Imagine this: an elementary school-aged blind girl just wanting to play and have fun but being rejected on the playground because she was “too different”. Then, she goes home to a family that also makes her feel different and unwanted. That was me. Along with my disability, I have always had a very exuberant personality that has separated me from others. My personality was always “too much” for people and I didn’t find true friends until I was in high school. But, the one true friend I had when I was younger was music. I loved all varieties of music and still do. But, one song in particular that always brought me joy was Taylor Swift’s “Shake It Off”. As soon as the song came on, It was like I had a weight lifted off my shoulders and all I wanted to do was sing and dance along. I loved this song so much because it reminded me that my haters are going to hate me but that it's my choice to decide whether I let them upset me and that my life is what I make of it. I could let all the hateful comments and actions tear me down and destroy the person I am or I could shake it off and dance shamelessly to my own beat. A few lyrics from this song that I connect strongly with are: “Got nothin in my brain That's what people say”, “ I go on too many dates But I can’t make ‘em stay At least that’s what people say”, “But I keep cruisin’ Can’t stop, won’t stop movin’”, “It’s like I got this music in my mind Sayin’ it’s gonna be alright”. The lyric where she said that other people say that she’s got nothing in her brain touched me as a child because I also had people downplaying my intelligence due to the fact that I was in special education classes. It meant a lot to me to hear about a celebrity who didn't let people insulting her intelligence stop her. I took her suggested advice and eventually worked my way up to honors and dual credit classes. The lyric where she said that people were commenting on her inability to make people stay also had an impact on my younger self. I was always trying to make friends but could never make them stay. It was once again nice to know that a celebrity also struggled with loneliness. The lyrics in which she expressed that she couldn’t and wouldn't stop moving really inspired me. Hearing that she had struggled with some of the same things I did made me feel like I could also be successful and make my dreams come true too. I haven't given up yet and don't plan to. But, when I do feel like giving up, “It’s like I got this music in my mind Sayin’ it’s gonna be alright”.

We all have unique obstacles we must face in life. For some these obstacles are a little more difficult to overcome than others. Throughout my life, I have faced many different obstacles of varying levels of difficulty. The one I'm the proudest of was getting myself out of special education classes and into regular, honors, and dual credit classes. As a child, I was put into special education classes because of my blindness. For some time, I didn't understand that I was in different classes than my so-called “normal” peers. By the time I did notice, I was in middle school, and I was frustrated by the thought that there was nothing I could do about it. I had succumbed to the belief that this was where I belonged. I had no real aspirations for getting out of those classes, graduating with a standard diploma, or ever attending college. Why did I lack this aspiration? I lacked this aspiration because I didn't think it was possible. None of my peers around me were moving on to better things and despite some teachers telling me that I could do more, I didn't believe them. This lack of ambition and faith in my abilities lasted up until 8th grade, when I finally began to realize my potential. While I had influential teachers in the past, my 8th-grade English teacher was the person that I finally listened to. To paraphrase, she told me that I was too smart for her class and that she wanted to see how placing me in a regular classroom would work. I wasn't necessarily happy with the arrangement but I decided to give it a try. That happened to be one of the best decisions I've ever made! It was definitely not easy at first and I was extremely uncomfortable in the beginning. But despite it being challenging, I persevered. Taking that first “regular” class really changed my perspective on my abilities. I stopped focusing on what I couldn’t do and instead focused on what I could do. I no longer wanted to settle for what I thought was achievable but instead wanted to keep pushing myself to do things I thought were impossible. Where did this newfound inspiration get me? I'm now a senior in high school who has been taking mostly honors classes for the past couple of years and this year took on a dual-credit English class. I don't want to stop there though! I want to make a difference for other children who don't believe they can achieve more than they are and help them create a successful lifestyle. I plan to help other children by becoming either a Youth Correctional Counselor or a Child Welfare Case Manager. In either of these positions, I would get to work one on one with troubled and traumatized youth to give them opportunities to better their lives. Some say this goal is far-fetched or unrealistic; but if there is anything I’ve learned during my 13 years of school thus far, it's that you can almost always do more than you think you can.

What are my long-term educational, career, and volunteering goals? My current educational goal is to get my Bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice, my Master’s degree in Social Work, and my Doctorate in Psychology. I want to obtain these degrees so I can achieve my long-term career goals of working in the fields of psychology and corrections. I have always been a very compassionate person who desires to help others. When I first started high school, I wanted to work in the medical field, but after learning that someone's mental health and ability to deal with trauma is one of the main contributing factors to whether they commit crimes as an adult, I became fascinated with that concept. After becoming fascinated with that concept, I realized that with the passion I have for the subject and helping people in general along with my own experiences dealing with mental health struggles and recovering from trauma, I might be successful in the psychology and corrections field. I currently wish to pursue a career as a youth correctional counselor so that I can offer counseling and life advice to troubled youth. I understand that it's a difficult job and it’s not easy to make a difference, but I've done difficult things before and consider this opportunity as just another challenge I will succeed at. Even if I'm able to change just one kid’s life for the better, it will be life-affirming. Changing one person’s life might not only affect them but the people they interact with as well. So by helping just one person, someone could effectively be helping many. Along with helping others through my career choice, I also plan to volunteer in my community. I recently started volunteering at Christian Center Church's food pantry, and I love it! To be honest, I started doing it to get my hours for scholarship applications, but I fell in love with it and now plan to do more community service. Seeing the joy people get from receiving food and clothes is a wonderful and very humbling thing to watch! I know that during my time volunteering at the pantry, I have been humbled a lot. I can go into the pantry on a bad day and realize just how good the day was. The day may not have gone the way I wanted it to, and some situations may have irritated me, but when I help the people at the pantry, I'm reminded of just how much I have to be grateful for! I have chosen to volunteer with them every Tuesday and Sunday and plan to continue volunteering after I move to Florida. So, in summary, my long-term goal is to help others. As my primary life goal, this influences most, if not all of my decisions. I am determined to achieve this goal but cannot achieve it without an education. I will have trouble paying for said education due to the limited amount of money I can save while receiving SSI, the lack of financial support from my parents, and my move out of state. I will do whatever it takes to reach this goal. Even if that means going into debt pay for my education. I would prefer not to do this though because, with the salary of either one of the jobs I mentioned above, it would take me years to pay it back. A scholarship like this one would help me tremendously in paying for my education, which, in turn, would help me achieve my life goal and create a better society for future generations.

What is my dream career, you ask? My dream career is to be a youth correctional counselor. I would also love to pursue a career as a child welfare case manager. I'm not entirely sure which of these two careers I would like to obtain yet but I know I want to help troubled youth. For me, this goal is not just my career goal, but also my life goal. I have always been a very compassionate person who desires to help others. When I first started high school, I wanted to work in the medical field. But, after learning that someone's mental health and ability to deal with trauma is one of the main contributing factors to whether they commit crimes as an adult, I became fascinated with that concept. I then began conducting research on it and even wrote essays regarding it. After becoming fascinated with that concept, I realized that with the passion I have for the subject and helping people in general along with my own experiences dealing with mental health struggles and recovering from trauma, I might be successful in the psychology and corrections field. I understand that it's a difficult job and it’s not easy to make a difference, but I've done difficult things before and consider this opportunity as just another challenge. Even if I'm able to change just one kid’s life for the better, it will be life affirming. I also understand that both of these careers require a lot of sacrifice. They can both be extremely stressful and mentally taxing. They also both require their employees to be on call. This means I could be required to work long shifts, night shifts, and weekend shifts. I'm more than willing to make these sacrifices if they help children in need. I have demonstrated my ability to make sacrifices through my pursuit of a more advanced education. When I started school, I was placed into special education classes because I’m blind. I always wanted more from my education but never thought I was capable of achieving anything more. After years of being trapped in that mindset, I had a teacher encourage me to try a regular English class. I was terrified at first, but after a while, I started to think that I was wrong and could achieve way more than I or anyone else had ever thought. Since then, I have continued to challenge myself to do things I never thought I could do. After years of hard work and sacrificing hours of my life and my old mindset, to my education, I have persevered in ways I thought were never possible. I'm currently taking mostly honors classes and a dual credit English class. I plan to make these same kinds of sacrifices in my future career. I won't give up, I’ll put in the time it takes to achieve greatness, and I'll change my mindset if need be. I am determined to achieve my goal of helping troubled youth, but cannot achieve it without an education. I will have trouble paying for said education due to the limited amount of money I can save while receiving SSI, the lack of financial support from my parents, and my move out of state. A scholarship like this one would help me tremendously in paying for my education, which, in turn, would help me achieve my life goal and create a better society for future generations.