Growing up in a predominantly white, privileged area, I felt like my life lacked meaning and humbleness. My high school was filled with out of touch teenagers, and I felt like I wanted to be more grounded in my roots. I felt like I was surrounded by competitive students who wanted to showcase their value and success, but lacked to do so in a way that actually improved society or anyone but themselves. I decided I wanted to use my position to help those who needed it most, and started looking for any kind of volunteering. Shortly after landing my role as a National Honors Society Officer - a club that strives for academic excellence, requiring a 3.85 GPA, 40+ hours of Tutoring, and 30+ hours of community service - it was my job to organize volunteering opportunities for our members. For one of these events we decided to volunteer at our local soup kitchen; the Encinitas Resource Center. Although this started as just a one time collaboration, I observed from myself how much gratitude and reflection the experience gave me, and I realized I wanted to continue volunteering there. I signed up to become a principal volunteer for about 5 months, and my volunteer work consisted of receiving donations, taking inventory, and stocking and organizing the foods and goods. On days that we held “dinners” I helped prepare the food, and even got to cook with the chefs in the kitchens. When starting, I believed I would gain personal experience, skill development, civic responsibility, and hoped I would find purpose in it as well. I heard that people gained a sense of purpose in their life after volunteering, and wanted to see for myself if that was true. I am pleased to say that my volunteering experience brought me more wisdom and fulfillment than I could have imagined. Not only was the extra help crucial in our local soup kitchen, but it also brought a sense of unity within the community, breaking barriers of social classes. By working for a less privileged community, I noticed the social interactions were especially influential on their mental wellbeing. By conversing and befriending all kinds of people, I started making deeper connections. There was one woman in particular who opened up to me about her past and her current situation which was extremely eye opening for me while relieving a sense of loneliness for her. We would always reconnect, share how our week was going, something we were grateful for, and something we wanted to accomplish in the next week. We built a strong relationship, and learned from each other's lifestyles and wisdom. As my time at the resource center carried on, her financial situation improved and no longer relied on it to survive. She is just one example of the immense growth I have witnessed by volunteering, and has made me believe that my work does in fact have an impact. It was also extremely rewarding to hear the gratitude from the community and share a sense of respect and dignity among everyone. Although volunteer work is geared towards guiding the homeless, I would like to note how fulfilling it was for the volunteers as well. This experience has taught me the importance of empathy and community building, and I will forever be grateful for this opportunity - as my work did not only influence the homeless population, but myself as well. Furthermore, it showed me that I can strive for excellence and become the best version of myself by helping others, and that I dont always need to put myself first.

Growing up in a predominantly white, privileged area, I felt like my life lacked meaning and humbleness. My high school was filled with out of touch teenagers, and I felt like I wanted to be more grounded in my roots. I felt like I was surrounded by competitive students who wanted to showcase their value and success, but lacked to do so in a way that actually improved society or anyone but themselves. I decided I wanted to use my position to help those who needed it most, and started looking for any kind of volunteering. Shortly after landing my role as an Officer for the National Honors Society of San Dieguito Academy - a club that strives for academic excellence, requiring a 3.85 GPA, 40+ hours of Tutoring, and 30+ hours of community service every year - it was my job to organize volunteering opportunities for our members. For one of these events we decided to volunteer at our local soup kitchen; the Encinitas Resource Center. Although this started as just a one time collaboration, I observed from myself how much gratitude and reflection the experience gave me, and I realized I wanted to continue volunteering there. I signed up to become a principal volunteer for about 5 months, and my volunteer work consisted of receiving donations, taking inventory, and stocking and organizing the foods and goods. On days that we held “dinners” I helped prepare the food, and even got to cook with the chefs in the kitchens. When starting, I believed I would gain personal experience, skill development, civic responsibility, and hoped I would find purpose in it as well. I heard that people gained a sense of purpose in their life, and wanted to see for myself if that was true. I am pleased to say that my volunteering experience brought me more wisdom and fulfillment than I could have imagined. Not only was the extra help very necessary in the soup kitchen, but it also brought a sense of unity within the community; breaking barriers of social classes. By working for a less privileged community I noticed the social interactions were especially influential on their mental wellbeing. There was one homeless member in particular who opened up to me about her past and her current situation, which was extremely eye opening for me and relieved a sense of loneliness for her. We would always reconnect, share how our week was going, something we were grateful for, and something we wanted to accomplish in the next week. We built a strong relationship, and learned from each other's lifestyles and wisdom. As my time at the resource center carried on, her financial situation improved and no longer relied on it to survive. She is just one example of the immense growth I have witnessed by volunteering, and has made me believe that my work does in fact have an impact. It was also extremely rewarding to hear the gratitude from the community and share a sense of respect and dignity among everyone. Although volunteer work is geared towards guiding the homeless, I would like to note how fulfilling it was for the volunteers as well. This experience has taught me the importance of empathy and community building, and I will forever be grateful for this opportunity - as my work did not only influence the homeless population, but myself as well. Furthermore, it showed me that I can strive for excellence and become the best version of myself by helping others, and that I don't always need to put myself first.

Just like every other kid, I would perform silly little dances and skits for my parents with my cousins or friends; in the hopes that they would let us have a sleepover, another cookie, or whatever the desire might have been. Although I had no idea what “serotonin” even meant at 8 years old, that was definitely the feeling I got when I noticed I was making people laugh. Over the years, making silly faces turned into being a theater kid, which has turned into a passion for film acting. Alongside growing up in the Netherlands came the longing for being a movie star from America, turning the mystery into an obsession for me. Although the idea of being an actress seemed amazing to me as a little girl, I learned to love the art itself more than the label, and decided it was something I wanted to pursue passionately. In my current life, I balance my school work, stress, responsibilities and future plans through this outlet of acting, and I couldn't be more grateful. When I get to be a character, I forget my own life for a second and can just live in the moment as this beautiful stranger. It is freeing to me because no idea is ever wrong and I can let my imagination take me wherever it wants. Acting has taught me to embrace my curiosity, my impulses, and has also made me more empathetic towards my characters. Believing your character's thoughts is crucial to an authentic performance, and it has made me more open minded over the years. This is the beauty of film; telling unheard yet important stories that hopefully make people more sympathetic to very different people. Acting is more than just an escape or physiological surrender, it is where we can share our creativity and portray a spectrum of truths to the world. However, every interest and passion comes at a cost, an investment, and a durable game plan to achieve it all. I focus on improving my own skills by taking all the acting classes I can, getting vocal coaching, taking a wide variety of Hip Hop, Jazz, and Tap dance classes, and saying yes to anything that is out of my comfort zone. I also just played a principal role in UC Irvine's play named “Fairview,” and being back on the stage validated and grew my passion and love for the career I have choses even more. I just recently got Commercial representation through Baron Entertainment, but plan to work as hard as I can to get a Theatrical agent as well in the year of 2025. By taking the time to plan out and work for each little step, this career seems less like an unrealistic pipe dream, and more like my own future every day.

This scholarship will make a big impact in my academic career since it will allow me to stay in school for its entirety, and finish my double major in Business Economics and Dramatic Arts. I attend UC Irvine; however, alongside having two part time jobs and studying to keep good grades, I will end in heavy student debt by the time I graduate. Unfortunately, my parents are unable to pay for my education, meaning I am in charge of paying for its entirety; putting a huge financial stress on my day to day life. I have always been taught to be responsible and independent from a young age, and I am expected to take out student loans, work hard during and after college, and hustle to pay back the money I have lent. For this reason, I am always thinking about budgeting, managing, investing, and saving money in my daily life, and especially in my future. My dream is to work in the film industry as an actress, and constantly having to work side jobs and hussles takes away time from school and passions, spreading myself too thin in the long term. Most people think i am crazy when they hear my plans for the future, exclaiming; “Really? You think you would have a chance to make it big?” And my answer to that is yes, yes I do. This is because I have confidence in my own capabilities, and I know I can trust my passions to guide me in life. Although I have a deep passion for acting, being creative and following my artistic dreams is nearly impossible with the student debt I have been accumulating. My future requires not just money for tuition and acting school, but also headshots, vocal coaches, and commuting costs. In order to make an investment in myself, I need the basic materials to invest, and therefore this scholarship would have a huge impact in the support of my investment. Besides achieving academic excellence, I want to get signed by an acting agency, and I will not be able to complete my future goals if I do not have outside help from separate scholarships such as this one. UC Irvine demands extremely high tuition costs, and having financial support such as this scholarship would allow me to truly focus on my studies and artistic passions. I am an avid believer in manifestation, and with the right amount of discipline, ambition, willpower, and self love, I will make those dreams a reality.

The song "This is America" by Childish Gambino is a special song to me, and the message it holds has been impactful for many others as well. The main message of the song is that there are many negative side to America, gun violence and racism being the main ones he focuses on. Childish Gambino demonstrates his opinions about racism and gun violence through the constant use of guns, and the inclusion of mainly Black victims in his music video. Racist events such as school and church shootings as well as past experiences inspired Gambino to write this song, and raise awareness among Americans about gun violence and racism. This song is able to portray the normalization of injustice and criminals America experiences, and uses repetition and kids to dramatize the effects of racism in today's society. In addition, the lack of care and action from society shows Americas mop mentality, and their acceptance of such evil yet constant events. By calling out this normalization through the story he tells, he makes people aware of the problem, and incentivizes a sense of reflection of the current state of our equality. Even though I have been educated often on this problem, hearing much songs gives all listeners a realistic reminder of the problems of our nation, and brings us one step closer to targeting it.

Planet earth radiates variety. Planet earth radiates beauty. And most of all, planet earth radiates authenticity. Every flower out there is made with accuracy, and every animal in the jungle is different from the next. It's impressive when you think about it, that every little piece of flora and fauna is one of a kind, and everything has a specific purpose. Whenever I go for a hike, I find myself standing still, breathing in the fresh air, and appreciating the nature around me. When you really look closely, there is a whole other world out there, filled with exotic species, insects, vibrant flowers, and overwhelmingly big trees. Nature gives me a break from the busy, human-filled life that I have created for myself, and it allows me to breathe for a second. Nature is what inspires me to paint, what makes me excited to brush every flower on my new painting, or what makes it hard for me to leave for my volleyball practice because I can't put my paint brush away. Without our mother nature, we would have no home to live in, no city to work in, and no food to eat. For these reasons, I value nature greatly, and by painting it in many different forms, I pay my respects to it. I had always been attracted to painting exoctic animals that you can only see in the safari, but over the years, i have learned to appreciate the smaller things in nature as well; the grass is just as valuable as a plumeria, the rabbit is just as beautiful as the lion, and the clouds just as special as a sunset. It's the daily things in nature that are the most simple, and that bring the most peace to my heart.

My family has been very supportive of my love of performing arts. In high school, I told my parents I wanted to be an actress, and my mom never doubted my dreams for a second. I am grateful for the support I have gotten, and my parents' flexibility with my future goals. This being said, my family still knows how brutal the movie industry is, and they have warned me about not spending my entire life trying to pursue a career that I have already given a good chance. Art has always been a huge part of my life. When I was young, I went to a Waldorf school in the Netherlands, which was a very hands-on program that included theater, sewing, painting, dancing, singing, gardening, wood shop, etc. This is where I believe I got my base for my creativity and love for the art, in all shapes. In high school I decided to sell my realistic oil paintings, and I created an online business where I created customized paintings. Not only have I enjoyed making my paintings, I have also taught me important life lessons; trusting the process has especially. When I first start my paintings, they usually don't look remotely close to the thing I am trying to paint. However, with perseverance, patience and trust, I always reach my end goal, and I have learned to enjoy the ride, not the destination. Acting, one of my other artistic passions, has changed my life in a very different way. Someone once said to me, “acting is just the reenactment of ingenuine emotions,” but I would disagree. Acting is using your imagination to re-enact authenticity and genuineness. Acting is creating real people, real relationships, real lives. Acting is using visualization to build a new personality; it’s when I get to live a completely strange and unknown life for just a second. And that is what I love about it. When I get a new role, I like to do extensive character analysis, make up a significant and personal backstory, do character journaling, and relate certain objects to my character’s childhood memories. I think about my style, my job, maybe my latest obsession, and I make sure to think about my weaknesses which my character hides from. By inventing someone new, I feel like I am showing the audience yet another unique person on this earth with their own story, and making this person come to life. When I embrace this character, I also allow myself to be more empathetic towards them - understanding their actions even though I might not always agree with them. Over time, I build a connection with my character and find it increasingly interesting to explore new areas of their life by slowly putting together more puzzle pieces. And by doing this I have clarified my own identity, as I have played with so many identities and personalities, and I have embraced my own uniqueness. Furthermore, the feeling of being on stage gives me an empowering feeling, one that makes me slow down for a second and makes me aware of my surroundings. When I am in a scene with another actor, I am forced to really listen, and let my body react as naturally as it can while focusing on my objectives in the particular scene. Especially in screen acting the camera picks every detail up, and I don't have to exaggerate my feelings, instead, I can be present in the moment. I don't have to pretend, I can just use my character's instinctive reactions, and thereby new and inspiring stories will follow.