The natural beauty of what we were given has become my drive in life. The outdoors feeds my soul and makes be feel alive. Racing down a snow covered mountain gives me a feeling of no limitations. Hiking up a mountain, feeling the cool stream and sun on my shoulder and hearing only nature grounds me . Some of my fondest childhood memories were camp outs with Boy Scouts and adventures living out of tents. My other hobby is running my own business. I started an online business and am learning so much. Money is not the path to happiness but a tool to help me be able to have experiences that feed my soul. I spend a lot of time with animals and find that if I am in nature with my dog, I am closest to what I consider heaven. I feel sad for people who can’t see the beauty in the world around us.

I am an only child of a single mother. She is my hero because she grew up in poverty and abuse but educated herself in order to change her life. Because of her,I have learned resilience and how to never give up. I am an academic scholar. I attend a high school as a Veritas Scholar because of scoring highly on my entrance exam. I am enrolled in mostly AP and honor classes. I have spent my life in Boy Scouts, earning my Eagle Scout, performed in many piano concerts and spend a great deal of time in community service activities. I have held down a part time job and started my own e commerce business. I play sports mostly recreational but focus on health and keeping my body in shape. I love nature and outdoor adventure and want to see the world. I live by the motto, “ Fear is your only obstacle”. My plans are to attend a University and study Finance. I have applied to several Universities but hope to be admitted to University of Florida. I would eventually like to work in private equities, own my own business and help struggling businesses succeed through proper processes. The pandemic has shown me that your entire livelihood and dreams can be crushed without proper planning. Paying for college is a concern. I plan to work through college. I am also applying for scholarships and any grants. Education is the key to opening doors to the future. I hope to work through College work study and be awarded scholarships to avoid debt. I am not eligible for some scholarships because I am not a minority or a woman. I feel like it is a disadvantage to be a white male during this process of applying for scholarships. I am not eligible for grants due to income. We are by no means rich but my mom works hard. My mother took out thousands of dollars in loans to support herself through college because she had no help. She spent 10 years paying it back but she wanted a better life for herself and children. Now that she has a decent income, it makes me not eligible for financial aid grants. Doesn’t matter that most of her income goes toward bills.I have to rely on my hard work. She wants to avoid the debt cycle for me so she works long hours. Scholarships will help alleviate some of the burden.

If we could see in ourselves what others do, we may love ourselves more. Self esteem is fragile but developing a healthy self esteem starts with loving ourselves. If we love ourselves in a healthy way then others will feel that positive energy and self esteem which attracts the same to our lives. What I love most about myself is my resilience. Life has thrown me some disappointment and pain but I use it to become stronger. I push through it and try to find solutions. My resilience has helped me navigate through difficult times with family, friends, school and loss. Because I have resilience I try to push through the darkness guided by the light on the other side. I am a loyal friend and try to encourage my friends to never give up because we will make it through. Quitting is never a option because it is difficult. It is a choice because it may not be the right thing for my life. Resilience helps me not give into depression and has helped me continue to reach my goals no matter what obstacles stand in my way. It is the core of who I am. Everything that I have accomplished and everything my life is resulted from being a resilient human who never gave in and never gave up despite the heartache, rejection, heartache and disappointment. Navigating through life with resilience has affected every aspect of my experience and made me a stronger, compassionate and better human being. I teach my example and hope it makes a positive impact on those around me.

Maya Angelou’s quote, “I have learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did,but people will never forget how you made them feel “ is what resonates in my mind when I interact with the world around me. Even animals remember how you make them feel. People define friendship in many ways but it has a common theme of an emotional bond. Siblings and even pets can be our first real friends as toddlers. The circle of friendship grows as we navigate our larger world. Friendship can provide us with a sense of comfort and belonging and hold us accountable for our actions that are destructive to ourselves or others. Friendship for me is the core of who I am. When I was a freshman I started a new school and had no friends. I sat alone isolated and depressed. I really didn’t want to do much. My mother kept emphasizing that if I want to make friends, I had to be a friend. I had to put myself out there because there were kids that needed a friend as much as I did. I began reaching out and making friends and my life transformed. Friendship means caring for others during their good times and bad. It means showing up to support them during victories and defeats. Friends hold each other accountable but without judgement, and lookout for each other. I have developed a bond with my four best friends that will be my brothers for life. We are all different but hold a common bond of love. Because of friendship, I will always have a family bonded not by blood but by love. Everything I give from my heart fills me with purpose and comes back magnified which makes me a better friend.

Coming from a non traditional family, I was born into the possibility of being treated with discrimination and experiencing events that could affect my self esteem. I was born to a single mother who was raised in poverty and fought her way out. When I found out the life she led and how she survived, I knew it was because she learned to care for herself. I was introduced to meditation at an early age and learning to chant helped me focus on goals. I also used music as a go to escape when I was stressed. I learned to play the piano and perform frequently. One of the activities that really help me relax is working out. Keeping my body and mind fit helps me tackle the daily stresses of being a teenager. Education is really important so I read a lot. I also run my own little on line business. Playing with my dog and working with volunteer activities helps me keep a prospective of the world being bigger than my own immediate environment. The more I give the better I feel emotionally. Balance is what helps fight depression and illness. Some stress seems to motivate us but keeping it under control results in self care. When we approach our lives holistically then we achieve balance. My perfect day is waking up to a healthy breakfast, workout, half an hour of chanting, a good book, out on the lake with my friends and dog, a visit with my family followed by a good nights sleep. If anyone needs my help and I can make someone’s day better, what a bonus it would be.