When I was no longer the only child, I learned that I was more capable of being a better person for those who would soon rely on me. Before my mom had my little sister, it was just my mom and me. My dad fell short and let me down early, so I was used to being let down at a young age. My mom always worked extra hard to provide for me, and I often took it for granted. However, when I needed something, I didn't worry because I always had my mom, and she took care of it. I thought it was normal, I even thought having a single mom made me extra special in a good way. Eventually, I learned that I actually had less than the other kids around me. I started to feel differently about myself in elementary school. By the time I entered middle school, I had learned that I was going to have a sibling. This was different for me; I felt like my sibling was going to take the little bit of parent that I felt I had left and leave me to figure things out on my own. I also often thought her dad would let her down, too, because this was normal to me. I did not think I wanted a sibling, but God knew I needed one. When people would ask me if I was excited to have a little sister, of course, I said yes, but a part of me felt like she was going to feel the same way I felt when I realized the reality of being a "single-mom-kid". After a while, I started to grow into a second mom to her. Helping my mom around the house, feeding my sister, changing her diaper, staying up late to help her with homework, picking her up, and dropping her off. My sister wasn't taking anything from me, except that she was giving me the opportunity to grow as a daughter, as a person, a scholar, and an athlete. This is when I realized I was capable of stepping up in my household and becoming the person I wanted to be. She taught me to be selfless in the face of responsibility, even when I didn't want to, and to remember that my success is not just for me, but for those who would soon rely on me to be there for them. Every day, I carry with me the lessons my 6-year-old sister has taught me, wherever I go. I, too, wanted to teach her that being let down is not normal and that she is much more than someone who feels less than because of the things life throws at her. I am the person that my friends trust and come to when they need guidance, a shoulder to cry on, or to hear what they don't want to hear but need to hear. I am the student who leads the group projects and discussions. My mom trusts me to be responsible when I'm out with my friends, and my coaches trust me to be the captain who holds my teammates accountable when fatigue hits or skipping a rep seems like the easy way out. I knew I was capable of more when a 6-year-old taught me more about myself than I could ever know.

When I was no longer the only child, I learned that I was more capable of being a better person for those who would soon rely on me. Before my mom had my little sister, it was just my mom and me. My dad fell short and let me down early, so I was used to being let down at a young age. My mom always worked extra hard to provide for me, and I often took it for granted. However, when I needed something, I didn't worry because I always had my mom, and she took care of it. I thought it was normal, I even thought having a single mom made me extra special in a good way. Eventually, I learned that I actually had less than the other kids around me. I started to feel differently about myself in elementary school. By the time I entered middle school, I had learned that I was going to have a sibling. This was different for me; I felt like my sibling was going to take the little bit of parent that I felt I had left and leave me to figure things out for myself. I also often thought her dad would let her down, too, because this was normal to me. I did not think I wanted a sibling, but God knew I needed one. When people would ask me if I was excited to have a little sister, of course, I said yes, but a part of me felt like she was going to feel the same way I felt when I realized the reality of being a "single-mom-kid". After a while, I started to grow into a second mom to her. Helping my mom around the house, feeding my sister, changing her diaper, staying up late to help her with homework, picking her up, and dropping her off. My sister wasn't taking anything from me, except that she was giving me the opportunity to grow as a daughter, as a person, a scholar, and an athlete. This is when I realized I was capable of stepping up in my household and becoming the person I wanted to be. She taught me to be selfless in the face of responsibility, even when I didn't want to, and to remember that my success is not just for me, but for those who would soon rely on me to be there for them. Every day, I carry these things that my 6-year-old sister has taught me everywhere I go. I, too, wanted to teach her that being let down was not normal and that she is much more than someone who feels less than because of the things that life throws at you. I am the person that my friends trust and come to when they need guidance, a shoulder to cry on, or to hear what they don't want to hear but need to hear. I am the student who leads the group projects and discussions. My mom trusts me to be responsible when I'm out with my friends, and my coaches trust me to be the captain who holds my teammates accountable when fatigue hits or skipping a rep seems like the easy way out. I knew I was capable of more when a 6-year-old taught me more about myself than I could ever know.

What makes me a YGIG is the drive, ambition, and will that I possess to push me to get what I desire, no matter what life throws at me. At a young age, most of my family failed me, and I have expected to be let down since I could remember. My mom, on the other hand, has been there to play both roles and believed in me in whatever I wished to pursue, even when I did not believe in myself. Her belief in me, support, and tough love have shaped me into the person I am today and will carry me into the woman I will be in the future. I started playing basketball when I was five, playing AAU basketball with Team Takeover in fourth grade, and finishing out my eighth-grade year. During those years, I have always played above my age group. I took basketball very seriously and sacrificed a lot of my childhood to be an athlete. When I got to high school, I started as a freshman on varsity as a point guard at Archbishop Spalding. I was also running indoor and outdoor track at the same time. Two-a-days for both sports became a regular thing during the week, and the battle between putting one foot in basketball and leaving the other foot out for track became stressful and detrimental to my athletic career in both sports. However, I was finding myself through track, and the confidence I had lost in basketball I gained in running. I lost sight of my future because it was all I knew, but I also knew that I needed to make a decision sooner than later. I decided to take a huge risk and put all my eggs in one basket after having to sit out my whole sophomore year due to a stress fracture in my tibia, and pursue my dreams of being a collegiate athlete and running track. I found an unknown talent in hurdling and stuck with it. During my freshman year, I placed 5th at New Balance nationals in the Freshman 400-meter hurdles with a time of 1:04.64. This outdoor season, I broke the Archbishop Spalding record for the 100m hurdles (15:14), 300 m hurdles (43.64), and set a new record for the 400m hurdles (1:01.75). I participated in the 4x100 (49.11) and 4x400 (3:55.35) relay teams that also broke the school records. This season, I made 2nd Team All County, I’ve been on Varsity since Freshman Year, and I qualified for Nationals and recently ran at the New Balance Outdoor Nationals this year. I was also ranked top 25 in Maryland for the 300 Hurdles. Despite my imperfect family situation, my injuries, or risk-taking, I always trusted God, the process, and embraced my flaws and unfortunacies and made the most of it. Instead of expecting to be let down, I set the expectations for myself and met them. Every. Single. Day. I have never missed a practice, even when I was not physically able to participate. Being an athlete has taught me that when you are committed to the process, the losses become just as beautiful as the wins because there is a lesson in every step of the journey, and you have to lose to win. This scholarship would help my mom with her financial issues. I believe that in all of my eighteen years of living, going to school, and playing sports, I have never had to pay a dime to get where I am; she did. It is bigger than me, it's for my family. I want to prove to my mom that the money that she invested in me means something by not letting her pay anything for me to continue my dreams in college. Continuing my education so that I can reach my full potential as a person is what I believe will pave my way to success and honor my mother. She is my inspiration, whom I look up to, and whom I want to tell my future kids about. My recruitment process is still in progress, but I am hoping to be an incoming freshman on a scholarship with 2 official visits coming up so far. I hope that I am considered as a recipient for the YGIG scholarship and I thank you for your time

When I was no longer the only child, it was then that I learned that I was more capable of being a better person for those who would soon rely on me. Before my mom had my little sister, it was just me and her. My dad fell short and let me down early, so I was used to being let down at a young age. My mom always worked extra hard to provide for me, and I always took it for granted, or when I needed something, I didn't worry because I always had my mom, and she took care of it. I thought it was normal, I even thought having a single mom made me extra special in a good way. Eventually, I learned that I actually had less than the other kids around me. I started to feel differently about myself in elementary school, less than, and going into middle school, I had learned that I had a sibling on the way. This was different for me, I felt like my sibling was going to take the little bit of parent that I felt I had left and leave me to figure out things for myself. I also often thought her dad would let her down, too, because this was normal to me. I did not think I wanted a sibling, but God knew I needed one. When people would ask me if I was excited to have a little sister, of course, I said yes, but a part of me felt like she was going to feel the same way I felt when I realized the reality of being a "single-mom-kid". After a while, I started to grow into a second mom to her. Helping my mom around the house, feeding my sister, changing her diaper, staying up late to help her with homework, picking her up, and dropping her off. My sister wasn't taking anything from me, except that she was giving me the opportunity to grow as a daughter, as a person, a scholar, and an athlete. This is when I realized I was capable of stepping up in my household and who I was as a person. She taught me to be selfless in the face of responsibility, even when I did not want to, and to remember that my success is not just for me but for those who soon would rely on me to be there for them. Every day, I carry these things that my 6-year-old sister has taught me everywhere I go. I, too, wanted to teach her that being let down was not normal and that she is much more than someone who feels less than because of the things that life throws at you. I am the person that my friends trust and come to when they need guidance, a shoulder to cry on, or to hear what they don't want to hear but need to hear. I am the student who leads the group projects and discussions. My mom trusts me to be responsible when I'm out with my friends, and my coaches trust me to be the captain who holds my teammates accountable when fatigue hits or skipping a rep seems like the easy way out. I knew I was capable of more when a 6-year-old taught me more about myself than I could ever know.