Living in a single-parent household is a unique experience that molds children in such a different way than what you'd see in a two-parent household. For starters, when it came to my childhood, I never truly had a father figure that was up to par, which was ok because I adore my mother so much. My siblings, on the other hand, take the lack of masculine presence in their lives a bit harder than I do; because of that, I've always felt the need to overcompensate for the fact that he is no longer around. In single households, it's so easy to feel alone even when you're constantly surrounded by your family, even easier to lose faith in yourself. All too many times I've seen my family members who've been in the same housing situation not involve themselves or push themselves; that constant stagnation led to them struggling in life because they never had that extra parent to instill that much-needed faith. Luckily for me, my mother allowed me to join sports; she'd let me try things over and over just hoping that I'd find something I truly connected with. Her efforts weren't in vain; throughout my high school career, I've engaged in so many sports that not only improved my physical health but also my mental health, especially. I became so sure in myself that even when my physical prowess wasn't enough, I wasn't deflated because the action itself brought me such joy. Finding such happiness in sports made me less dependent on that secondary presence and sure that I was just enough even though my father wasn't present to confirm it. Cross country by far has been the best thing I could've done in my adolescence; it's provided me with the abilities I never thought I could have, the confidence I've dreamed of, and a work ethic that makes me beam with so much pride. That feeling, that euphoric rush of finishing 3 excruciating miles in the summer heat, brings me indescribable joy. Even more, when you continue the sport for so long that you aren't daunted by what your performance will be like and can just perform to the best of your abilities and enjoy the outcome, that feeling truly cannot be beat. I want my siblings to know that joy, that security, and how satiating it can be, because knowing such a feeling just might be enough to fill that cavern of loneliness that can only be experienced as a child in a single-parent household.

I've never considered myself athletic, which is odd because I've been doing sports my whole life. I first started with Gymnastics, as every young black girl in the 2010s; Gabby Douglas had me so entranced that I'd begged my mother to let me join. It was so fun, learning cartwheels and roundoffs, and I'd gotten really good at them. Then they had us learn back handsprings, and I quit a few weeks later. Then a couple years later I tried ice skating; I'd just learned how to do flowers on the ice, and we were going to do The Lion King on ice. I quit just a few weeks before the show. This pattern repeated for so long, and I was sure that it was just me being unathletic, until I joined cross country and it was terrible. The mileage makes me feel like I'm on the brink of death, and my times are subpar, and I couldn't be happier. Being on cross country has improved my confidence in my athletic ability by being so incredibly difficult; the required consistency it took for me to even show up at practice is enough to make me beam. It made me realize that all those past times the reason I quit wasn't due to how incapable I was but because I had no desire to struggle and that I couldn't find the joy in the hard work and consistency. Now I feel as though I've built a love for the difficult things, and they've helped to improve my life as a whole. It makes me want to stay busy and even encourage those around me to do the difficult things just so they can experience the same euphoric outcome when they're rewarded. It's helped me with school especially, forcing me to prioritize studying that extra 30 minutes or to stay off my phone; it's even branched out into my relationships. I can't say that without cross country I'd know my worth as much as I do now, cause in a race so many things run through my mind, good and bad, and in that grueling 3 miles the more prevalent thoughts always end up at the forefront, so knowing my worth, knowing that I've improved so much, is always what keeps me going. So although it pains me so much physically to continue this sport, I don't ever want to go back, because going back would make me just as docile and unmoving as I once was, and to live my life as such isn't the life for me.

There are many reasons as to why High School graduates attend college, academics, community, or looking for a path to a better life through education. All of those are valid and admirable reasons to pursue secondary education and some even apply to myself, but not all. Throughout my entire educational career, I've been a dedicated lover of the arts, the hobby has brought me immense joy and inspires my future career choice of becoming an art teacher. I know well of the hardship that comes with the realm of being a teacher in general, the kids and their behavioral issues, having the responsibility of caring for hundreds of children and ensuring they get home safely, covering and making sure your students fully comprehend the material, the list goes on. But it wasn't teachers of general education that sparked this desire of mine to pursue this field, although they are much appreciated, it was the visual art and music teachers. They'd managed to pique my interest with such ease in elementary school, making me happy to struggle with an instrument cause of the finished product being so rewarding even though music isn't what I specialize in. Had it not been for my elementary school art teacher I wouldn't have attended the middle or high school I did, and for that he has my everlasting gratitude. It wasn't just the artistic rigor that pulled me in though, it was the seriousness for which they held in their field. Even in high School, where I greatly disliked my performing arts teachers for their teaching methods, they each held a true and passionate dedication toward what they taught and that truly inspired me. I saw my own love of the arts reflected in the attitudes of these educators and it makes me giddy to even conceptualize a future in this field. Also, it's blatantly clear that educators, especially those of the arts, don't get enough recognition for the work they do in schools. Because of said fact children, like me, are placed in underfunded art programs that don't allow them to reach their full potential. I so desperately desire to help educate and fund programs such as these because I know how irritating and frustrating it can be to be without said help. Even now in my current school, even before my art teacher resigned, she gathered all the supplies with her and didn't bother to leave her hundreds of students with a drop of paint, everything is gone and my school doesn't allow me to fundraise even though I'm willing. So yes, I don't just want to go to college, I need it, I need to help the future generations of the arts because I know what it's like to go without it. I know how it feels to know that what your being told to do in these art classes isn't enough to help you flourish, how the lack of rigor is keeping you in a confined square. I know that feeling of guilt for using provided supplies because you know that no one will buy more if you use that extra paint. I want to help be the change that encourages kids to feed their creativity without worry, I know college will help me achieve that.

Georgia is a lively and diverse state, and I truly wouldn't desire to be anywhere else as bad as I'd like to be here. From the rich history to the splashes of graffiti downtown, to the large planes of unmanicured and vacant grass that are littered with cows as far as the eye can see all make Georgia a truly lovely place to reside. But it's not only the beauty that draws me to Georgia, it's the resilience of the people, specifically, my mother. Although she doesn't get the credit my mother has single handedly helped the majority of my family to live comfortably. She and her 10 other siblings lived in the Decatur projects for years and even after she had me at a very young age, she managed to move on her own, house her mother and 4 of her siblings along with their children they had later on. And although furious and frustrated with her and her family's poor decision making, she didn't let it deter her from getting her family to live comfortably. Through her hardship she made sure that her children would not make the same mistake and her first course of action toward that goal was putting all of her children through college. She often tells me how she wishes she'd slowed down and appreciated or acknowledged the educational opportunities of her time and how she doesn't care what or who we want to be all that she wants is for us to at least pursue a secondary degree. Her continuous hard work is what pushes me to be better, I want to be able to provide for her, allow her to rest once she's decided she's tired. That's why I made sure to do everything I can, I'd join any extracurricular that interested me so that I can have more opportunities to grow things like leadership and teamwork. Although most of my extracurriculars were scholar based, they filled me with so much joy, not just because I was making my mother happy but because I was achieving academic experience in such a fun way. I've always been quite scholarly but during sophomore year I admittedly started slacking, but what had snapped me back into place was when my 2 aunts and 2 uncles moved in with my mother. They'd began living with us in 2024 and still live with us to this day, all were outstanding high school athletes that would have soared in college with their athletics alone, but they didn't go. why? Because my two aunts had children, children with selfish men who cared not for their livelihood but only of the thrill that came from conception. My uncles were the same, talented just not wanting to apply themselves, waiting so long that they got caught up in self-made problems instead of looking at the bigger picture and pondering for the future. Seeing the 4 of them let their youth slip by scared me terribly and made me realize how easy and quickly one can get stuck in an endless and unmoving loop. I don't want to be stuck and I won't, many things have been sacrificed for me to have the opportunity to live and pursue my academic passions and I won't let it pass me by.

My love for art blossomed at a very young age, it was a consuming and wholehearted love that resides in my heart today and continues to grow at a monstrous rate. It started in elementary school; I'd jump at any chance to incorporate art into an assignment no matter the subject and my mother would help me create tiny art booklets so that I can work and draw. My mother continued to encourage me in my artistic endeavors each time we moved, and for each move I experienced many teachers that helped transform me into the artist I am today. When I finally settle down in one town with my family I had met an amazing art teacher, Mr. Watkins, he'd been the one to encourage me all throughout elementary school and introduced me to a performing arts middle school. With his recommendation I tried out for entry into General Ray Davis middle school, and with determination and a collected portfolio i got in! Unfortunately, once in this school my love for art began waning, my art teacher in my eyes, was not teaching for the love and respect of visual arts but instead for the title. She'd claim to love and adore art but didn't bother to teach us the fundamentals like color theory, or simple anatomy, she'd enter us into art competitions and raffles to earn money but in turn we never saw any profit as students seeing as our program was still very underfunded. This was very disheartening as I was so excited to go to a school that presented itself as a school that specialized in my interest in art. Not much changed when I got into my current high School either, in fact, I believe they got worse. I again, tried out for and got accepted into Heritage Highschool which was supposed to be a performing art school as well. During my 3 years here, it pains me to say that my art teachers gave the same treatment, but what made it more disappointing was that these were women who not only founded the program but pursued a secondary education to have this position, the position they seemingly didn't take into high regard. Once more the art program was underfunded, but what makes it worse is that we aren't even allowed to fundraise, multiple times I've suggested and offered to fund and conduct a fundraiser for the performing arts program but have been brushed off at every turn. It became clear to me that the quality of inspiring, yet challenging art teachers was scarce and with the loss of them creative programs, like the one I'm a part of, will crumble. I believe that my art, will not only inspire children but make them strive to improve and to become the best artist they can be, that in my becoming an art teacher will help push creativity to new heights and create the new generation of mind-bending artists.

To preface, I've never been homeless, put into foster care, or even gone a night without food to fill and nurture my young body, so I've never truly considered myself poor. So, imagine my surprise when I found out from my mother that despite all of the luxuries my siblings and I have daily, we are still considered poor because of how many of us there were. With that in mind, I've made it my mission to prioritize my education to lighten my mother's financial load, but even that is so ridiculously out of reach when I look at the facts. The economy today does not favor lower/middle-class families, nor does it favor my desired career path of teaching. I'm a child of a single mother of 5 who houses many more than just us. As for my education on financial literacy, I sadly cannot say that my school really focuses on such important things; they'll scratch the surface by teaching us about credit and debit cards and how to build credit, but they never delve deeper—because of this, most of my skills with my finances started at home with my mother. I was 14 when she started giving me an allowance for helping around the house, whether that was cleaning or babysitting. I was rewarded at the end of the week with money. When I got my first few weeks of allowance, I didn't know what to do with myself, so like any impulsive teen, I spent it at an alarming rate. It wasn't the constant scolding and disappointed remarks I received for buying so many things that made me get my act together, but it was how uncomfortable I'd get when events came around. I'd be scurrying for money to gift or to pay for myself, and it not only embarrassed me but gave me a glimpse of a very uncomfortable future. A life where I'm scrambling to fully enjoy myself because of my poor financial decisions is a life I knew was not for me. From then on out, I began building a habit of saving toward events and the other expenses that would have troubled me in the past. It's a shame because I truly don't believe there was any way for me to learn that in school, and it scares me to think that if it weren't for my mother's implementation of an allowance, I wouldn't know the anxiety that could stem from not knowing the value of a dollar.