It has always been a dream of mine to become a best-selling author and filmmaker: directing, producing, and editing movies adapted from my books. This dream has continued to give me the strength and drive to make it through any challenges or obstacles I face. It also gives me the courage to rise above them not only for myself, but for others who may be facing similar obstacles. When I was younger, I was thought of as a bubbly, enduringly positive girl. Regardless of any external circumstances, I was hopeful for the future and had this unwavering belief (which most children tend to have) that everything would work out, and I would have a perfect life. Unfortunately, life doesn't always go the way you plan. In the middle of my junior year of high school, my mother and I were in a car accident, prompting me to go back to an online school for the remainder of the school year. I struggled with anxiety, burnout, and depression as a result. That June, my father was also in a car accident, greatly contributing to my family’s stress. But I was still determined to make the best of it. In the summer of my junior year, I enrolled in UCLA’s eSCIP (online Summer College Immersion Program) and took Introductory Screenwriting to further my knowledge and develop my screenwriting skills. In this course, I completed and refined the first 10 pages of my own screenplay, Midnight. At the beginning of my senior year, I ended up transferring again, this time into an independent study program. I began to feel depressed and often thought that I had lost all hope. But even though it felt impossible at times, I still remained determined to succeed, both academically and personally. I knew that if I could overcome everything that happened that year, I could endure anything. While some may have given up or lost hope after these challenges, I don’t want my story to end in despair and failure. More than anything else, I want to rise above it and show that it is possible to make it through. I won’t let myself fall back into the same patterns again. My writing has helped me incredibly with maintaining this mindset. Even at times when I felt lost, I always knew that, if nothing else, I had my writing to rely on. Throughout all of the challenges I've faced in the past eight years, my books have often been a place of comfort and stability. Somewhere I always know I can be in complete control, even when it feels like the world around me is constantly changing. This scholarship would help me very much on my college journey, as I plan on attending San Diego State as an out-of-state student this fall. Now, as well as in the future, I want to inspire, entertain, and comfort others with my work in both literature and film by giving my audience the ability to escape into the worlds I've created. I am still working on managing my mental health every day, and trying to get back to that sunny, optimistic little girl who intuitively knew she had the power to persevere through any challenges that came her way. Thankfully, I do believe I am in a much better place now, and having these challenges early on has made me a stronger woman, as well as a better daughter, friend, and student.

I was always thought of as a bubbly, enduringly positive girl in my youth. I was friends with almost everyone in my class, and, regardless of any external circumstances, I was hopeful for the future and had this unwavering belief (which most children tend to have) that everything would work out, and I would have a perfect life. When I was ten years old, however, it all changed. I started having panic attacks, and later discovered I had anxiety. For a long time, this prevented me from feeling equal to my peers, and I struggled to make connections to them. There were many times I felt depressed, angry, and isolated. I vividly remember crying every morning when my parents would drop me off at school because I felt like I could never belong anymore. Fast forward six years later, in the middle of my junior year of high school. The last day of winter break, my mother and I were in a car accident, prompting me to go back to an online school for the remainder of the school year. It had felt increasingly difficult to drive to school every day, driving on the very same road where the accident happened. I struggled with anxiety, burnout, and depression at an even worse severity than before as a result. My grades dropped, I fell behind, and it wasn’t until the last month of the school year that I was able to get my grade in Geometry (a class that I had gotten an A in the previous semester) up to a C. That June, my father was also in a car accident, greatly contributing to my family’s stress. At the beginning of my senior year, I transferred back to public school, but I was still struggling. I missed two weeks of school, the first for being physically sick, and the second for having a severe panic attack the night before I planned on going back. That particular night was one of the worst experiences in my life, as I felt completely disconnected from reality and was convinced that I couldn’t even make it through the next hour. After it was over, I was terrified that it would happen at school, and that I really wouldn’t be able to survive it. I began to feel depressed and often thought that I had lost all hope. I later enrolled in an independent study program, which came with its own challenges. But even though it felt impossible at times, I still remain determined to succeed, both academically and personally. I know that if I could overcome everything that happened that year, I can endure anything. While some may have abandoned all hope after these challenges, I don’t want my story to end in despair and failure. More than anything else, I want to rise above it and show that it is possible to make it through. It has always been a dream of mine to become a best-selling author and filmmaker: directing, producing, and editing movies adapted from my books. This dream has continued to give me the strength and drive to make it through any challenges or obstacles I face. It gives me the courage to rise above them not only for myself, but for others who may be facing similar obstacles. My writing has helped me incredibly with my mental health. Even at times when I felt lost, I always knew that, if nothing else, I had my writing to rely on. Throughout all of the challenges I've faced in the past eight years, my books have often been a place of comfort and stability. Somewhere I always know I can be in complete control, even when it feels like the world around me is constantly changing. This scholarship would help me incredibly on my college journey, as I plan on attending San Diego State as an out-of-state student this fall. Now, as well as in the future, I want to inspire, entertain, and comfort others with my work in both literature and film by giving my audience the ability to escape into the worlds I've created. I know what it's like to feel hopeless and without belonging, so being able to give others a sanctuary in my work is very important to me. If I can improve even one person's life, I will be fulfilled. I am still working on managing my mental health every day, and trying to get back to that sunny, optimistic little girl who intuitively knew she had the power to persevere through any challenges that came her way. Thankfully, I do believe I am in a much better place now, and having these challenges early on has made me a stronger woman, as well as a better daughter, friend, and student.

Ever since I can remember, I have had a passion for writing. I first started writing seriously when I was nine years old, and have been writing novels ever since. My writing has helped me incredibly with my mental health, and it is my dream to become a best-selling author and filmmaker: directing, producing, and editing movies adapted from my books. This dream has continued to give me the strength and drive to make it through any challenges or obstacles I face. It gives me the courage to rise above them not only for myself, but for others who may be facing similar obstacles. When I was ten years old, I started having panic attacks, and later discovered I had anxiety. For a very long time, this prevented me from feeling equal to my peers, and I struggled to make connections to them. There were many times I felt depressed, angry, and isolated. In the middle of my junior year, I was in a car accident, prompting me to go back to an online school for the remainder of the school year, and I struggled with anxiety, burnout, and depression at an even worse severity than before as a result. My grades dropped, I fell behind, and it wasn’t until the last month of the school year that I was able to get my grade in Geometry (a class that I had gotten an A in the previous semester) up to a C. That June, my father was also in a car accident, greatly contributing to my family’s stress. Even at the beginning of my senior year, I was still struggling. I later ended up transferring again, this time into an independent study program. I began to feel depressed and often thought that I had lost all hope. But even though it felt impossible at times, I still remained determined to succeed, both academically and personally, if not for myself, then for others who may be facing similar obstacles. I knew that if I could overcome everything that happened that year, I could endure anything. While some may have given up or lost hope after these challenges, I don’t want my story to end in despair and failure. More than anything else, I want to rise above it and show that it is possible to make it through. I won’t let myself fall back into the same patterns again. I want to inspire, entertain, and comfort others with my work in both literature and film by giving my audience the ability to escape into the worlds I've created. When I felt lost, I always knew that, if nothing else, I had my writing to rely on, because for a long time, my books were the only place I felt I had complete control. I know what it's like to feel hopeless and without belonging, so being able to give others a sanctuary in my work is very important to me. If I can improve even one person's life, I will be fulfilled. I still work on my mental health every day in many ways, including talking to a therapist, practicing self-care, yoga, meditating, and, of course, writing. I feel that I am in a much better place now, and having these challenges early on has made me a stronger woman, as well as a better daughter, friend, and student.

In the middle of my junior year, I was in a car accident, prompting me to go back to an online school for the remainder of the school year, and I struggled with anxiety, burnout, and depression at an even worse severity than before as a result. My grades dropped, I fell behind, and it wasn’t until the last month of the school year that I was able to get my grade in Geometry (a class that I had gotten an A in the previous semester) up to a C. That June, my father was also in a car accident, greatly contributing to my family’s stress. At the beginning of my senior year, I transferred back to public school, but I was still struggling. I missed two weeks of school, the first for being physically sick, and the second for having a severe panic attack the night before I planned on going back. That particular night was one of the worst experiences in my life, as I felt completely disconnected from reality and was convinced that I couldn’t even make it through the next hour. After it was over, I was terrified that it would happen at school, and that I really wouldn’t be able to survive it. I began to feel depressed and often thought that I had lost all hope. I later enrolled in an independent study program, which came with its own challenges. But even though it felt impossible at times, I still remained very determined to learn, grow, and succeed, both academically and personally, if not for myself, then for others who may be facing similar obstacles. I knew that if I could overcome that night, I could endure anything. While some may have given up or lost hope after these challenges, I don’t want my story to end in despair and failure. More than anything else, I want to rise above it and show that it is possible to make it through. It has always been a dream of mine to become a best-selling author. This dream has continued to give me the strength and drive to make it through any challenges or obstacles I face. It gives me the courage to rise above them not only for myself, but for others who may be facing similar obstacles. I also want to later adapt my novels into movies, which is why I’m interested in studying film, particularly editing and directing. This skill is very meaningful to me because my writing has helped me incredibly with my mental health. Even at times when I felt lost, I always knew that, if nothing else, I had my writing to rely on, because for a long time, my books were the only place I felt I had complete control. I hope to inspire others with my work in both literature and film by giving my audience the ability to escape into the worlds I've created. I know what it's like to feel hopeless and without belonging, which is why giving others a sanctuary in my work is very important to me. While I am still working on managing my anxiety every day, I believe I am in a much better place now, and having these challenges early on has made me a stronger woman, as well as a better daughter, friend, and student.

Ever since I can remember, I have had a passion for writing, and over the years, it has helped me incredibly. I first started writing seriously when I was nine years old. While I have been told I have a natural talent for it, I have worked hard for nearly a decade to develop the skill further. I believe that you can always expand your knowledge, and that is why I am determined to continue learning everything I can to achieve my dream of becoming a best-selling author. This dream has continued to give me the strength and drive to make it through any challenges or obstacles I face. It gives me the courage to rise above them not only for myself, but for others who may be facing similar obstacles. I hope to inspire others with my work in both literature and film by giving my audience the ability to escape into the worlds I've created. I’ve experimented with many different genres from romance to sci-fi, horror, and thriller, which has helped me grow as a writer. I also want to later adapt my novels into movies, which is why I’m interested in studying film, particularly editing and directing. This skill is very meaningful to me because my writing has helped me incredibly with my mental health. Even at times when I felt lost, I always knew that, if nothing else, I had my writing to rely on, because for a long time, my books were the only place I felt I had complete control. I know what it's like to feel hopeless and without belonging, which is why giving others a sanctuary in literature and film is very important to me. Being Latina, my culture is very underrepresented in the film industry, and it wasn't until my sophomore year of high school when I started taking Video Production that I began to seriously consider going into the industry. It quickly became one of my favorite classes because of my growing interest in film editing and production, and it was one that I truly enjoyed going to because I knew I could use that knowledge in the future. It was then that I realized a career in film could be more than just a dream or a hobby on the side. In my junior year, I joined Fresh Films, a program for teen filmmakers, in which we are taught many applicable skills from pre-production to post-production. Collaborating on film projects with other teen filmmakers showed me the shared joy and thrill that can come from creating a story, and I fell in love with the process. I have never viewed it as work, or a means to an end. This experience and the connections I made are invaluable to me. Outside the classroom, I have furthered my research in the subject, and read books about all aspects of filmmaking (including screenwriting, directing, and editing) to develop my understanding. Studying it continues to give me boundless joy and inspiration. In the future, I hope to bring awareness to Latino and Hispanic culture through my career as a writer and film director/editor, and give hope to others like me who may feel discouraged from joining the industry. If I can improve even just one person's life, I will be fulfilled.