Transitioning from middle school to high school was one of the most difficult times in my life. I cried almost everyday not wanting to go to school. I felt vulnerable and alone because I was in a new environment with tons of new people. This is when I needed to learn to fend for myself and become independent, and that was hard. Ultimately this hardship made me stronger and more resilient. Being the little fish in the big pond taught me that I was responsible for myself with no one to hold my hand. Going from high school to college will be the exact same. This time, I will be the most independent I have ever been. Not having my parents around or any of my childhood friends will be a tough transition, but I’ve done it once and I know I can do it again. My parents have always wanted me to have a sense of independence, and that’s going to play a big role when I go to college. They told me, they aren’t paying my college in full. I understand that, I need to learn responsibility and independence in the real world, especially financially. This scholarship will show my parents that I was able to find a way to aid in the expense of college, all on my own. It’s hard thinking about the financial burden that college will put on my life, but that’s part of learning independence and learning how to be an adult. Little 14 year old me would be so proud of the person I have become, taking initiative and the necessary steps in order to make being independent a little bit easier!

An impact that I hope to have through my mentorship of others is that the people that I mentor actually take my advice. It’s like they say, “You can lead a horse to water, but can’t make them drink”. I can give my advice and mentor people, but I can’t force them to take it. I participate at a club at my school called “Big Buddy” which is when upperclassmen help guide the incoming freshmen through the new school and new lifestyle they will begin living. I would tell the freshmen my story of being a freshman and how it was hard to adjust to a new school and a lot of new people. I would tell them how I wanted to drop out of school because I hated it so much. Then I told them about how I adjusted and how I grew to love high school and all the classes and new friends I made. You can tell the freshmen that everything will be okay and that all they need to do is adjust, it doesn’t mean they will listen to you. If you share your experiences with them, you can relate to them more and you can show them that things actually can change and will be okay. It also shows that not everything is happiness and rainbows, it can be hard. I explained to them how I relate to them and how things will end up being okay. If they listen to my advice that’s up to them, but I explained to them that they aren’t alone and I hope that hearing that, they are more likely to take my advice!