of in the past, so it was nothing I had expected for the evening. Looking back, this was one of the most powerful and unexpected keys that launched me into a path for a successful life. After being chosen for the Semper Fidelis Award for Musical Excellence, I spoke with a recruiter and determined that, although the Marines is one of the toughest fighting forces in the world, I was going to join. This was my ticket to experiencing the world, serving my country, and utilizing military benefits to help pay for my college. I made friends with people from countries around the globe, and learned early on what diversity and cooperation look like. I also met my future husband, also a Marine. Things were looking on the up and up, and my hard work in persevering through high school and in serving in the Marine Corps had paid off. After leaving the Marine Corps, I obtained my Bachelor's degree in Business, becoming the first member in my family of five to graduate from college. My graduation was a tremendous triumph, even though I faced the slight disappointment that my family could not join me on that day. My next plan was to travel with my husband, as he was now in the United States Air Force, and volunteer my time in the community, in the Air Force, and to raise the children of our newly growing family! In an unexpected turn, hardship wielded its ugly head again. In a most shocking and unexpected turn of events, my husband of 12 years filed for divorce, leaving myself, or two young children and one unborn child, left to fend for ourselves. There were incredible odds against me: I would need to give birth to our third child alone, single parent three very young children, try to find a job after being out of the workforce for 10 years, and face the tremendous cost of childcare for three children. I truly was not sure we would make it out of this situation. All I have ever done, and all I truly can do, is take one step at a time, with each challenge that comes. I was able to find a part time job, enough to provide decent income while reducing child care costs. I started building a strong community of friends who supported and cared for me. Eventually as my children have reached school age, I was able to take on full time employment, gaining benefits to care for myself and my household. The next hardship I face is not one I had anticipated, but has become grimly apparent. I will need to obtain more schooling in order to increase my income. I am so proud of my Bachelor's degree, however in today's world, I have to keep pushing forward again to break past the ever increasing cost of living and preparing for a future retirement. All in all, the past hardships and pushing through them have made me a strong and more confident person. My current hardship of facing a graduate program with full time employment, pay enough to get by, and single parenting may be one of the biggest challenges yet. I thank you for considering my application for this scholarship. It is a consideration to keep blazing a trail for success through hardships, no matter how hard and how many, and will provide my children with an excellent example for them to follow for their future. If my goal of becoming an author comes true, my greatest wish is that writing my story will show many others there is hope and support in their hardships as well!