I was brought into this world by a single mother in New Jersey. I was raised by a mother who never made it to high school and a father who was addicted to hard drugs who never even made it to junior high. I go to Lawrence North high school in Indiana. Many people I go to school with would have no idea what I have been through. In my lifetime of 17 years, I have lost a parent to drugs, been homeless, and been through serious mental health issues. My mother raised herself in the streets of New Jersey at 13 years old. She never had a true mother and was put into foster care. My biological father is from the Dominican Repulic, who came here illegally. He was addicted to cocaine. In my early years of living My father used to beat my mother and make threats about hurting me as a child or even my siblings. This is when my mother made the bold decision to move here to Indiana. Her biological mom reached out and at the time my mom had nobody so she lived with the woman who put her on the streets at 13. My mom soon got remarried to my now step-dad. They got married when I was 6 years old. This time in my life was the happiest I have ever been. We lived in our dream family home and it was the best time of my life then it went all downhill when I was in middle school. I became homeless we lived in motels for 3 months and then we lived with a friend. My mom picked me up from school the day we got evicted and my whole bedroom packed away in the backseat. we lived with my friend for months to come. Sleeping on coaches. We finally got an apartment and it was a fresh start to the 8th-grade year. On July 25th, 2017 my biological father passed away from a drug overdose/heart attack. He called me at 10 pm the night he passed away but I didn't answer because I was in the shower. I don't regret but I regret not answering that phone call. I suffered from Depression and Anxiety in my 8th-grade year. With college, I want to be an Interior designer and double major in business. After college, I want to also do real estate. I have to pay college out of pocket and I will most likely be in debt for the rest of my life. I save up the money I get to go towards college. I have a clothing side business in which I redo clothes and sell them. I also had a jewelry business too which I got a good amount of money from. Now I work part-time at the YMCA with child care. In my free time, I help the homeless and I raise money to make kits for them to keep them safe and clean. I like to give back a lot, whether that's just paying for someone's food behind me. Helping others is a rewarding feeling and it's always so nice to them smile, you never know what someone is going through. I plan to use the money to save for college, to help with books, and to get to my dream of being an interior designer and having my own company. My mother is on disability and my stepdad makes a good amount of money to pay bills. College is something I have to worry about by myself when it comes to funds. Thank you.