It was in my auto class that I saw a future I had never imagined. Composites. I'd never heard the word. I knew nothing of the subject. My attention was caught. They spoke of careers. Of growth. A promising future with vast opportunity. Little high school me could not believe such opportunities could be real. Before I knew it, I was attending Davis tech, doing hands-on work that for the first time showed me I was capable of doing functional things. That schooling came with an externship. It came with hope, and with a plan. It made me feel empowered. A year later, after completing a year abroad, I returned to my home state. I got a job in aerospace manufacturing. I use composites every day to build something functional. Now, engineering has made it on my list of 'maybe's' for my university major. I never would have expected that. It seems like yesterday I was thrust into the world of technic careers. After many years of thinking I could only ever do something that required book smarts, I am now confident in my abilities to get past the barrier I built in my mind that separated me from technical work. It seems like a small thing, but that tall of composites in that auto class was like an invitation. I'm so glad I took it, because it showed me how capable I am. That knowledge, of my own capability, is the best thing I could have ever given myself.

Art is sensory language, spoken when spoken language is insignificant. Words are not enough to define experience. Nothing truly is, but when we build upon all the senses to create a better understanding, the understanding we gain is more whole than with just spoken word alone. To see, to hear, to smell, to taste, to touch ; all of these create an agreement of experience. They create a world, a piece of a mind that can be shared with another. Art allows people to connect, which is the thing we all seem to be searching for. I am a writer and musician, mostly, but I think life itself is a form of art. It's about beauty, I think, and that can come from almost anywhere. Art drives me because it makes me feel alive. Seeing the world through artists' eyes shows me a place that isn't all one thing, and isn't all bad. It allows me to differentiate between days, because I can see the tiny details marking each masterpiece. Art is to experience what breathing is to life. I hope to lend my eyes to my little siblings, to let them see the world's art as I see it, until they learn to see its beauty on their own.

I'm passionate about people. The way they communicate is particularly interesting to me. Body languages, languages, facial expression, writing, all the little things that make us capable of understanding one another. We cannot enter the mind of another, and we cannot leave our own, but through communication, we get to see little pieces of other minds. Inside our minds, we have our own perspectives, our own worlds, our own definitions of existence. Imagine being handed a tiny piece of the puzzle that makes up humanity. We'll never come close to completing the puzzle, but through collecting pieces, we can get a better idea of how the pieces work together. Information about the way others see the world is what allows the puzzle to be put together. My passion for people is what drives me to pursue futher education. Knowing more about the world, and better understanding others, will allow me to gain a more comprehensive view of what makes people what they are. It encourages me to do what my parents never managed, but always wished I would do: go to college. I think the experience of higher education would be so valuable. I hope to continue with speech and debate in college, and I'll likely try many other extracurriculars in college. I might continue playing the violin, or I might improve my dancing. There are countless options open to me, and I want to experience as much as I can.

I grew up in different places, moving frequently and alternating between parents like a ball thrown from place to place. One week, I'd be with my mother. The next, I'd be with my father. On the days when my dad was out of town, which was often, I'd live with my paternal grandmother. Neither of my parents finished college. The early arrival of my older sister led to years of just my sister and I together, while our parents worked, the only constants in each others' lives. Though my parents worked a lot, there was never enough money to go around. With our mom, we lived with our maternal grandmother because what she made wasn't enough for an apartment. My early life was characterized by used and worn clothing, buying food from dollar stores, and watching my parents struggle to make ends meet. With my future still ahead of me, I hope I can create a plan for it. I want to go to college, and I want to finish it. If I got this scholarship, that's what I would use the money for. I don't know for certain what I want to do, but I think I'm figuring it out. I know that, by going to college, not only will I be prepared to live life, but my parents will be proud of me as well. Scholarships, to me, give me possibilities. They make living something that is within my grasp.