There are several ways I plan to make a positive impact on the world. As an African American, a woman, and someone a part of the lgbtq community and the mental health community, I could have an impact on several groups of people. As an African American, I plan to positively impact the world by starting my own business and creating a fund to help other African Americans start their own businesses. This would give the African American community jobs, income, security, and increased development. As a woman, I plan to impact the world in several different areas positively. One area I plan to impact positively would be our reproductive rights. I would write a book about stories of women who have had different experiences and why our rights are essential. This book could be of women who have had abortions, needed birth control, needed life-saving surgery, or needed a check-up. You may not need to use your reproductive rights, but that does not mean it should be taken away. I would also try to make an impact on the domestic violence statistics. Millions of women need help getting away from an abusive partner. I would create an app that has trained specialists who are available 24/7. These specialists would be able to help find these women places to stay, help them contact the authorities, and more. This would be an app that would strictly hire women to make the women getting out of their domestic situations feel safer. As a part of the LGBTQIA+ community, I could also have a positive impact here. 1.8 million LGBTQIA+ members are seriously considering harming themselves. I would first create a fund. This fund would help teens who were not accepted by their parents and kicked out. This would provide them with money and help them find a place to stay, get a job, and finish school. As mentioned earlier, I would then try to create multiple shelters in different states that would work with the fund. These shelters would allow members of the LGBTQIA+ a place to stay for no charge while they get back on their feet. I would then create an app or website where you could find all this information. It would have the addresses of all the shelters in all the states. It would have all the information required to apply for the fund. I would also include a social media section; that way, you could connect with others going through the same thing you are. As someone who is a part of the mental health community who suffers from a mental illness, there are a ton of things I can do to impact the world positively. I would try to bring more awareness to the different types of mental illness and how we are still normal human beings; we need a little extra help. I would also create a fund. This fund would help those behind on rent or needing groceries who couldn't provide the money for them because their mental illness rendered them bedside. This way, they can catch up on rent, feed themselves, and get back on track. It would also help someone afford medicine if their insurance couldn't pay for it.

One of my best memories with my grandfather before he passed away was helping him fix cars. He was a mechanic in Mooresville, NC, and worked on people's cars. I always loved visiting him and sitting down as he explained everything. I would hand him different tools as he described them and what they did. He would explain how a car was like a person. If you treat the vehicle properly and take it for regular check-ups, it will run correctly. My grandfather felt that having this skill to fix my car was something I should have regardless because I always talked about buying a Dodge charger. He would say, "Why buy it if you don't know how to fix it?" He would teach me how to change a tire or the oil in a car. I was the only girl in the family who got dirty with him, even though I would still be out there with a fresh manicure. He imparted these lessons to me because he didn't want me to be stuck on the side of the road or have to rely on someone else when I could get the job done just the same. My career as an auto mechanic is to fulfill his dream of one day owning my shop and having my name out there. I plan to impact the future by one day having several mechanic shops run by women and operated by women. I would also have a section where I would teach. I want to teach other girls how to change their tires or the oil in their cars. We as women always have to rely on the men, whether it's our fathers or triple A or roadside assistance. We shouldn't have to always depend on them. We are just as capable, if not more, to complete these tasks. I would have classes for girls and women to teach them the basics of a car and how to repair certain things. I would also offer my own services as a repair shop because sometimes it's scary to break down and be alone with a man as a woman in the world today. I'm applying for this scholarship because I want to continue my education and finish my degree in learning how to fix cars. It would help me pay for supplies and the semester as well. I would also be able to use the money to help pay for classes and learn how to run a business.

My name is Kaitlyn, and I am 20 years old. I am African American, and I have what seems to be thousands of tattoos decorating my skin. I would describe myself as creative, a team player, and always thinking of the future. I think holding yourself accountable is the best way to ensure you succeed in whatever goals you have set for yourself. I hold myself accountable by making an entire master to-do list. Now, a to-do list seems simple, but a master to-do list has everything you have to do. I then break it down into categories, whether it's academic, career-wise, or personal-wise. This is a terrific way to hold yourself accountable because it's all written down. You can't ignore what is in front of you. Another way I hold myself is by taking that master list and putting it on my phone as a reminder. These reminders have specific dates or times they go off. We always have our phones with us. They are attached to us 24/7, so I know I will see what needs to be done. This is a great way to hold yourself accountable if you are permanently attached to your phone. A third way I hold myself accountable is having a friend or my mom hold me accountable. I will share my master to-do list and the corresponding due dates. Then I tell them if it looks like I am slacking or procrastinating, hold me accountable in any way. These tips I have implemented in my life have helped me increase my class load to a full-time schedule of 18 credits, a 4.0 GPA, and straight A's. I was always taking nine credits in the past because I felt I wasn't smart enough to handle a bigger load. In the past, I have always had a 3.5 but never a 4.0. This, to me, is my success. I learned better time management skills. If it can be done now, then do it now. If it is a large project, do it in pieces. I learned to have confidence in myself. I always got nervous during exams, making me feel like I couldn't remember any information I discovered. I learned to calm my breathing and to take a moment and relax. I studied the material, did the classwork, and am prepared. I also learned that burnout is very real and that sometimes, taking care of yourself must be a to-do.

I went to see the Eras Tour with my mom on October 14th. The previous night, I rushed around to find stuff to make bracelets. This was a big deal as someone who's been a Taylor Swift fan even before she owned her music. The Eras Tours was a combination of every song and era we, as fans, had been through with her. The Eras Tour came out when I was in the middle of several friendship breakups. They were hard, and I struggled because I thought these people would be at my wedding someday. I was willing to forgive acts of betrayal. Her Reputation Era was what got me through it. It showed me that I needed to be strong and didn't need people who didn't value me in my life. Each era helped me discover something about myself. Starting with the Lover Era. The Lover era helped me relearn how to love myself. I have always struggled with loving myself and have always based my worth on someone else. If someone else couldn't love me, I wasn't lovable. This isn't the case. This isn't true. Her songs Cruel Summer and Miss Americana & The Heartbreak Prince helped me learn to love myself. Cruel Summer taught me that I'm always going to have myself. I can't put a price on that. I have to learn to have fun with myself before inviting other people. Miss Americana & The Heartbreak Prince healed my heart from a breakup. No matter how much I love that person, I can't run away with them. We have duties to ourselves and our families. If we were to break up, I need to be able to live without you. Codependency is not favorable. Moving onto the Fearless Era. Fearless helped me become fearless. It seems cheesy, but I have always been the kind of girl who calculates risk factors. If i couldn't see it ending well, no matter how much i wanted it or wanted to do it, I didn't. Fearless helped me realize taking a risk doesn't always have to mean you fail. Even if you fail, taking that risk is a win. You went after something you wanted and fought for it, and most people don't. Evermore Era had me in my sweater-weather feelings. Willow was the perfect song. It's the song that you'd play for everyone to realize that this one person is your person. This is the best person in the world, and you can't live without them. It becomes tricky, though, when your whole identity turns into this person, and you are nowhere to be found. Willow taught me that you can love, but you must keep your love for yourself on equal footing with your love for someone else. Now, here we are to the Reputation Era. This era was perfect because it gave me everything I needed to regain my power. I was letting people who hurt me continue to take from me, and I couldn't any longer. Ready for it was the song. It was like asking, "Are you ready for the consequences? Are you ready for the fight?" They might not have been ready for this war, but I am and am not even the one who started it. The last era is Midnights. This era is all about not caring what anyone says about you, your lover, or your business. Anything about you is strictly for you. Lavender Haze was the perfect song. To me, it represented just wanting peace. I want to stay in this serene and peaceful environment.

My ultimate show to binge on Netflix is Seinfeld. It's a sitcom from 1989 that had nine seasons. It has four characters - Jerry Seinfeld, Elaine Benes, George Costanza, and Cosmo Kramer. Each episode is about their regular day, but something completely crazy and random happens. For instance, in Season 2 Episode 8, titled The Heart Attack, George watched TV the previous night and happened to watch a special on heart attacks. When George, Elaine, and Jerry are at lunch the next day, George believes he's having a heart attack, but George is a hypochondriac. They take George to the hospital, and George, being the ever-dramatic character of his, tells Jerry to "put him out of his misery," so Jerry pretends to smother him with his pillow. Then Elaine walks into the hospital room. Elaine is instantly taken with him when the doctor walks in, and there is an instance of attraction. George begins to guess everything that could be wrong with him, from Lupus to Scoliosis. In the end, it turns out that George's tonsils have grown back. After stopping at the cafeteria to load up on food, Kramer stops in the hospital room for a visit. As George, Kramer, and Jerry talk, Kramer is trying to dissuade George from having surgery. He says he has a better way. His friend Tor Eckman, who was just released from prison, is a herbalist. Kramer claims the medical establishment framed him. Jerry is against this idea and urges George to take care of his issue in the hospital, but to dodge a hospital bill, George goes to Eckman. Eckmen, the healer, tells George to stop using hot water and that he was born in the wrong month. He blows in his face and goes on a rant about the medical establishment and how they are scamming people. He starts measuring George's face in weird angles and shapes and tells him he's in disharmony. Eckman diagnosis is that George has an invasion of heat and wind. We hear Jerry's inner thoughts make a sarcastic remark, saying, "There's some hot air blowing in here." Meanwhile, Elaine is on a date with the hot doctor from before. We see that he is holding her tongue with a napkin and explaining all the medical terms about the tongue. To treat this invasion, Eckmen makes George a drink. This drink has cramp bark, cleavers, and couch grass. While holding a pyramid over his head, George drinks this concoction. The very next thing we see is George in an ambulance, and he is entirely purple, screaming, "I'm an eggplant." The two medics are arguing over candy and get out to fight. One medic gets back in and continues to drive them to the hospital. As they continue to the hospital, the medic takes his eyes off the road to argue with Kramer and Jerry, and they get into an accident. Jerry walks into George's hospital room with a neckbrace and an ankle boot while George has a neckbrace and can't talk. Kramer, however, went to Eckmen and is completely healed.

I am 20 years old. I suffer from Major Depressive Disorder, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Every morning, I take five pills to combat these mental health issues. Every month, like clockwork, I speak with a therapist. Mental health is so important to me. As someone whose experience ranges so deep from trying solutions, I feel like I have changed my mental health. I wasn't on pills when I was younger. We tried just therapy and journaling. This worked for a while. My brain still had some growing up to do. I noticed, however, that my friendships were always very dark. There were no sunny moments. There was no hanging out, no getting food together. We would talk about what depressed us and continue in a cycle. Journaling helped, but it didn't always feel safe to me. I was always scared someone could pick it up and read my inner thoughts. So, I was never honest during journaling, which didn't help. Middle school was challenging because of this dark cloud. Things got harder, though, when high school came around. The hormones, the more prominent class load, trying to make new friends, trying to hang out with old friends, it was a lot on my mind. I was severely depressed throughout my entire high school career. I was failing classes as a freshman; I was having anxiety attacks every day. Getting up seemed like the sky was going to fall out. Things got so bad that self-harm was considered. This was when we started talking about medicine. I didn't start this until my third year in high school. By then, my grades had picked up, I had made friends, and things were looking up. The medicine made things easier for a while. It's easy to become reliant on the medicine, so you don't look for your triggers, and you don't monitor your health. There's a misconception that even when taking medicine, people don't experience depression, which is widely untrue. Pills aren't a cure. They're an aid. The pills i had worked in the beginning but then they started doing more harm then good. I started thinking I was failing at everything. I was back to feeling like that high school freshman who cried every time she went to school. Getting off those pills pronto was the best decision I made. All this did was solidify for me that pills helped me, but they needed to be the right brand and dosage. It took me ages to find the correct brand and dosage of pills. The pills aren't my only tool. I also have a therapist and a psychiatrist. I also journal and monitor my emotions. Now, my mental health is better than ever. I look forward to the future. I look forward to exploring different career paths. Perhaps my career will align with my Motorsports Management or Motorsports Marketing degree. Perhaps my career will align with my degree in Art History. Perhaps my career will completely deviate from my degrees. These things used to bring me anxiety and fill me with dread. Now, they fill me with anticipation. They fill me with excitement. Just like my mental health, my career and my relationships have gone up and down. I loved the job I had as a sales associate at Pandora. When my location got shut down, I found myself in a mild depressive state. I had finally found my footing and was earning money. I felt like the rug had been pulled under me. My friendships have done rollercoasters with my mental health. I have had friends come and go. Boyfriends come and go. Some friends and spouses can't handle that sometimes I want to text you back but I can't get out of bed because i feel like the world might stop spinning if i do. That's okay if they can't handle it, but it is sad when a friendship or relationship ends because of something you can't control.

Success looks like a balance between the best work and life environments. You enjoy your job and love what you do. When you wake up, you don't dread heading to work. Your work brings you joy, and you want to express what you do as a career. You enjoy your life and enjoy all the time you get to do activities. You go to movies with friends or have dinner with your family. You aren't missing important events. You can enjoy the money you earn from the job you love. This opportunity will help me succeed because I will use the money to explore further my passion for the degree I am studying for. I am studying for a management and marketing degree in Motorsports. I would use this money to try to connect with others who have worked in these positions and network. I would try to find an internship. This would allow me to achieve what I define as success. I would love to do my work and be around race cars, but I would also be able to enjoy my life by being around friends and watching a race. This is how I would measure success. Success to me isn't measured in money but in memories and experiences. I want to have created an everlasting batch of memories I can reflect on. I want to have many experiences and see what I excel at. This is what success to me looks like. These experiences and memories will detail the many trials and errors I have faced in my career. They also, however, will document the achievements I have won. I will have achieved a work-life balance. I will have achieved a love for my job that many people do not get. I will have achieved a pay that allows me to live comfortably and not worry about money. 2500 may not seem like much to the average person, but to someone who struggles to pay for college each semester, it would help tremendously. I am passionate about all types of racing, including NASCAR and Formula One. Struggling to pay for college hinders my ability to explore and nurture that passion. The fear of my love being smothered makes me work ten times harder each day in every class. I want to prove myself and succeed. I want to show that my talent and that the money is not being wasted. Scholarships like this are gold for students like me who want to nurture and feed our passions but don't always have the means. I would use this money to pay for supplies and also tuition. I would perhaps trade my old computer for a new one. I would get some notebooks and pens. Ultimately, I would use the opportunity this scholarship provides to make sure my definition of success is within reach. I would continue to work ten times harder. I would continue to showcase my passion. I would continue to nurture it. I would continue to soak up all the information I could because this scholarship would help pay for a semester and allow me to learn.