Throughout my life, I have been striving to take advantage of all opportunities around me because of the sacrifices my mother has made in order to create this life for me. As a senior in high school, my mother immigrated to the United States from South Africa with my grandparents and her sister in hopes of creating a better life for herself. No matter what obstacles she encountered, she persevered, inspiring me to do the same. For me, success is achieving the goals you set for yourself and not giving up when things get hard. In my education, I have set the goal to broaden my knowledge of different cultures, and further develop my knowledge in core studies like math, science, and history. I have always enjoyed math and I think that it is important to understand why things work in the world through methods like physics and chemistry. Learning about history, cultures, and the way places interact with each other is important to me because it will allow me to relate and connect with more people. Furthermore, I will be able to explore if my beliefs are truly my own or if they are just a reflection of the people that I have been surrounded by growing up. I do not believe there is an end goal to success in education because there is always more to learn; however, I will know I have been successful throughout my education if I am always questioning the world around me and striving to learn more. In my professional life, I have set the goal of pursuing a career that I can use to help increase opportunities for people all over the world. I have set this goal because while traveling to South Africa, I saw levels of extreme poverty that caused me to think greatly about all of the opportunities I have at my disposal due to where I was born. I decided that no matter what I do with my life, I want to be able to help the people living in poverty throughout the world so that they may have the chance to chase after their dreams. While I am not set on a certain career path right now, I am debating between becoming a pilot and becoming a diplomat. As a pilot, I hope to serve others by joining a nonprofit organization like the Red Cross to help people all over the world during situations like natural disasters or war. Being a diplomat I would be able to serve people by being a part of the solution for problems all over the world. I would have a position of power that I could use to better the entire world by helping to create opportunities for more people and helping improve the quality of life for people all over the globe. Regardless of what I do, I will know that I have achieved success in my professional life if I have opened opportunities for people or improved their lives.  In my personal life, I have set the goal of traveling to as many places as possible while also developing a strong community around me. Traveling is how I explore the world and throughout my travels, I always learn something new about myself along the way. Traveling helps me become a more well-rounded individual and often time sparks periods of personal growth in my life. Developing a strong community is important to me because much of my joy in life stems from the people I love and without those people supporting me, I would struggle much more to achieve my goals. I will know I have found success in my personal life if I have traveled to every continent and I have found a group of people who are always encouraging me throughout my adventures in life and will always have my back. This opportunity will help me achieve my goals because it will show me that I have people cheering me on and believing that my goals can help make a difference in the world. The monetary aspect of this scholarship will allow me to focus my attention on my studies, connecting with people, and helping those in need. I hope to be a beacon of light throughout the darkness in the world. This opportunity will help me to find success in my life, which in turn will help me help others find success in their own lives.

During my first years of high school, I struggled with feeling a lack of motivation and caring about school in general. I felt alone even though I was surrounded by people because everyone was immersed in their cell phones or computers. I felt like being at school was a waste of my time and I could be doing something more productive and rewarding outside of school. I often wondered what my purpose in life was and how being stuck inside a classroom was going to help me accomplish anything. I overcame the problem of feeling like I lacked a purpose in what I was doing by deciding to pursue online school. Doing online school freed up my time during the day allowing me to have a job. By working, I was able to save money for college, learn good money management and financial habits, how to interact with customers professionally, and what my life could look like if I did not apply myself to the fullest by using all of the opportunities around me. It gave me a sense of drive to accomplish my future goals and gave me the means to do so with the money I have been saving. I plan to use the problem-solving skills I have learned throughout my life for any problems I face in the future. I was still able to take challenging coursework online and learned the skill of managing my time wisely so that I always completed my assignments on time. Online school taught me how to motivate myself because I did not have teachers pressuring me to get assignments done. It was all on me. It is a helpful skill I will use once I start my career because if I do not do what I am supposed to do, I will get fired and be unable to pay my bills. My bosses will see that I am self-motivated and driven. It will be up to me to manage my time wisely and get my work done by the deadline. I was also able to continue playing sports through my school district and spend time with friends during my free time. I learned that life is what you make of it and there are many ways to do something. I have the power to design my life to look however I want it. This helped me to explore different career paths like becoming a pilot, starting a business, or becoming a diplomat. Not only that, but it has helped me realize that whatever career path I choose, I can create the life I want whether it is working certain days per week, online, or a mix between the two. I am hoping to pursue a career as either a pilot or a diplomat and I want to use my future career to open up more opportunities for people all around the globe. I am grateful for all of the opportunities I have had growing up and through my travels, I have seen many people who are not given those same opportunities. I hope to reduce the poverty levels by creating more opportunities for people in poverty to achieve their dreams just as I am trying to achieve mine.

Throughout high school, the thing I looked forward to most throughout each year was tennis season. It has been my favorite sport and I have gained my best friends through being on the team. Tennis has taught me to be okay with not always being the best and how important it is to always keep a positive mindset. Leading up to high school, I had become comfortable with always being the best at the things I spent time doing. I did well in school and enjoyed being the best. Being in high school I was exposed to many more people, most of who had more experience and training than I did. It was tough at first when I felt like I lost every time I played someone in a tennis match. As the years went on, I learned that if I wanted to be able to beat those girls, I would need to put in the work myself. Furthermore, I recognized how much work they had put in over the years to reach the level of tennis they are currently playing. I gained an appreciation for how skilled they were because I knew they had practiced for many hours and cut out other things in their life to be able to become that skilled. I learned that to be the best you must make sacrifices in other areas of your life. In the future, I plan to utilize this knowledge when looking up to leaders or people in powerful positions in my life. I will remember that they put in a lot of hard work behind the scenes to get to where they are today and if I want to be at the top of my field, I must do the same. Another powerful thing that tennis has taught me is that keeping a positive attitude and mindset changes your outlook on life and it has made me into a better person. During my freshman year playing tennis, I would get frustrated during games whenever I made mistakes. As the game progressed, I realized that when I focused too much on my mistakes, I did worse. It has been important for me to recognize my mistakes and learn how to fix them for the future, but thinking about them too much took away the joy that playing the game creates. As I have grown older, I have learned that by focusing on the positive in my games, I find more joy and am a more positive person to those around me. During my last round of singles districts this past year, I got out during the first round, but I still look back upon that game fondly. I do not remember every little mistake I made, but rather I remember how that game signified all the improvements I have made throughout my tennis career. In the future, I will remember how important it is to see the glass half full and that by doing that you can make any outcome seem like it happened for the best. Overall, I am so grateful I have had the opportunity to play tennis in high school. It has become my favorite sport and has taught me so many valuable lessons. I have learned that being the best takes time and commitment. I have also learned that it is important to learn from your mistakes, but not to dwell on them. I hope that other people who play tennis in high school will find the same joy and freedom that I found through playing tennis.

When I was in the fourth grade, my parents sat me and my sister down to tell us that they were getting divorced. After that, everything started getting split. Half of our belongings were at each house and half of our time was spent with each parent. Living in two different houses, each with a different parent has taught me how to accept change, live in the moment, and find the good in every situation. Growing up, society had told me that people with divorced parents were less fortunate than kids with married parents; that those households were turbulent and not ideal. After becoming a part of that community, I learned that everything happens for a reason and that sometimes change creates even better situations than before. I was able to see my parents flourish and spend a lot of time finding who they are while encouraging me and my sister to do the same. Seeing them change into better versions of themselves taught me not to fear change, but rather embrace the possibilities that it brings. Living in two homes has made it so that I have two places that feel like home, but I am never in one place for long. I have learned to focus on the present and who is around me for the time being. By being present and in the moment, I can cherish any memories I make with the people around me. Change is inevitable and often unexpected, I make a point to be grateful for any memories I get to make with the people I love. Having encouraging parents and nothing tying me down, I have made it a goal in my life to travel the world and see as many different places and cultures as possible. I love exploring the world because there are places so different from where I grew up and the possibilities of what you can do are endless. The travels I have gone on so far have narrowed down what I want to do in my life and have given me inspiration for how I can leave a mark on the world. When I traveled to South Africa visiting family, I was able to see the townships and poverty levels. Seeing the townships caused me to gain an interest in improving the lives of people all over the world. In college, I want to pursue a career studying international relations so that I may gain a better understanding of cultures all over the world and how places interact with one another. I want to use this degree to pursue a career either as a diplomat or in the nonprofit world where I will have the power to make a difference in the lives of others. I want to work to increase opportunities for people all over the world so that, like me, they may have the chance to achieve their dreams. Everyone deserves to have the opportunity to go after their dreams and create the life that they want for themselves.

In March of 2022, I had the opportunity to go to South Africa for three weeks for a family reunion. My mother, grandparents, and aunt all immigrated from South Africa to the United States in the year 2000 and the only other time I had been back with them was in 2009 when I was two. While I was there, I was able to visit many family members, explore South African culture, and most importantly, I saw the levels of poverty that existed there. Here in the United States, I have seen poverty, but where I live it is few and far between. Furthermore, programs are often in place to try and help people living in poverty. In South Africa, I saw the townships stretching for miles seeming like they never end. I see the homes in there that are the size of a small bedroom built from tin and whatever other scraps that can be found on the side of the road. Seeing those townships caused me to gain a new understanding of how lucky I am solely because I was born in the United States. The people in those townships did not do anything to deserve where they live. The only difference between them and me is that I was born in suburban America and they were born in a township in South Africa. Seeing the townships caused me to gain an interest in improving the lives of people all over the world. In college, I want to pursue a career studying international relations so that I may gain a better understanding of cultures all over the world and how places interact with one another. I want to use this degree to pursue a career either as a diplomat or in the nonprofit world where I will have the power to make a difference in the lives of others. I want to work to increase opportunities for people all over the world so that, like me, they may have the chance to achieve their dreams.

Throughout high school, I have been blessed to be able to participate in two sports, swimming and tennis. By joining these teams, I have made some of my closest friends and had some of the best experiences during my time in high school. Through it all I have grown as a person and learned many lessons. The biggest challenges I have faced while playing sports in high school are time management and learning to be okay with not being the best. Time management has become a crucial part of playing sports throughout high school. Not only do you have to balance sports and academics, but you also have to think about when you are going to spend time with your family and your friends. Throughout high school, I always took all honors classes, and with that came a lot of homework. After a day at school, I would always have either swim or tennis practice depending on the season. I would get home late at night, especially on days we had meets or matches, and then have to do my homework. I learned that the best way to manage my time was to set aside certain times for certain things. I make sure to eat dinner with my family every night so that I can catch up on their day and what they are up to. That is normally the only time I spend with my family on school nights. On the weekends, I make sure to balance time between my friends and family so that I spend time with both of them. If I spend time with a friend one day, I make sure to spend time with my family the next. By creating designated times for all of the things in my life, I have been able to excel academically and in sports while maintaining relationships with people who are close to me. Another challenge that I learned to overcome in playing sports throughout high school was being okay with not always being the best. Leading up to high school, I had become comfortable with always being the best at the things I spent time doing. I did well in school and enjoyed being the best. Being in high school I was exposed to many more people, most of who had more experience and training than I did. It was tough at first when I felt like I lost every time I played someone in a tennis match. As the years went on, I learned that if I wanted to be able to beat those girls, I would need to put in the work myself. Furthermore, I recognized how much work they had put in over the years to reach the level of tennis they are currently playing. I gained an appreciation for how skilled they were because I knew they had practiced for many hours and cut out other things in their life to be able to become that skilled. I learned that to be the best you must make sacrifices, so I was okay with not being the best. Overall, I am so grateful that I participated in these sports because I have learned lessons that I can now apply to other areas of my life moving forward. I learned how to balance things in my life and manage my time effectively. I have also learned that it is okay to not be the best in everything that I do. I will cherish the memories and lessons these sports have given me as I move on to the next phase of my life.

I am a high school senior who is about to start the next phase of my life by going off to college in the fall. Throughout high school, I have been on the tennis team, the swim team, and spent a lot of time with my friends creating memories. On sports teams, I have acted as a team captain and leader to help the younger and incoming students. I have learned how it is important to support younger people and help them in areas that you wish you were helped. I have also learned the importance of commitment and how to balance doing things outside of school, like sports and clubs, with my academics. With my friends, I have traveled and explored different cultures. Seeing the differences in culture has made me a more well-rounded person because I have learned that differences should be embraced and celebrated. Having a job in high school has taught me that sometimes in life you have to do things you do not enjoy in order to get the results you want. I was able to travel due to working outside in the winter months when it was below freezing. It was hard, but having the motivation for my goals kept me persevering. My mother and grandparents immigrated to America in the year 2000 and their hard work has shown me that anything is possible if you put your mind to it. I have learned why it is important to work hard by seeing my oupa harvest in the fields and build the life he wanted for himself. I will utilize that going forward by setting goals for myself and striving to achieve my dreams. My parents are divorced and live in separate households. They are unable to help with the costs of going to college. By working, I have been able to save money for college, but not enough for it to cover the full tuition. Getting a scholarship would help offset the debt I will have coming out of college and the stress of starting my adult life weighed down in debt. Bullying is a prevalent issue in our society and it takes everyone standing up to combat it. I help keep people safe from in-person bullying by fostering safe and welcoming environments everywhere I am. On the tennis team, I made sure to get to know each person and encouraged everyone to cheer for one another. This led to people loving one another and building each other up instead of tearing each other down. In the classroom, I have conversations with everyone making sure that I find ways to connect with each person. By doing this, a sense of community is found and everyone feels connected and comfortable with one another. Creating environments of love helps combat bullying because it makes it so there is no environment for that behavior to grow. Preventing cyberbullying is a greater challenge because people often have more courage to say rude or hurtful things from behind a piece of technology. When I am online and on social media, I make a point to share love and kindness with every post or story I come in contact with. There will always be someone wishing to spread hate, but the best thing to do is to counteract that hate by spreading kindness of my own.

Growing up, I have always gone to church every Sunday and participated in youth groups and other church organizations. When I was younger I struggled to grasp what or who God is. I knew him, but more on a surface level. This has changed as I have gotten older. Life is turbulent and has many ups and downs, but as I have grown I have learned that I can always rely on one thing, God. Every night before I go to bed I make it a priority to pray to God over everything that I am thankful for that happened that day. I share with him my hopes and dreams for the future, normally what I hope will happen within the next week. I also pray for the loved ones in my life who live all over the globe. I do not get to see or talk to them often, but I still make sure to pray that they are prospering in whatever they are doing in life. This nightly prayer often serves as a self-reflection of my day and is a time when I realize all of the blessings in my life. Some days are rough and things happen that stress me out or make me sad. Having a relationship with God lets me know that I can put my fears on his shoulders. When I am praying at night and something disheartening happens, I often pray for an understanding of why it happened. I have to trust in God to know that everything happens for a reason. By praying to him every night I am able to put all of my successes, fears, and worries on God’s shoulders knowing that he can handle it. As I go off to college and pursue my career, I am so grateful that I have God in my corner. It helps to know that when opportunities are closed, it is for a reason. It helps me to move on from the disappointments and focus on the successes. God helps me stay grounded in myself and who I truly am. He will guide me every step of the way as I go to college and begin my career. Not only will I have God to rely on, but I have amazing faith-based people in my life that support me. I hope as I go off to college, I will find more people to connect with who are rooted in God. Having those people in my life helps me stay rooted in my faith in God. They are also examples of how I should be living my life for him. Overall, having God in my life is an anchor and I know that if I cannot trust anyone else, I can trust him. He has been such a blessing in my life so far, and I know that whatever he has planned for my future will be amazing. Keeping myself rooted in my faith will help attract like-minded individuals who are a great support system. I am so thankful for everything that I have been blessed with so far in life, and I am excited to see what God has planned for my future.

I use writing as a way to preserve all of my memories and things that I have experienced throughout life. I write most often when I am traveling. I try to document my travels daily so that I will hold on to the memories for the rest of my life. I know I will remember the biggest aspects of my trip, but it is the small things that make me reflect over time traveling. It is with those small things that I realize the gravity of how blessed I am in my life. Throughout a trip to Frankfurt, Germany a couple of summers ago, I wrote about going grocery shopping and it starting to rain as I was walking back to my house. Every time I reread that memory, I get sent back to that moment in time. I was mind-blown because I was on the other side of the world. I was extremely happy and vividly remember dancing as I walked back to the place where I was staying. As time goes on, it becomes easier and easier to forget the small aspects of life that make life what it is. It is easy to forget the moments when you had unadulterated happiness flowing through you. It is through my travels that I have realized how impactful journaling or writing just about anything can be. As I go off to college, I want to continue the habit of journaling. Although it is a tough habit for me to keep daily, I am going to make an effort to journal at least once a week. I want to make sure that I remember the small things that happen every week that stick out to me during that period of my life. As time goes on, memories will inevitably fade, but through journaling, I will be able to jump back to different times of my life. I will be able to remember the thoughts and feelings I was experiencing as well as my hopes and dreams for the future at that point. I love looking back on old letters or journals I have written to myself because I often think of how shocked my past self would be at everything the current me has done in life. The friendships that change even though I thought they would last forever, the travels that popped up and happened spontaneously, and the people that have entered my life changing me to be a better version of myself. I am so grateful for writing because it helps me preserve the memories of the past, my goals for the future, and appreciate all the changes I have gone through to get to where I am today.

Throughout high school I have been on the tennis team, the swim team, and spent a lot of time with my friends creating memories. The people I have been around have become my support system and are the ones who shaped me into who I am today. My favorite thing in the world is traveling and exploring new places along with new cultures. I have been to multiple countries in Europe, Central America, and South Africa. The most impactful so far has been South Africa because that is where my mother is from. Seeing the different levels of poverty and where my mom came from has made me realize that I want to do something in life that can help others have the opportunity to achieve their goals. I also enjoy utilizing my brain and doing things that can sometimes be mentally stimulating. After exploring multiple careers, I have decided to pursue a career as a pilot. While in college, I hope to learn about different cultures and the history of the world more extensively. I think it is important to have this knowledge to understand how the world got to where it is today. Planning for the future is insignificant without a solid understanding of the past. The brief study of history that I have done so far in high school has helped me understand where many of the world conflicts and beliefs in different countries stem from. Knowledge of the past helps set the context for the present and creates better preparation for the future. In my personal life, I hope to travel all over the world and get to experience many different cultures. I try to be open-minded, but I can be judgmental when I overhear how people in other parts of the world live. I have learned that the best way I have overcome this challenge is to travel to those places and experience what those people experience. This is effective for me because I can connect with people I had previous biases about. This connection shows me how connected the world is to each other and how much we all have in common. The biggest thing I have learned through my travels so far is that most of the values and beliefs I hold were formed due to where I was born and the family I was born into. This is something I have taken for granted and the more I travel the more grateful I become for my parents and the community that supports me. In my career, I hope to become a pilot. Being a pilot will allow me to explore the world whilst also utilizing my brain and the science knowledge I have learned throughout school. Furthermore, I will be able to use that skill to help others. After getting my pilot's license, I hope to join the Red Cross or another organization in the nonprofit field to help people all over the world. Not everyone in the world was born with the opportunities that I have been growing up. I am utilizing the opportunities at my disposal to not only achieve my dreams but to help others survive and achieve dreams of their own.

I believe that success is achieving the goals that you set for yourself. I believe that anything is achievable if you are willing to work hard and sometimes sacrifice things in order to reach your end goal. The world around me is helping me to achieve my success, I just need to keep my eyes open for any and all opportunities that come my way. Through my education, I hope to learn about different cultures and the history of the world more extensively. I think it is important to have this knowledge to understand how the world got to where it is today. Planning for the future is insignificant without a solid understanding of the past. The brief study of history that I have done so far in high school has helped me understand where many of the world conflicts and beliefs in different countries stem from. Knowledge of the past helps set the context for the present and creates better preparation for the future. Gaining this knowledge of the past will allow me to better appreciate the places in the world that I hope to visit. Visting places all over the globe and making connections with people from other cultures is my ultimate goal in life. Keeping my mindset positive and my face looking toward my future, I believe I will be able to achieve my goals and bring success to my life.

My favorite thing in the world is traveling and exploring new places along with new cultures. I have been to multiple countries in Europe, Central America, and South Africa. The most impactful so far has been South Africa because that is where my mother is from. Seeing the different levels of poverty and where my mom came from has made me realize that I want to do something in life that can help others have the opportunity to achieve their goals. I also enjoy utilizing my brain and doing things that can sometimes be mentally stimulating. After exploring multiple careers, I have decided to pursue a career as a pilot. My grandfather has always been interested in aviation and has passed that love of flying down to me. While in college, I would like to study history along with international relations to learn more about cultures and places all over the world, what shaped them, and how they interact with one another. After getting my pilot’s license, I want to join the Red Cross for a couple of years to help benefit people from all over the world. I am so grateful for the experiences I have had so far in life and I am excited to see what my future holds.