My greatest inspiration in life is a person, someone named Desmond Doss. Desmond Doss was the medic in the movie "hacksaw ridge," a person who refused to bear arms and saved nearly 100 lives on the battlefield. What was different from him was he was the first person to refuse to fire at people because it was his religious duty to not only save the lives of his fellow soldiers, but his enemies as well. What I find so inspirational is that no matter how people treated him, he always stuck by God, and his beliefs. Doss had shown courage and strength and showed how mental barriers are the only thing truly stopping a person from becoming greatness. So, you asked what drives me? I do. I wake up every morning and decide for myself if I will continue to push to be the best person I can be, without the demands of society, family, or even friends. I was adopted at the age of 13, and throughout my whole life I had seen people throw their lives away, whether it was from their families telling them they couldn't do it, or someone deciding that drugs was their only need. Because of how I grew up, I learned at a very young age that no one truly defines who you are and what you will be. I have decided that I am not taking a necessarily "normal" route to life, however I know that it will make me the happiest person I can be. I will be a veterinary technologist and will have the amazing job of working with exotic animals from around the world, and I will also sign a contract with the peace corps to help children in third world countries. (farther along in my carrier) To do this I will be majoring in zoology so that I have a step up in the game of veterinary medicine, and I will be minoring in early childhood development so that the peace corps sees that I have the education to become a part of the worldwide team. I know that I will succeed, even if it means I have to move across the country near a zoo, because in the end a person will do anything it takes to do something they love.

My name is Kendall and I was adopted by my loving grandparents at the age of 13. As a child I did not have the best parents or childhood experiences and as I got older I began to feel different from the other kids and learned of my mental issues in middle school, PTSD, OCD, ADHD, anxiety, and acute depression. As I was growing up I wanted to blame God, because I didn't want to think that maybe my parents were more focused on having fun than taking care of me. I have struggled with mental illness all my life and when I went to church ever Sunday and Wednesday I would get angry at God, because they always say "God will never give you something you can't handle," or " everything happens for a reason," but I always thought " Why me? What did I deserve to go through what I go through, isn't this enough?" I have struggled with my relationship with God for as long as I could possibly remember but it hasn't been since this past year that I have truly allowed myself to truly love God. For most people they say that they slowly loved God, but there was just one day that I had an epiphany where I realized that everything God put me through WAS for a reason. I am a strong, independent woman. I rely on no one, when I want something I go for it. It took me a very long time to do this, but since I have I have never been happier. When I have a bad day I think of him and how even through everything, I am lucky to be alive, I am lucky to be in a 1st world country, and I am lucky to have a voice as a woman. As a child I was forced to go to church and eventually I got old enough that my grandma told me I no longer had to go. I don' think I went to church for an entire year, and for many this doesn't seem bad but considering how often I had gone to church it was a big change for me that I liked in the beginning, but as time went on I realized how much HE had helped me through my dark times. It's like they say, you never know what you have until it is gone, and that is exactly what happened, especially during COVID. I was not able to go to church for a long time but now I go every week, I worship at home as well and I feel as though I have more purpose in the world now. Sometimes I go alone and I find that this is the best part of my week, because the second I step in the church it as if, truly, all my struggles and problems are lifted off my shoulders.

Most of my volunteer work is through my amazing church : St. James. Through my church, I have been able to involve myself with a variety of volunteer work through feeding the hungry, clothing and sheltering the needy, and educating children. Some of the actual organizations I have worked with are GAIHN, where we shelter, feed, and help the children with homework. We work with this organization because it is an amazing platform that helps connect the mother with a job, and allows her to save up money so that she can support her family and no longer be homeless. Our goal is to help get families back on their feet, because yes it is helpful to feed and shelter them for as long as we can, but after that how our we helping them in the long run? Another organization I have worked gladly with is STOP HUNGER NOW, where we prepare meals that are durable for travel to the hungry. This is a time where I am one of the many volunteers that helps to package 250,000 meals! I have also been a part of a team that goes to lower income areas to help children with their homework as a free after-school program and it has been my favorite and most rewarding program I have been a part of, not only because of my love for children, but from the relationships I was able to make. I have also prepared meals for the hungry in the form of lunches and desserts because I like to think that yes, the homeless get the necessary nutrients through food kitchens, but I think that sometimes we forget that they are human too and sometimes something as simple as a cookie or slice of apple pie can really make their day. I have also been a group leader for "Vacation Bible School" where for the week I am in charge of 6-8 children where I transport them to the different events, feed them through our kitchen during the designated time, help them during "potty breaks" and simply make sure they're safe while learning about God and having fun. Through all of the volunteering throughout the years I have truly found a passion for it, and I want to further my passion of it by making it a job through the peace corps! I love volunteering, but to be quite frank, this was not the case a few years ago. When I started middle school I was "forced" to volunteer and looked at it as more of a punishment than an honor. As time went by I started to see how me and my church were quite literally changing the lives of people and it gave me a sense of pride and passion for what I was doing and the people I was helping. As I have matured I am so grateful for my family pushing me to help others because it not only made me a better and more happy person, but it allowed me to see how joining the peace corps would be a once in a life opportunity I would love and remember for the rest of my life. In reality, I understand that the peace corps is certainly not all rainbows and daisy's. Helping children in 3rd world countries will mean I have to live like the people, no ubers, or walmarts, or possible even toilets! The pay is also not as much as one would think considering the job duties, however I think this shows just how much helping others is so important, gratifying, and life-changing.

Being born in 2002, I am able to faintly remember the time of flip phones and oh how technology has changed since then! My personal experience with smartphones is it keeps me safer and more educated. Think 50 years ago, if you were walking down the street after work and just had a heart attack! Wouldn't it be much harder to get the help you need without the handy phone you or someone around you has. As a woman, I think that smartphones are something that has tremendously helped when being out, especially if I am walking alone. Phones can help me to look as if I am "on a call" if there is a creepy man trying to talk to me, or If I am in a dangerous situation I can always use my phone to call 911 and have someone help me in minutes, and this is all because of the technology behind smartphones. What about when something crosses your mind, and you are able to find out what it is you needed to learn with just a few clicks of a button. I think that lately, smartphones have been deemed bad, and they can be with social media things and such. Personally I try to stay away from too much social media because I have found that all it does is hurt my mental health, however, smartphones truly do impact my day-to-day life. COVID-19 has showed us just how much technology helps us, especially in communicating with one another. Because of quarantine I am not able to see my friends and family but I am so thankful that I can give them a call or even face time them because of the new technology behind smartphones. I'm personally awful with directions and I do not know where I would be without a GPS on my phone! I think that smartphones have made it more dangerous when driving because people like to text while driving, but I would like to say I am not as "reliant" as some of the other people in my generation and I have found that the feature "do not disturb" has helped to deter people from the need to answer the mysterious bing from an unread message. Everything will always have it's positive and negative aspects, but I think that with smartphones the good will always outweigh the bad.

My family and I have a long line of "mentally unstable" family members. My mother suffers from Bipolar 2, and my father suffers from a severe form, commonly known as Bipolar 1. At the age of 13, my grandparents fully adopted me. March of my 9th-grade year my father tried to commit suicide and I had to go to the psych ward to see him. When I was living with my mother I lived with her and her brother Callen. Callen passed away from suicide when I was in elementary school and it was very hard on me because he would always protect me when my mother was in a drugged-up rage. I still think about him all the time and when I was severely suicidal it makes me so sad because I think of how much suicide hurts loved ones. I now suffer from PTSD, OCD, ADHD, acute depression, and anxiety. As a child my OCD and ADHD were very bad, I had developed ticks. As I have gotten older I have learned to cope with all my problems through therapy, support, and an amazing anti-depressant called Lexapro. Today I have never been happier. I now take no one for granted, I see my family and friends as everything they are. I make sure I tell them every time they do something amazing and check up on them whenever I can because lives are important and I do not think people realize the trauma they can cause people from bullying, abusing, and suicide. The world is a beautiful place If you can learn to accept that you're good enough for it. I am a very good listener and I have found that because of my own struggles I can either relate or not judge anything people have said to me when they are going through something.

My family and I have a long line of "mentally unstable" family members. My mother suffers from Bipolar 2, and my father suffers from a severe form, commonly known as Bipolar 1. Growing up I was not taken care of well, my mother had me at 18 and they were not past their "party" stage yet. I was taken out of the home because everyone in the house was passed out from drugs. I hadn't been taken care of or fed for over a day (not potty trained might I add) and at the age of 3, I was transported to my grandparents. From this moment onward I lived with them. On weekends or holidays, I was forced to visit my parents who would abuse me. Once I got older, I started to realize that my situation was not normal and at the age of 13, my grandparents fully adopted me. March of my 9th-grade year my father tried to commit suicide and I had to go to the psych ward to see him. When I saw him he laughed and told me how he tried to do it. What good father does that to a child? When I was living with my mother I lived with her and her brother Callen. Callen passed away from suicide when I was in elementary school and it was very hard on me because he would always protect me when my mother was in a drugged-up rage. I still think about him all the time and when I was severely suicidal it makes me so sad because I think of how much suicide hurts loved ones. I now suffer from PTSD, OCD, ADHD, acute depression, and anxiety. As a child my OCD and ADHD were very bad, I had developed ticks. As I have gotten older I have learned to cope with all my problems through therapy, support, and an amazing anti-depressant called Lexapro. Today I have never been happier. If you asked me two years ago how I felt I would have said suicidal and involved with self-harm. When I started therapy in 9th grade, I began remembering traumatic events and was becoming aware of situations that were not "normal" for a child. I used to let my emotions and fears dictate my life. I have run track, played volleyball, joined ROTC, and played the cello. I have maintained a 3.9 GPA and taken honors and AP classes. Knowing about my past I have let nothing stop me from being great. I would never want it to happen if I could choose otherwise, but I had to reach the lowest part of my life and mental health to see how amazing I truly am. I had to go through a struggle to become the strong, independent person I am. I now take no one for granted, I see my family and friends as everything they are. I make sure I tell them every time they do something amazing and check up on them whenever I can because lives are important and I do not think people realize the trauma they can cause people from bullying, abusing, and suicide. I now go to church every Wednesday and help volunteer there as much as I can. God has helped me to overcome my demons and instead of blaming him I now thank him. The world is a beautiful place If you can learn to accept that you're good enough for it. I want to work as a zoo vet technologist! I never in a million years would have gotten the courage to try and pursue a degree in something so different. I want to minor in early childhood development so that I could join the peace corps and go somewhere across the world to help people that haven't had the best luck in life either! Would I have found a passion for helping people if at one point I didn't need help myself? I guess I will never know but what I do know is that the future holds a lot for me now, and I am excited as I have ever been to see what I will become.

Me and my family have a long line of "mentally unstable" family members. Both of my parents suffer from a Bipolar disorder, my mother suffers from Bipolar 2 which can be seen as depressive episodes and my father suffers from a severe form, commonly known as Bipolar 1. Growing up I was not taken care of well, my mother had me at 18 and they were not passed their "party" stage yet. I was taken out of the home because everyone in the house was passed out from drugs and no one was answering the phones. I hadn't been taken care of or fed for over a day (not potty trained might I add) and at the age of 3 I was taken into a cop car so that I could be transported to my grandparents. From this moment onward I lived (and still live with) my grandparents, but sadly it never fully stopped there. Weekends or holidays I was forced to visit my parents who would abuse me in every which way. Then on Sunday night I would go right back to my loving home at my grandparents and be forced to act like nothing happened. Once I got older and started to realize that my situation was not normal, because as a child if something is all you know you think it's fine. At the age of 13 my grandparents fully adopted me. Because of my childhood and my genetics I now suffer from PTSD, OCD, ADHD, acute depression, and anxiety. As a child my OCD and ADHD was very bad, I was starting to develop ticks from the medication they were giving me to cope, but I personally think it was so bad bc I was directly in the situation at the time. As I have gotten older I have learned to cope with both, however my PTSD and depression have gotten worse. I now know how to cope with all of these issues through therapy, support, and an amazing anti-depressant called lexapro. Today I have never been happier even with all that is happened. If you asked me two years ago how I felt I would have said suicidal and involved with self-harm. 9th and 10th grade when I had started therapy, I began remembering more and more of traumatic events and was becoming aware of when situations were not "normal" for a child. I feel scared when I think of the person I used to be and how I let my emotions and fears dictate my life. I tried to come in connect with my mother a year ago (after 6 years of no contact) and over the past few months I have come to terms that she will never be a mother figure to me, and for me that is fine because I have the most wonderful mother in the world sitting at home with me. I also haven't spoken to my father in about two years because of his issues. March of my 9th grade year he tried to commit suicide in front of his girlfriends child and I had to go to the psych ward to see him. Before we even went in they had to pat us down and use a metal detector. When I saw him he laughed about how he tried to do it. What good father does that to a child? When I was living with my mother I lived with her and her brother Callen. Callen passed away from suicide when I was in elementary school and it was very tuff on me because he would aways protect me when my mother was in a drugged up rage. I still think about him all the time and when I think back to when I was severely suicidal it makes me so sad because I think of the future I am creating. I have run track, played volleyball, joined ROTC and played the cello. I have maintained a 3.9 GPA and taken honors and AP classes. Knowing about my past I have let nothing stop me from being great. I would never want it to happen if I could choose otherwise, but I had to reach the lowest part of my life and mental health to see how amazing I truly am. I had to go through struggle to become the strong, independent person I am. I now take no one for granted, I see my family and friends as everything they are. I make sure I tell them every time they do something amazing, and check up on them whenever I can because lives are important and I do not think people realize the trauma they can cause people from bullying, to abusing, and to suicide. I now truly believe in God, I go to church every Wednesday and help volunteer there as much as I can. God has helped me to overcome my demons and instead of blaming him I now thank him. The world is a beautiful place If you can learn to accept that you're good enough for it. I want to work as a zoo vet technologist! I never in a million years would have gotten the courage to try and pursue a degree in something so different. I want to minor in early childhood development so that I could join the peace corps and go somewhere across the world to help people that haven't had the best luck at life either! Would I have found a passion for helping people if at one point I didn't need help myself? I guess I will never know but what I do know is that the future holds a lot for me now, and I am excited as I have ever been to see what I will become.

Adopted at the age of 13 I have a lot of mental baggage with me. PTSD, OCD, ADHD, and depression have made it hard for me to love myself. 9th and 10th grade year of high school was very hard for me ( the reason why I transferred schools) because of bullying and not coping with my past. I had issues with self harm that got very destructive, but one day I just told myself it would never happen again because it's sad and just shows how I don't love myself. I did self harm after that, however it was less detrimental and eventually I did stop and it was the first step into knowing I am enough. Self-love has made it hard to find God. I always wanted to blame things on other people but now I am very religious and now attend church on Wednesdays. Self-love has also made it hard for all relationships, with my grandparents ( the kind people who adopted me), with romantic relationships because how can someone love you if you don't love yourself? Over time I am learning to heal and learning to self-love. I can't say that I fully love myself yet, but I am the happiest now than I have ever been. It was easy for me to mask my emotions and I find that in school I was always laughing and messing around. My nickname in ROTC was actually giggles, but when I would come home, I would cry and cut, and be reminded of my life before. My growing self -love has impacted my future because it made me realize that I have one life and I do not want to regret any of it. I know that a "normal" job is not destined for me and because of my personal growth I can take the step forward to do things I would never have dreamed of. I would never have thought about becoming a part of the peace corps or becoming a veterinary technologist at a zoo if it wasn't for my past struggles.

A woman I admire is my grandmother because she has impacted everything in my life. She took me in and adopted me at age 13 and has been a parent figure I never had before. My father (her son) has done so many wrong things to the two of us, but she always puts on a brave face and did the right thing. No matter what she shows how much she loves her children. She has quite literally made me the person I am today. In middle school and onward she forced me to volunteer and at first I hated it but now I am so grateful because it made me realize that even though I have been through a lot, there is always someone who has it worse that needs help. My grandmother, Sherrie, spends all of her retired time volunteering, and works alongside the church with things like feeding the homeless, knitting scarves for the homeless, sheltering them at the church and feedings them with the organization GAIHN. I am now following in her footsteps and volunteer with the same things. At one point in my life I will be a part of the peace corps and I do not believe that this would be a dream of mine if it wasn't for her and her generosity for me and those around us.

Growing up I had a hard time in school because I was having a hard time at home. Eventually I got taken out of my home and my grandparents were gracious enough to take me in and eventually adopt me at the age of 13. I now know I suffer with a long list of mental problems, PTSD, ADHD, OCD, self harm, acute depression, and anxiety. Even though I carry all of this with me I refuse to let it control my future. As a child there was nothing to do but I now have the power to decide whether I want it to rule me or to help push me to my success. When I was little my mother would do something wrong, but then come home with a puppy. Sounds great right? Then when I finally grew attached she would sell the dog and this kept happening on and on again. These animals were my "safe space", they never hurt me whether it was physically or mentally, all they were to me were cuddly balls of fur. Because of my past I have found a love for animals and children and I plan to work with both in my future because of this. School was difficult because I acted out a lot in elementary school, and later on I was bullied because people would find out my living situation. Once I was living with my grandparents it started to get better for me but I was constantly reminded because people would ask "why do you live with your grandparents? Where are your real parents? Are they in jail or are they dead?" The truth is half the time I wouldn't even know the answer to those questions. As I got older I started to realize that I had problems and once I did I went to therapy and I now take lexapro every day. It's not easy but I am the happiest now I have ever been. I wanted to join the coast guard and become a Marine Science Technician, however when they saw my records from therapy they said I was "unfit to serve." Though I understand, it feels like no matter how hard I try or how life seems to be normal, something brings up my past and uses it against me. Somehow I am grateful though, because it made me come to realize how much I wanted to be a zoo veterinary technologist. If it wasn't for the coast guard turning me down because of my mental issues my future would not be the same. Life is interesting because what seems like the worst thing can actually be the best for you in time. Even though I had a tough childhood that has given me lifelong problems, I know that because of it I know that I want to have the best life for my future and my future family.

I believe that it is important to be involved in our community because if they can not get help or assistance by us, then who's to say they'll get it from anyone else? I became very involved in my community in middle school and to be quiet frank I did not enjoy one bit of it, however over time and as I got older I was starting to see how the help from me and my church was greatly impactful. The people in our community that need help or our neighbors, our peers, someone's mother or daughter, sister or brother, team or classmate, and we should not turn a blind eye just because we might not deal with their struggle day to day. Now I have a passion for helping people and I am so grateful my parents made me start volunteering because it is the best decision they ever made. I have been a volunteer for Project Host, Stop Hunger Now, GAIHN and have helped the daughters of the king group at my church in preparing the meals for the homeless. I have also helped with the nursery at my church and have been a leader in the vacation bible school program at it. I have also worked with children in lower income housing with homework after school and this is the best volunteer work I have ever done. Sometimes I wouldn't be able to go help on our designated day for our church but whenever I would return they remembered me and would run up and scream my name. Helping those kids is extremely rewarding to talking to them about random things to finally helping them master something like fractions. Me thinking about it makes me tear up and I am sad that COVID has made it to where it is very hard for volunteering to take place. In the future I will be joining the peace corps ( at least the two year minimum) so that I can help children in a third world country. Living in a third world country means that I will have to learn a new language and live like the people there. Who knows? Maybe toilet paper will be leaves and a "potty" is a whole in the ground. This sounds awful to most people and I can see why, and the pay along with it is not what you would expect but the life experience and the relationships that would form would quite possibly make it the best two years of my life. To do this I am planning on minoring in early childhood development so that I am able to actually get the job.

Hi, my name is Kendall Foster. I have completed high school early with a 3.9 GPA so that I would be able to work and save up as much money as I could for college. Growing up I had a hard time with my biological parents, both were drug addicts and felons and weren't giving me the best life that I now know I deserved. At the age of 13 my loving grandparents adopted me and have been such a big help in making life better. Though they have done so much for me they are now retired and can not afford to put me in college. I know that they have already done so much for me I know I cannot put that burden on them. My dream job has always been to work in a zoo and I didn't think I would be able to afford it so I tried to never give it a second thought. After talking with my grandparents I decided that no matter what, I needed to do something that I would love for the rest of my life. This dream job would mean I was working alongside the veterinarians at zoos, one day I could be doing an ultrasound on a pregnant polar bear, and the next I could be drawing blood from a pig! I know that this is my calling however it requires a bachelors degree. To make sure I am doing what is best and financially right for my future I am going to my local public technical school for the first two years to save money, and then I will transfer to a private school for the final two years. I would plan to use this scholarship money for anything and everything I would need for college from books to tuition because loans require interest and I even though I know I will have to take one out, it makes it a lot easier for me if I know I have something to help.

Though it is not possible to help the entire world, I want to know that children are having proper education so that they have a chance in the world. Especially in third-world countries, the children don't get much of a chance at a better life, not because they did anything wrong but because of their "luck" at life. I have worked with children before, whether it was volunteering at the nursery, being a teacher at vacation bible school, or when I was able to work with elementary school children with their homework in the lower income areas. I have a passion and love for children and am planning on minoring in early childhood development so that I can be a part of the peace corps to help these unlucky children to have a better chance to succeed at the game of life. I have a true passion for this and feel it is my calling to help people and animals. I started volunteering at a young age because of my parents and at first I didn't like it. I treated it more as a job than an honor, but over time I came to realize how not only is it nice for the people you're helping, but how rewarding it is for one's own mental health and happiness. COVID-19 has put a halt to volunteering, however it has made me realize how important it is and what it is like without it. I am excited for quarantine to be finished and I am ready for what the future holds for volunteering across the globe.

I found it very interesting that there was a scholarship for how a quote was motivational considering I actually have my favorite one on my profile! "If you had 60 seconds left to live is there anything you would regret?" Once I heard this I could never forget it. I know and hear too many people saying that wish they chose a different path in life, or they always wanted to do something. Even though it involves taking risks, I want to know that whenever my time comes whether its sooner or later (let's pray for later) that I accomplished everything I could. This quote has truly had an amazing impact on my life and I will continue to think about it in the future.

Hi, my name is Kendall Foster and I have completed high school early. I am looking forward to going to college and hope to pursue a bachelors in veterinary technology. I suffer from ptsd and was taken out of my parents care at age 3 and sent to my grandparents. I still had visits with my parents regularly on weekends but it was never a "normal, family time". I was adopted by my grandparents at the age of 13 and have been in great care ever since. I have struggled with my ptsd along with OCD, anxiety, and acute depression ( my therapist said they were all connected) however I have never been happier in my life. I have found that because of my mental health problems I would always hurt the one's around me that loved me the most because in the back of my mind I knew they wouldn't hurt me like I had been hurt before. I find it hard to trust the men in my life because of my father, however I try to trust as much as I can. I do not think of my life as a sob story and I do not try and get attention for my issues. I am not happy for how my life started, but it truly did make me the person I am today. I would like to say that I am very well rounded. I was on the track team, volleyball team, and even JROTC. I also played the cello for the Wade Hampton orchestra, and I kept my life busy because at the time it was the only way I could cope. I have seen quotes online or read books where they say the person that looks the happiest on the outside it carrying the most demons on the inside, and that was the case for me. In ROTC my nickname was "Giggles" but when I came home I would contemplate suicide and self harm. In this past year alone I have changed so much and have found that the covid lockdown helped me to find myself. It scares me to think of the person I used to be. I still have lucid dreams and nightmares, still sleepless nights, still panic attacks, but with the help of good old lexapro and a now wonderful family I feel that I can conquer anything that I want. The reason why I want to work with animals/children is because I tend to love them more than adults sometimes because of how innocent they are. I also want to join the peace corps at some point and I do not think I would have chosen either of these paths if it wasn't for my past. I realize that I only have one life and I want to live it the best that I can. In my mind my childhood was sad, but now I am going to live my life without regrets. I can feel in my gut that my plans for the future will lead to my forever place in the world.

Hi, my name is Kendall Foster and In 10th grade I was suffering from acute depression. I was going to Wade Hampton high-school at the time and was having problems finding friends and was getting bullied pretty badly. It got to the point where I would cry and call my grandmother to come pick me up from school because I had no one to talk to at lunch or when I was waiting in the car line. I finally thought I found a group of friends, someone to talk to at lunch, laugh with in class, and talk about boys with. I soon learned that they teamed up to bully me some more. I don’t think some people realize how much bullying can affect a person when they’re doing these mean acts just to fit in. This went on for a while and eventually people got bored of messing with me and on Valentine’s Day I was walking to class and I remember how everyone was giving each other presents and laughing and having a good time and I just felt like I didn’t fit in. I had one “friend” at the school and her name is Dyanne. I remember hearing her shouting at me to slow down so she could talk to me and it made me laugh because everyone looked over at us because of the way she said it and the way she came to me so excited and happy. She then pulled out three different candy assortments and asked me to pick which one I wanted and I remember how random it was since we were cool but weren’t that close, and they were the wackiest kinds of candy and for some reason the whole situation made me smile. It turns out that Dyanne had gotten a book bag full of candy and was giving it out to anyone and everyone she knew, even people that had given her looks for being her quirky self. I don’t know why she chose to give the candy to me but I’ll never forget the moment. For so long I was stuck in a depressive “trance” and for the rest of the time I was walking to class after she gave it to me I couldn’t stop thinking about how someone I wasn’t super close with was so nice to me, even if it was just a piece of candy. I got bullied at Wade Hampton and saw the bad side of how people treat someone, but I also experiencing someone doing something so simple yet so desperately needed. I still ended up changing schools to Travelers Rest High because that’s where all my friends had gone after middle school, but to this day I still see her whenever I can because I think back to that one small act of kindness she did for me and I am so thankful for her.