My life has always revolved around music. My entire life, I've been a part of Bethesda Jewish Congregation, a community filled with traditional and contemporary Jewish music, Tot Shabbats and family services. When I was four years old, I fell in love with the piano, and have been taking lessons with the same teacher for 14 years straight. When I was in middle school, Mom got Dad a guitar as a birthday present, and we held family sing-alongs in the den. In eighth grade, I joined a choir class, and began singing in the high holiday choir at my synagogue. In ninth grade, I joined a student-led Jewish A Capella group, Marak Hayom. In tenth grade, I started taking advanced, auditioned choir classes. In my junior year of high school, I took over as the musical director of Marak Hayom. My senior year, I am singing in both of my school's advanced choir ensembles, taking piano lessons, leading Marak, teaching myself guitar, writing my own songs, and preparing for college. The story I want to tell is about a recent experience with Marak Hayom. The group was founded over 20 years ago by Micah Hendler. At our most recent performance at Beth El synagogue, he was present as a co-leader of the service and as a guest speaker. His speech drove me to tears. He spoke about using music to build bridges, heal wounds, form bonds between people who would have otherwise hated one another. Micah talked about his career, how he formed the Jerusalem youth choir to combine Israeli and Palestinian teenagers, how he held discussions between periods of singing, how he watched these kids grow to be each other's best friends and primary sources of support. I sat in the audience and realized that this is what I want to do with my life. I had already applied to college intending to major in Special Education, so now I need to find a way to connect my potential career aspects and courses of study. The underlying theme that binds these together is helping people. I want to break down barriers. I've already made some progress with this goal, working with a Montgomery County Public Schools administrator, Ms. Brenda Browne, to teach principals how to implement accommodations in classrooms. Now, one of our goals is to create a lesson about neurodiversity for other students. I've found that a lot of the struggles autistic kids face are related to a lack of understanding by their peers. My autistic friends have been bullied in school. One in particular was bullied before they even knew they were autistic. Education is the first step towards ending bullying. Change is a process, and it will take a long time to set in. In the meantime, our job is to support and defend one another. I try to lift up all of my friends, inspire self-confidence and speak out when someone is being mean. This is how I make a difference. As I finish my senior year of high school, I am planning to attend New York University in the fall. I chose the school because of its commitment to building bridges, bringing together diverse students from all backgrounds, and its variety of courses and majors offered. My parents told me to apply, and we would figure out the financing afterwards. This scholarship would help defray some of the college costs and allow me to continue my education after finishing my bachelor's degree. With your help, I can reach my full potential as a teacher and changemaker.