Growing up I never really had true friends. My mom was a single parent and we moved around a lot. I would come to school in the middle of the year or when my class was already three grade levels in. The kids viewed me as an outsider and treated me as one. One year, I attended a new school and there was one girl who didn’t treat me as if I was an alien. She was nice to me and finally showed me what it was like to have a real friend. After being at the school for almost a year, it was finally time to go into 5th grade. At my elementary school, 5th grade was the highest level, so after that, I’d have to go to a different middle school, but before I could even get a taste of my 5th-grade year with the friends that I’d finally made, my mom broke the news to me that I would be going to another school for 5th grade. I was devastated. Once I arrived at this new school everything was different. I was in an environment with much older kids, we had to wear uniforms, and I had no friends again. The kids at my new school always had the newest shoes and accessories, meanwhile, I’d had the same shoes since middle school. There's nothing wrong with wearing old shoes, especially seeing as though they were all I had, but the kids made me feel horrible about it. Not until my 7th-grade year did I find a group of girls who immolated that same feeling of security within a friendship that I hadn’t experienced since 4th grade. These girls helped me find myself. I was so insecure about wearing old clothes when everyone else had something new every week, but they helped me realize that the newest thing isn't always the best thing. They never criticized me and were friends with me for who I was and not what I had. Now that I’ve gotten older I’ve seen how materialistic people can still be. I see people making jokes about old clothes someone is wearing or how dirty their shoes are, but this is the last thing they should be doing and I want to help people realize this. To help out my community, I plan to attend college and major in graphic design and business. Because I want to attend school in a different state when I graduate I plan on returning home and opening a boutique. Not only will I create clothes to sell for personal profit, but I want to take a percentage of what I earn from selling my designs and put that into a line of clothes to create for those who need them. This may not fix the mindsets of those doing the antagonizing, but I will be able to help young girls who cannot afford the newest clothes come back in style. They won’t have to worry about being criticized based on what they have because I plan to be there to help. As of now, I don’t have the knowledge or budget to pursue my dream, but whenever I can I find items that I don’t see myself in anymore and I donate them to women and girls in need. This taught me that anyone can be in these predicaments it’s just a matter of how you deal with the situation and who is willing to help.

Growing up I never really had true friends. My mom was a single parent and we moved around a lot. I would come to school in the middle of the year or when my class was already three grade levels in. The kids viewed me as an outsider and treated me as one. One year, I attended a new school and there was one girl who didn’t treat me as if I was an alien. She was nice to me and finally showed me what it was like to have a real friend. After being at the school for almost a year, it was finally time to go into 5th grade. At my elementary school, 5th grade was the highest level, so after that, I’d have to go to a different middle school, but before I could even get a taste of my 5th-grade year with the friends that I’d finally made, my mom broke the news to me that I would be going to another school for 5th grade. I was devastated. Once I arrived at this new school everything was different. I was in an environment with much older kids, we had to wear uniforms, and I had no friends again. The kids at my new school always had the newest shoes and accessories, meanwhile, I’d had the same shoes since middle school. There's nothing wrong with wearing old shoes, especially seeing as though they were all I had, but the kids made me feel horrible about it. Not until my 7th-grade year did I find a group of girls who immolated that same feeling of security within a friendship that I hadn’t experienced since 4th grade. These girls helped me find myself. I was so insecure about wearing old clothes when everyone else had something new every week, but they helped me realize that the newest thing isn't always the best thing. They never criticized me and were friends with me for who I was and not what I had. Now that I’ve gotten older I’ve seen how materialistic people can still be. I see people making jokes about old clothes someone is wearing or how dirty their shoes are, but this is the last thing they should be doing and I want to help people realize this. To help out my community, I plan to attend college and major in graphic design and business. Because I want to attend school in a different state when I graduate I plan on returning home and opening a boutique. Not only will I create clothes to sell for personal profit, but I want to take a percentage of what I earn from selling my designs and put that into a line of clothes to create for those who need them. This may not fix the mindsets of those doing the antagonizing, but I will be able to help young girls who cannot afford the newest clothes come back in style. They won’t have to worry about being criticized based on what they have because I plan to be there to help. As of now, I don’t have the knowledge or budget to pursue my dream, but whenever I can I find items that I don’t see myself in anymore and I donate them to women and girls in need. I also create women's care baskets and hand them out to women on the streets because anyone can be in these predicaments it’s just a matter of how you deal with the situation and who is willing to help.

Growing up I never really had true friends. My mom was a single parent and we moved around a lot. I would come to school in the middle of the year or when my class was already three grade levels in. The kids viewed me as an outsider and treated me as one. One year, I attended a new school and there was one girl who didn’t treat me as if I was an alien. She was nice to me and finally showed me what it was like to have a real friend. After being at the school for almost a year, it was finally time to go into 5th grade. At my elementary school, 5th grade was the highest level, so after that, I’d have to go to a different middle school, but before I could even get a taste of my 5th-grade year with the friends that I’d finally made, my mom broke the news to me that I would be going to another school for 5th grade. I was devastated. Once I arrived at this new school everything was different. I was in an environment with much older kids, we had to wear uniforms, and I had no friends again. The kids at my new school always had the newest shoes and accessories, meanwhile, I’d had the same shoes since middle school. There's nothing wrong with wearing old shoes, especially seeing as though they were all I had, but the kids made me feel horrible about it. Not until my 7th-grade year did I find a group of girls who immolated that same feeling of security within a friendship that I hadn’t experienced since 4th grade. These girls helped me find myself. I was so insecure about wearing old clothes when everyone else had something new every week, but they helped me realize that the newest thing isn't always the best thing. They never criticized me and were friends with me for who I was and not what I had. Now that I’ve gotten older I’ve seen how materialistic people can still be. I see people making jokes about old clothes someone is wearing or how dirty their shoes are, but this is the last thing they should be doing and I want to help people realize this. To help out my community, I plan to attend college and major in graphic design and business. Because I want to attend school in a different state when I graduate I plan on returning home and opening a boutique. Not only will I create clothes to sell for personal profit, but I want to take a percentage of what I earn from selling my designs and put that into a line of clothes to create for those who need them. This may not fix the mindsets of those doing the antagonizing, but I will be able to help young girls who cannot afford the newest clothes come back in style. They won’t have to worry about being criticized based on what they have because I plan to be there to help. As of now, I don’t have the knowledge or budget to pursue my dream, but whenever I can I find items that I don’t see myself in anymore and I donate them to women and girls in need. I also create women's care baskets and hand them out to women on the streets because anyone can be in these predicaments it’s just a matter of how you deal with the situation and who is willing to help.