Furthering my education is so important to me because my whole life I have searched for ways to expand my knowledge and talents to the greatest extent. A higher education is a way for me to keep developing my abilities and my growing career. Through my planned studies in music, I have found that education matters to me there more than anything. In my life, I find that I have always been expressive of my creativity. When I was younger, that creativity was expressed through film. Creating, writing, and directing short films that I would show off to my family and friends was a huge highlight of my childhood. I would get my friends to act and I would create these plots from the endless depths of my imagination that were so fun to produce. I would make horror shorts about household items, war movies using toy soldiers, and stop motion lego animations. It wasn't just film, but drawing and photography were other pastimes I would indulge in constantly. As I progressed in my school career, I was eventually introduced to the thing that would inevitably change my life: the school band. Joining as a percussionist, I found the ability to hold down rhythms and tempo came to me so naturally I had to keep pursuing it. Years of auxiliary percussion eventually led to a love of the drum set, specifically jazz drumming. As an instrumentalist, I loved playing with the band. It was so beautiful playing with a group because I felt like I was apart of this intricate machine, one where I was a gear turning in place that helped carry out the goal to produce incredible music. But all of that changed when I was introduced to music production. My world completely flipped seeing that I could manipulate all parts of a song to make something completely of my own. I saved up money to buy Ableton where I would spend hours on studying techniques and skills for production. For years I would make my own songs, feeling like that kid I once was producing those films, and I eventually found a community that I could collaborate with. I would record, mix and master, and help other bands with their sounds. I even found myself headlining my own DJ set that was set up by me and my friends. All of the ways that I express myself creatively help me cope with difficulties because it puts me in a place where nothing is wrong. As someone who struggles with anxiety, these creative outlets are the way that I am able to recalibrate how I feel and improve how I feel. When I get stuck creatively, I still find ways to inspire myself through different forms of media that allow me to reignite my passion. Even in my own personal life, I know that even when I'm at the bottom, the only way to go is up. These roadblocks that I have faced in the past, prepare me to do great things when put face to face with the challenges of the future. I know that being when the time comes to face these challenges, I'll be ready to solve them in my own ambitious way.

When my father first told me about his immigration to America from Trinidad, I was so shocked to hear how he had to start a whole new life in a new country. The concept was so foreign to me but it made me incredibly proud to be where I am and of my family for striving for a better life. My heritage to me means everything to me. I come from a line of strong and hardworking people who paved the way for not only mine, but my whole family's future. When I visited the island for the first time, I was blown away. To experience my culture firsthand after being in America my whole life was an opportunity I will forever be grateful for. Seeing my people and my roots gave me an insight to what truly made up who I was. Because it wasn't just the food or the slang, it was the community. Seeing everyone recognize my father after years of being away was truly shocking. The tight knit community my family and surrounding families in Tabaquite had developed was incredible. It gave me a perspective into a part of my life that I had not been given the proper lens for before. I developed such an intense love for where I am from and I felt imbued with the drive to make those who worked so hard for my family proud. When my father told me about how hard his grandmother worked to send her children to college, it struck a deep and resonating chord within me. I knew then that I had to succeed. I am passionate about attending college because it is something that I am incredibly grateful for. Only recently has my family been able to be more acclimated to the idea of college. To be a part of the generation of my family that can provide more opportunities for the future of my bloodline is a truly beautiful occurrence. I want to attend college so I can make sure that my culture thrives and continues to be prominent. College will give me a chance to start a career that will live up to what my family worked so hard for. Being Caribbean when I was younger was more of a label to me. It was something that was just a part of me but wasn't too special. Now, with all I have learned and experienced in regards to my culture, I know that it is so much more. My heritage is what pushes me to be greater and do more, and because of it, I know that my success will mean so much more.

A way that I want to continue a positive impact on the world is through combining music with community. One of the greatest leadership opportunities I was granted was my position as an officer of the Music Production Club at my school. To not only be able to help out and teach, but to also learn from my peers was an incredible experience. I would learn different production styles and mixing and mastering techniques from my advisor Josh. I would use these learned experiences to help other members with their own music. I was also in charge of advertising the club, I would film and edit commercials that would be played on the morning announcements. I wouldn't only help out with teaching and advertising though, I would also help to arrange and set up events. The club would set up mics at different band events and record the audio. These events would be great learning experiences and were incredible exercises for live sound engineering. The greatest example I have of my leadership abilities was the time where the club was set to perform at an event set up by another club in the school called Voices of Excellence. The event was set to be outside but due to weather, it was moved inside. However, it ended up not raining at all so they decided to have half of the event inside and the other half outside. Due to this, the Music Production Club performance was canceled after we all had arrived. I wasn't ready to give up that easily though. I asked if we could set up inside and I used just my computer and a speaker to set up an impromptu DJ set using house and lo-fi music I had made. I would create live melodic loops and drums to have a jam session with the other members of the club. I also helped in setting up a whiteboard for a freestyle rap exercise to get the attendees involved with our booth. Ultimately, through the community we were able to cultivate in this situation helped to get the Music Production Club in the spotlight while also providing opportunities for the community to enjoy what we were creating. Having this experience made me certain that I wanted to use music to bring people together because it is truly the best when it is a shared experience.

In the corner of my bedroom, laying on the floor in astonishment, is a seven year old me. In my hands is my mom’s IPad with GarageBand open. The discovery of my first music production software had me in complete amazement. The ability to create and construct my own songs, ones that fulfilled my creative desires, fueled me and inspired me. Through music, I have grown emotionally and creatively which has ultimately benefited me as not only a person, but as an artist as well. My love for creating only grew since those times I spent creating music from that IPad. As time went on, that love of creating grew into a further passion for listening. What I was creating led me to look to new types of music to expand my taste and eventually I stumbled across the album “Madvillainy”. The disorientation I endured from that first track was unlike anything I had ever experienced. Discovering strange and more out-there music changed my life forever. This sparked a sudden change to my perspective of living. I wanted my life to be used solely for me to express myself and create the music that I wanted to hear. The more I listened, the more my musical appetite expanded to its full potential. Long gone were the days of listening to just what my parents had shown me on the radio when I was younger. Now it was anything that I could get my hands on. Listening to new and exciting thoughts and ideas helped me to figure out more about myself as a person and what I believe and think. The sounds of my favorite artists became vibrant paints of which I would then utilize to create my work on a canvas of my imagination to develop sounds and songs completely unique to myself. Through my growing ability to listen and develop my personal interests, my artistry has grown immensely. The times I spent on my bedroom floor with that IPad and the first glimpses of my creativity have transformed into a fuller love and deeper appreciation for producing songs. I poured hours into studying and research for tools, apps, gear, and more that would build my production ability. Eventually I would work to save up enough money to buy Ableton Live Intro. This purchase changed my life. I worked on projects every single day on my Mom’s old gray laptop which shut down constantly. These setbacks did not affect me though. As time went on I joined my high school’s Music Production Club, which pushed me further into my musical obsession. Every Wednesday after school I came to the club ready to work and to improve myself. Through the club, I experienced my first collaborative adventures and found a love for working with other artists. The club provided me with experiences that I look forward to applying in my future endeavors as they helped me grow my skills. I utilize my ability to listen and ingratiate these arts within myself to become the best version of myself possible. I want to explore so many different paths with music and art and eventually provide a space for creatives to share their talents to the world. Music has always been a huge part of my life but the ability to create it has brought forth so much joy and satisfaction to my life. Music has led me on a self discovery journey as I'm able to fully express all parts of myself within it. Music has changed my life in ways I never thought possible, and for that I'm forever grateful.

What I've noticed from my short, but experienced time on this earth, is that success isn't always the biggest possible achievement that can be reached. Success to me is more than just those great outward achievements, it's finding comfort within myself and my abilities. I have found success in achievements in small things like simply making a chord progression in my music, learning a new song on one of my instruments, or taking time to practice. Even just motivating myself to sit in front of an instrument and picking it up is a sort of successful act. I find that these small "insignificant" victories actually propel me to do more. Simply just having an idea is a success within itself. The bigger victories and successes are only a result of the smaller ones. For example, the act of me simply learning how to figure out musical structures, chords, melodies, and theory were all small but significant successes that then guided me to do much bigger things. I've found success in setting up several different music and art events with my friends, creating spaces for bands, DJs, and local artists and vendors. The success is in part to the amount of an audience that we draw in, but I'd argue the real success is from the personal accomplishments we have of building an event space for our local community and giving local artists a platform. Another path of success I have taken is in leading my school's Music Production Club as an officer. Every Wednesday after school I came to the club ready to work, improve myself, and aid others. Through the club, I experienced my first collaborative adventures and found a love for working with other artists. The club provided me with experiences that I look forward to applying in my future endeavors as they helped me grow my skills. My success in the club was my internal achievements paired with the ability to help others to find their own success. However, success to me isn’t winning the lottery, or selling out shows, or becoming famous. Success to me is being able to experience life to the fullest in whatever field I’m in. Success is being able to do what I’m passionate about without barriers. Success is being me. With this opportunity, and easing the cost of my college attendance, I can see my success growing in ways unimaginable. There are still so many goals I have yet to achieve, and I know that through this scholarship I can be one step closer to actualizing them. I know that my success in the future will continue on a consistent path as I love the journey of working hard to achieve my dreams and with this scholarship, I would feel like I have the proper support to keep gaining success. The road to my true, full, finalized potential is a long one, but it is one I can feel myself already walking down and I know I will never give up on.

In the beginning of High School, I had just gotten my first DAW. I got Ableton Live Intro by saving up my own money from babysitting my little cousin over the summer. Music production was a whole new path for me. Eventually, a love of creating grew into a further passion for listening. What I was creating led me to look to new types of music to expand my taste and eventually I stumbled across the album “Madvillainy”. The disorientation I endured from that first track was unlike anything I had ever experienced. Discovering strange and more out-there music changed my life forever. This sparked a sudden change to my perspective of living. I wanted my life to be used solely for me to express myself and create the music that I wanted to hear. The more I listened, the more my musical appetite expanded to its full potential. Long gone were the days of listening to just what my parents had shown me on the radio when I was younger. Now it was anything that I could get my hands on. Listening to new and exciting thoughts and ideas helped me to figure out more about myself as a person and what I believe and think. The sounds of my favorite artists became vibrant paints of which I would then utilize to create my work on a canvas of my imagination to develop sounds and songs completely unique to myself. Through my growing ability to listen and develop my personal interests, my artistry has grown immensely. The times I spent on my bedroom floor with that IPad and the first glimpses of my creativity have transformed into a fuller love and deeper appreciation for producing songs. I poured hours into studying and research for tools, apps, gear, and more that would build my production ability. Eventually I would work to save up enough money to buy Ableton Live Intro. This purchase changed my life. I worked on projects every single day on my Mom’s old gray laptop which shut down constantly. These setbacks did not affect me though. As time went on I joined my high school’s Music Production Club, which pushed me further into my musical obsession. Every Wednesday after school I came to the club ready to work and to improve myself. Through the club, I experienced my first collaborative adventures and found a love for working with other artists. The club provided me with experiences that I look forward to applying in my future endeavors as they helped me grow my skills.

In the corner of my bedroom, laying on the floor in astonishment, is a seven year old me. In my hands is my mom’s IPad with GarageBand open. The discovery of my first music production software had me in complete amazement. The ability to create and construct my own songs, ones that fulfilled my creative desires, fueled me and inspired me. Through music, I have grown emotionally and creatively which has ultimately benefited me as not only a person, but as an artist as well. My love for creating only grew since those times I spent creating music from that IPad. As time went on, that love of creating grew into a further passion for listening. What I was creating led me to look to new types of music to expand my taste and eventually I stumbled across the album “Madvillainy”. The disorientation I endured from that first track was unlike anything I had ever experienced. Discovering strange and more out-there music changed my life forever. This sparked a sudden change to my perspective of living. I wanted my life to be used solely for me to express myself and create the music that I wanted to hear. The more I listened, the more my musical appetite expanded to its full potential. Long gone were the days of listening to just what my parents had shown me on the radio when I was younger. Now it was anything that I could get my hands on. Listening to new and exciting thoughts and ideas helped me to figure out more about myself as a person and what I believe and think. The sounds of my favorite artists became vibrant paints of which I would then utilize to create my work on a canvas of my imagination to develop sounds and songs completely unique to myself. Through my growing ability to listen and develop my personal interests, my artistry has grown immensely. The times I spent on my bedroom floor with that IPad and the first glimpses of my creativity have transformed into a fuller love and deeper appreciation for producing songs. I poured hours into studying and research for tools, apps, gear, and more that would build my production ability. Eventually I would work to save up enough money to buy Ableton Live Intro. This purchase changed my life. I worked on projects every single day on my Mom’s old gray laptop which shut down constantly. These setbacks did not affect me though. As time went on I joined my high school’s Music Production Club, which pushed me further into my musical obsession. Every Wednesday after school I came to the club ready to work and to improve myself. Through the club, I experienced my first collaborative adventures and found a love for working with other artists. The club provided me with experiences that I look forward to applying in my future endeavors as they helped me grow my skills. I utilize my ability to listen and ingratiate these arts within myself to become the best version of myself possible. I want to explore so many different paths with music and art and eventually provide a space for creatives to share their talents to the world. Music has always been a huge part of my life but the ability to create it has brought forth so much joy and satisfaction to my life. Music has led me on a self discovery journey as I'm able to fully express all parts of myself within it. Music has changed my life in ways I never thought possible, and for that I'm forever grateful.