November 15, 2025, is a day I will never forget. It was the day I lost someone who meant more to me than words could explain: my aunt. With her birthday being November 11, I find myself reflecting on our memories and the moments I wish I could experience with her again. She was only 41 years old, and I never imagined learning to live without her. My aunt and I shared a bond that went beyond the title of aunt and niece. I was almost like her third daughter. Although I lived in Philadelphia and she lived in New York, distance never affected our relationship. I saw her often and spent every summer at her house, which became another home to me. So many childhood memories include her. I remember getting my first period at her house when I was 11. I was embarrassed and unsure how to process what was happening, but she found a way to make me feel better. She took me to Adventureland in New York so I could forget my embarrassment and enjoy myself. That memory shows how she could turn an uncomfortable moment into a happy one. When I received the news of her passing, I did not know how to react. I did not cry or scream. I could not find the words. My heart simply broke. How could someone I had just spoken to no longer be here? I talked to her every day. She passed away in her sleep, four days after celebrating her 41st birthday. I could not understand how someone so present in my life could suddenly be gone. My aunt was one of the biggest blessings in my life. She was always excited about my accomplishments and genuinely wanted to see me succeed. One of the hardest parts of losing her was knowing I never got to tell her about my college plans. She was excited about my future and wanted to hear what I planned to do after high school. I wish I could have called to say I made it to college and shared that milestone with her. My first year of college has been difficult without her. There have been moments when I wanted to call, ask for her wisdom, or simply hear her voice. Navigating college challenges without someone I could always turn to has been harder than I imagined. I miss her positive attitude, honest advice, and the comfort of knowing she was only a phone call away. Losing my aunt taught me that grief is not just missing someone; it is learning to live without someone woven into your everyday life. It is wanting to share good news with someone who is no longer here to receive it. It is reaching milestones and wishing the person most excited to see you achieve them could be there. Although I may never understand why I had to lose her so soon, I know her love will never leave me. As her birthday approaches, I wish I could celebrate with her, laugh with her, and tell her everything. I hope that as I continue through college and work toward my future, I make her proud. I never got the chance to tell her about my plans, but I hope she is watching me live them. Happy birthday to my aunt. One of the most important people in my life. I wish I had more time, conversations, and summers with you. I love you, I miss you, and I will carry you with me through every chapter of my life.

In my future I want to be a Radiation Oncologist. A Radiation Oncologist is a doctor that treats cancers using radiation therapy. Throughout my years of highschool i’ve been growing interest in the medical field but I never exactly knew the specific field I wanted to work in. I’ve watched many hospital shows and they all only show 3 types of doctors mainly. The main doctor, nurse, and a psychiatrist. I never really felt interested in working in the ED and treating patients directly but there was a time where I thought I wanted to be a therapist. Eventually we started learning about cancer in biology and how different cancers are treated and I found it so interesting how many people die from so many types of cancer and how little we know about these cancers. I personally know a person who had cancer that didn’t survive unfortunately, but that person was also another reason I chose my future career field. Even though I don’t really come from a low income family. I do have a single parent and she has her struggles. I’m her eldest child and first to go to college. She has her financial struggles sometimes and me going to college also being far away from home with not a lot of money in scholarships because of her income at the moment, it freaked her out and it freaked me out as well. I don’t want my mother to have to struggle financially because my schooling is too much to pay for. This scholarship will help make my college financial situation better and lift weights off our shoulders. This scholarship will also help bring light to people also in my situation get more help financially because the more money you make the less money schools give you in financial aid which can sometimes be fair but is very understandable. I want my college experience to be as little stress as possible. Everyone needs a little assistance at some point, not everyone is rich and can put out thousands of dollars at a time. It is understood that their are payment plans as well for when you attend college but people need more than just a payment plan and it doesn’t hurt to give people a little assistance. My mom has 5 kids and she takes care of all our finances. School, clothes, food, all the basic needs she takes care of on her own and she wants to make sure that I won’t take on the need of financial struggle. This scholarship will be able to help me in so many ways.