Living a healthy life is conducive to living one full of promise and longevity. To me, being healthy means being physically and mentally able to perform fully and effectively within reasonable parameters (parameters meaning age, gender, ability, etc. constraints). When you are able to function at your peak, you are then able to live a life that is boundless in its possibilities. With the life I currently lead, it is basically impossible for me to not be physically healthy. My high school is within 2 miles of my house, and thus I walk to and from school every day. The walk takes about 25 minutes, I am wearing a heavy backpack, and on top of that, I live in Texas, so it is hot most of the time. For maybe two months out of the year, it is cold in the morning – but it is almost always hot in the afternoon. The heat means my metabolism is running even faster, so I’m burning even more calories. In school, I have track class, so I’m either running outside (heat!) or lifting weights. And then, during the second semester, before-school practice starts. So, from January onward, I am trekking to school, practicing for an hour, walking around my humongous school, lifting weights, and walking home. Let’s just say I’m pretty built going into Spring Break. Mental health also plays a big part in maintaining a healthy lifestyle. As an incoming senior, I can see myself being under a lot more pressure and stress than I was in my previous high school years. This is where, in a weird turn of events, I am thankful that I’ve dealt with stress before. So I have figured out how to manage it and keep my head above the water. In my junior year, I took Anatomy and Physiology, and it was a lot of work. Extensive readings, notes, and packets were distributed almost every time class was held - I was drowning in work. But taking steps to manage my coursework allowed me to reduce my stress and even get ahead, allowing me to relax before deadlines hit and the next round of assignments were assigned. Living a healthy life allows you to live life to the fullest and experience all the world has to offer without limitation. I am committed to living a healthy life because I want to be able to do what I want, when I want, without constraints.

Applying for scholarships is an extensive process that separates the weak from the strong (and the girls from the boys, and the low-income from the high, as well as those who play lacrosse from the other 99% of people – it gets pretty niche). This ordeal costs time, effort, and brain cells, so going into it, you need to be mentally prepared for the suffering you’re about to endure. I’m exaggerating, but you get the point: it’s tough. There are a couple of things that I have learned, however, and it is as follows: the application process is a marathon and not a sprint, you need both quality and quantity, and “rejected” will become your middle name. Firstly, writing essays isn’t really where you’ll spend most of your time. Many people won’t do essays because of the perceived effort they believe the process entails. But in reality, you’ll be looking for scholarships that you even qualify for most of the time. Trying to find your niche can be rough after the first couple of scholarships the website hands you. And a lot of the time, the filters that the site provides don’t do much good. “High School” and “women” don’t tend to lead you to what you want because the scholarships themselves are so much more specific: “High school seniors who have struggled with addiction, but are currently clean, and play sports – specifically, lacrosse” and the like. It gets a little annoying but hang in there – it’s a marathon. “Quality, not quantity”. People throw this saying around all the time to encourage people to put all their chips in and make it count. But with scholarships? You need to put all your chips in at every table in the casino simultaneously (most people applying for scholarships probably aren’t allowed on the casino floor, but you get the metaphor). You need every essay to be your best because… well you want money, right? And you need to apply for every scholarship because you are, more than likely, not going to win every scholarship you apply to (source: me). Try your best, and the effort will eventually be rewarded. You want every step to be your best foot forward, and you need to take a lot of steps (I have a lot more metaphors, call me if you want to waste 3 hours of your life). Lastly, rejection. You check your email the day the scholarship winners are supposed to be announced and: nothing. That’s ok, just check your spam. Still nothing? Maybe check the site, they probably haven’t announced the winners yet. They have! Oh, look: 1st place: not you, 2nd place: still not you, and 3rd? Triple-negative. It gets a little disheartening to see your hard work go unacknowledged, but don’t lose hope. You’ve applied to several others, and there are even more being added every day. You just have to roll with the punches and take life as it comes at you. Not every essay’s a winner, but not every essay’s a loser either. Keep trying and you’ll eventually succeed, just keep applying.

My first thought when I saw this prompt was: "Don't let it see the light of day until I fork it over to my bursar." But then I read it again, and registered the phrase: "right now". And that is something entirely different. Right now, I would totally splurge. If I even think I might need something, it's getting bought. 1,000 dollars doesn't come by every day, and at this point in my life, any money I get will most likely be going towards college life. But $1,000 for myself? I am going shopping! I've been needing to revamp my wardrobe anyway - I have stuff from 6th grade in there! I would take the time to curate my apparel just right so that I love and cherish every stitch in my closet. Then, predictably, I would turn my money back towards education. The shopping spree only took about $400 because I'm really bad at shopping sprees (kinda niche). I would pay for my Biology CLEP exam and booklet (about $120 including the admin fee) and then some ice cream so that I feel less awful while studying for it. I'd spoil my friends ("I'll buy you anything from this vending machine. You're welcome.") and family, and just be reckless with my remaining 400-some dollars. I will never have a chance like this in the foreseeable future, so I'm going to enjoy it while it lasts and make some fun memories before coupons and budgeting become my life.

I am most definitely a privileged person in that I was granted an education, able to spend my time studying instead of working, and able to contemplate even the prospect of college. That being said, I also am disadvantaged in a few ways: I am a woman, and I am Black. Not only will I have to face the drawbacks of being a woman in the workplace and in my day-to-day life, but I will also have to deal with the discrimination that being in a Black body comes with. I know, however, that there were millions of women before me that have had to go through worse than what I will go through, and that is what inspires me to go on. To fight for the destruction of gender inequality makes me proud and honored that I even have the chance to draw my sword. Honored, to know that I will be one in an army of women of color that have faced gender and racial disparity head on and came through standing tall on the other side. I know I can make it now if they made it then, and I refuse think otherwise. By simply existing in my devalued body, I am making a statement that neither Texas, nor any state, or any country, can hold me back from being me. When I graduate from college, I hope to land a job as a Diagnostic Medical Sonographer soon after I leave the safe space that is college. I want to be able to start helping people as soon as possible so I can show my community what I can give back to them. Through being able to provide for people, I want to show them that a woman can, and does, contribute everything that a man does to society and there is no need for a difference in the way that we are treated, simply based on our genders. There are women, as well as men, that are doctors. Men, as well as women, who are nurses. There are no set roles for the things women and men can contribute to their communities, so why are we still acting like it? Healthcare, I believe, is the great equalizer because you are either successful or you need to work somewhere else. My degree proves that I am as capable as anyone else who holds the same degree as me. Our education is equal, so the way we are treated should be too. I just hope my work in the medical field will be enough to prove it.