My favorite book is last summer by holly chaimberlin. This is a book with a sad story that i could just read over and over again. i first discovered it my freshman year of high school in one of this “little library” stands that look like bird houses outside. to this day i still have that same coot of my book with all my notes written in it and whatnot.

Throughout my life i have gone through many obstacles. I lost my mom at 9 years old and i was left with an alcoholic father. Growing up i had went though a lot of trauma which quite frankly molded me into the person and artist i am today. My passion came from my trauma, it was my form of getting my email as out when i wasn’t able to find the right words. Later on in my life i got put into foster care, this made me take my education seriously. I had 2 teachers who gave me the motivation to truly be proud of the artist that i am today. Regardless of my past i am a hardworking and proud artist. My artwork shows the passion i have inside of me. I have a very creative mind and if there is any way for me to utilize that than i’m very much going to. My goal is to become a tattoo artist. My dream has always been to have my artwork walking around the world. I’ve never had more of a drive about anything else in my life, well maybe besides writing clearly. Becoming an artist gave me the courage to be myself in more ways than one. It takes a lot to be confident in yourself but i have full confidence within every piece of artwork i do even if it’s not a fan favorite. Art gives me the serotonin that i’ve been missing for so long and i wouldn’t trade that for the world.

My passion for art comes from trauma. Art became my form of escape from reality when i needed it the most. Throughout my life i have lost more people than gained ; through art i have learned to take my emotions and feelings and apply them to paper or canvas. I actually also do a lot of my artwork on cardboard just because it’s a cheaper alternative. Growing up i was always a creative child from drawing & painting , to making friendship bracelets, to even building with my dad outside. I lost my mom at 9 and after that i lost myself and didn’t know how to get my voice back. Art gave me my voice back , it’s the one true motivation i have to continue. I remember always hearing that being an artist will get you no where in life , but regardless of what everyone told me i have fought my creative mind and brought it here where my drive for art gets larger and larger. My favorite form of art is painting , im one of those people who enjoys all the paint getting on their clothes and hands and mysteriously on my forehead. This scholarship would help me get the materials i need in order for me to continue my education with the arts. My plan is to go to SUNY new paltz and get my bachelors degree in art. My dream has always been to become a tattoo artist, which is a very stressful form of art. But once i continue with schooling i’ll work to get my seat and become a tattoo apprentice to get my tattooing license three years later. If anyone knows anything about me is that i’m an artist , and i’m very proud to wear that title. I feel that through art you can put those ideas in your head that can’t form words into something. Our minds are a beautiful place and artistic people have the world at their fingertips due to being so creative on the inside. I don’t want to be just another sob story , yes i lost my mom young , yes i have trauma , and yes i am in foster care but everything i have gone through in my life has molded me into the person i am today and maybe that trauma forced the creativity out of me. I would be a good candidate because i am a hardworking , proud artist and i would be continuing living out my dream.

My name is Justine Hechinger and I'm not your typical student. Throughout my life, there've been many ups and downs and I have had many traumatic experiences. I was a very happy child, or so it seems. When I was 9 years old my mother passed away. She left me with my alcoholic father, which was not the best idea but at that point I wasn't aware of that. By 11 years old I had become homeless for the first time in my life, later on Id see that this was not a one time experience. I missed school due to my at home problems. I had developed an anxiety disorder, PTSD, and major depression at that point. Continuing on with my life, we jumped house to house until I was 15 when we moved into an apartment and life became a bit more tolerable. This didn't last long, my father started drinking more and working less. I felt as if I was the adult in the house. So I had to learn to depend on only myself , realizing very young that I would be the only person I'd have at the end of the day. My aunt and my cousin came to live with us for a while and it was awful. Alcohol has really played a big role in messing up my life. They fought constantly and cops were always at the house. In august of 2018, just 2 months after my 16th birthday, I had gotten taken away. I remember that day. The day was dark, it was raining and I just came home from a friend's house, sat on my bed and started writing. My aunt barged into my room and said “pack your stuff, we’re getting evicted and you're getting taken away”. My father was nowhere to be seen, there was no goodbye. Finally I thought to myself, this is exactly what I needed, it's time I make a better life for me and only me. I started my junior year of high school living in my friend's house. I've never felt like I've ever had a home, like I really have a place I belong. I'm now in foster care and it has changed my life. I started not missing school at all, my grades improved tremendously, I won an essay contest ( 2nd place in the Orange County Drug and Alcohol Abuse essay contest), I won an art contest at school, I even won port pride. For the first time in my life (senior year) i had gotten perfect attendance.. Moral of that story is, I do not want to be another sob story, I'm more than my story. I'm a strong, hard working, passionate woman who will achieve her goals. My absolut passion is art. Since I was little I've always loved being creative. I want to own my own tattoo shop once a day. I feel that being able to say people are walking around with my artwork on their bodies sounds so amazing. I have a story that not a lot of adults can even relate to. I'm proud of the person I became. I never gave up, no matter how much I wanted to. I'm proud of all that I have overcome and achieved, I did not think that I would've made it this far honestly. No matter how broken, beaten down, and lost you are, you can pick yourself back up. I will be the best version of myself one day. My story may be my story, but it does not define the person I am today.

Justine Hechinger My name is Justine Hechinger and I'm not your typical student. Throughout my life, there've been many ups and downs and I have had many traumatic experiences. I was a very happy child, or so it seems. When I was 9 years old my mother passed away. She left me with my alcoholic father, which was not the best idea but at that point I wasn't aware of that. By 11 years old I had become homeless for the first time in my life, later on Id see that this was not a one time experience. I missed lots of school due to my at home problems. There were days where I felt as if I couldn't move, like I was strapped down to my bed. I had developed an anxiety disorder, PTSD, and major depression at that point. Continuing on with my life, we jumped house to house until I was 15 when we moved into an apartment complex and life became a little bit more tolerable. This didn't last for that long, my father started drinking more and working less. I felt as if I was the adult in the house. So I had to learn to depend on only myself , realizing very young that I would be the only person I'd have at the end of the day. My aunt and my cousin came to live with us for a while and it was awful. Since as long as i can remember i've been terrified of yelling and once they moved in it became so much worse. Alcohol has really played a big role in messing up my life. They fought constantly and cops were always at the house. In august of 2018, just 2 months after my 16th birthday, I had gotten taken away. I remember that day as if it was yesterday. The day was dark, it was raining and I just came home from a friend's house, sat on my bed and started writing. My aunt barged into my room and said “pack your stuff, we’re getting evicted and you're getting taken away”. My father was nowhere to be seen, there was no goodbye. Finally I thought to myself, this is exactly what I needed, it's time I make a better life for me and only me. I started my junior year of high school living in my friend's house. I've never felt like I've ever had a home, like I really have a place I belong. I'm now in foster care and it has changed my life. I started not missing school at all, my grades improved tremendously, I won an essay contest ( 2nd place in the Orange County Drug and Alcohol Abuse essay contest), I won an art contest at school, I even won port pride. For the first time in my life (senior year) i had gotten perfect attendance.. Moral of that story is, I do not want to be another sob story, I'm more than my story. I'm a strong, hard working, passionate woman who will achieve her goals. My absolut passion is art. Since I was little I've always loved being creative. I want to own my own tattoo shop once a day. I feel that being able to say people are walking around with my artwork on their bodies sounds so amazing. I have a story that not a lot of adults can even relate to. There's so many ideas running through my mind all day everyday. It's crazy to think of how I would be if I didn't go through all that I have. I'm proud of the person I became. Regardless of everything I never gave up, no matter how much I wanted to, I never did. I'm proud of all that I have overcome and achieved, I did not think that I would've made it this far honestly. I'm thankful for everyone I have in my life, reminding me that I will be happy with myself one day. No matter how broken, beaten down, and lost you are, there's always someone or something that can pick you back up. I will be the best version of myself one day. My story may be my story, but it does not define the person I am today.