My health journey as a young black woman has been a transformational path of self-discovery, self-love, and empowerment. Like many others, I faced societal pressures and expectations that often neglected the importance of holistic well-being. But as I began to embrace my identity and background, I realized that prioritizing my health was an act of self-preservation and an act of love for my community. In my teenage years, I struggled with body image issues, constantly feeling the weight of unrealistic beauty standards. I grew up not seeing much black girl representation in the media and seeing/hearing the praise of white people. Black women were undesirable and seeing that while I was in middle school added to the self-hatred. However, as I dove deeper into my black culture and heritage, I found strength in embracing my body as it is. I learned to celebrate my hair, skin, and my shape, breaking free from the chains of comparison and embracing my unique essence. Understanding the significance of mental health in the black community, I took it upon myself to look up to black women. Breaking the stigma surrounding mental health was liberating, and it opened doors to healing and self-empowerment. I began journaling, practicing mindfulness, and finding solace in meditation to nourish my mind, body, and soul. On my health journey, I realized the importance of nourishing my body with whole foods and continuing in sports and fitness. I incorporated more fruits, vegetables, and protein into my diet. I was able to find a balance by adopting healthier cooking methods and exploring plant-based alternatives. As a young woman, physical fitness became an avenue of self-expression and strength for me. Engaging in activities like running, swimming, yoga, and weight lifting allowed me to embrace my body's strength and agility, challenging the notion that fitness had to conform to specific standards. Moreover, I became more intentional about nurturing my relationships and surrounding myself with a supportive community. Connecting with other young black women who shared similar experiences created a sense of sisterhood, where we uplifted and encouraged each other on our health journeys. Embracing my health journey as a young black woman has been a profound act of self-love and empowerment. It's a continuous evolution of celebrating my roots, dismantling societal norms, and embracing my body, mind, and spirit with unapologetic authenticity. By prioritizing my health, I am not only empowering myself but also inspiring others to embrace their identities and strive for a healthy lifestyle.

Life has presented me with numerous challenges that have tested my resilience and determination as a black woman growing up in a single-family household. From a young age, I faced financial hardships that threatened to shatter my dreams. But I refused to let circumstances define me. With the unwavering support of my strong-willed mother, I navigated through the storm, working multiple part-time jobs, and seeking scholarships to pursue my education in acquiring a Bachelor's Degree. The adversities I encountered have profoundly shaped my perspective and deepened my empathy for others in similar situations. My personal journey ignited a fire within me to give back to my community, especially those who face similar struggles daily. As I look ahead, I see myself making a significant impact on my community by providing support and resources to the homeless, at-risk youth, and those battling mental health challenges. I want to be a beacon of hope for them, guiding them through their darkest days and empowering them to build a brighter future. My passion for mental health awareness is rooted in my own family's experiences. Witnessing the stigma surrounding mental health issues within the black community, I am determined to create safe spaces for individuals to seek help without judgment. I aspire to partner with mental health organizations to advocate for accessible and culturally sensitive mental health services for all. Growing up, education was heavily enforced, and it can be a powerful tool for change. I want to initiate community-based projects that offer educational opportunities, skill development, and pathways to stable employment for underserved individuals. Collaborating with local nonprofits and government agencies, I want to break down barriers and create avenues for prosperity. Beyond my professional journey, I firmly believe in the power of volunteerism and community engagement. By inspiring others to get involved, we can create a ripple effect of positive change. Hosting and participating in community events, workshops, and awareness campaigns, I aim to bring people together and foster a sense of unity in tackling the pressing issues we face. Triumphing through adversity has shown me the strength that lies within, and I embrace my identity as a black woman with pride and resilience. My commitment to serving my community is deeply rooted in the belief that together, we can overcome any challenges. I am driven by the vision of a compassionate, inclusive, and thriving society for everyone, where no one is left behind. With love and determination, I am determined to be a force of positive change, lighting up lives along the way.

I was always a happy child, never concerned about others' opinions and simply focused on pursuing what brought me joy. However, my experience took a turn when I entered a new middle school at the age of 11, where I encountered numerous unfamiliar faces from different elementary schools. It was during this period that I began suppressing my true personality, fearing judgment and the potential for criticism. Consequently, I distanced myself from my friends and family, which was particularly challenging as I am the only child living with a single mother. As I grew older, this behavior resulted in insomnia and struggles with my self-image. It took time and effort to rebuild a healthy relationship with myself. To navigate these challenges, I turned to self-help books, journaling, meditation, and the support of positive individuals. Through reading self-help books, I discovered strategies to cope with my emotions and the difficulties of my environment. Journaling became a vital outlet for self-expression and reflection, helping me process my experiences. Meditation, on the other hand, provided a sense of calm and clarity amidst the turmoil. Equally important was the presence of a supportive network, which played a significant role in my journey of self-discovery and personal growth. These transformative practices enabled me to gradually restore my self-esteem and establish a deep connection with my inner self. I learned to embrace my true identity without fear of judgment, reclaiming the happiness and authenticity that had once defined me. Having overcome these personal challenges, I now possess a profound empathy and understanding for others facing similar struggles.

For most of my life, I have been involved in many sports. Gymnastics, basketball, cross country, track, taekwondo, swimming, and ballet. Only to continue swimming and running as I got older. Being an athlete throughout the 13 years of my life has taught me many valuable skills and lessons that I hold with me today. It taught me to be dedicated, a team player, and perseverant. Middle school and high school are when I took swimming seriously. I joined my town’s swim team and trained throughout the seasons to improve my speed and technique. At a young age, this taught me the importance of determination. Doing something that I am passionate about drove me to work harder to see improvement. From coming in first and second place to not even placing at all, these lessons shaped my life. I learned to overcome hardships and that failure is part of the journey. To persevere against adversity and to let go of what’s holding me back. I continued swimming throughout high school and started running cross country and track to improve my lung capacity and endurance for swimming. Through athletics, I received the consistent exercise I required to maintain good health, gain muscle, and strengthen my bones. As a student, I had to balance school while participating in multiple sports at once, which was extremely stressful, but sports helped me mentally by lowering tension and stress. During my time with my teammates, I developed a love for hard work and shared valuable memories. It was a great opportunity for me to become a part of an inclusive community and meet people from different backgrounds. We had to work together to be able to achieve a common goal. This experience taught me about leadership, communication, and problem-solving. This was an amazing opportunity to inspire and teach each other, and I am glad I made a family out of it. Athletics have taught me valuable lessons, to persevere, be devoted, and work well as a team. Furthermore, I was surrounded by people who shared similar passions and trained regularly to keep myself in shape. As a result, I maintained my social, emotional, and physical well-being. Through hardships and learning how to balance and organize my life, I overcame difficulties and gained meaningful friends. Sports were one of my main interests and a great teacher for me during my life. I will always be grateful for the knowledge, insights, and inspiration it provided me with.

In life, we all experience hardships, losses, stress, depression, etc. While those are all normal feelings, it is important to let go of the past and the causes of that negativity and instead, live in the present. Despite achieving many personal goals, stepping away from the past was crucial to my personal development. As social creatures, we value human connections. There is a sense of belonging and companionship which can develop into supportive friendships. When we need advice, someone to vent to, a laugh, a travel buddy, or to share accomplishments, they are always there. While they bring us joy and companionship, it is also necessary to let them go due to many reasons; negativity, growing apart, and life challenges. This past year, I have faced unnecessary negativity from those who I thought were friends. Those relationships had to be re-evaluated. While losing a friend is difficult, it was liberating and helped me concentrate on the connections that made me happy. Another lesson I learned was to let go of my failures. We all experience failure at some point in our lives. The process of accepting and moving on from failure was difficult. However, it took a while for me to realize that my failures don't reflect my worth or abilities. Rather than dwelling on failures and feeling defeated, I needed to learn to embrace them as opportunities for learning and growth. Failure teaches valuable lessons that can be applied to future endeavors and helps build resilience. An effective way was journaling. I found it to be one of the best ways to talk about how I felt and to release everything I was bottling in. Self-compassion is another way to let go of failures. In the same way that one would treat a friend, one should be kind and understanding towards me. Self-criticism and negative self-talk only serve to hold individuals back and can lead to a vicious cycle of negative thinking. Practicing self-compassion, helped me develop a more positive relationship with myself and my failures, leading to greater resilience and a more optimistic outlook. Learning to let go was an essential part of my personal growth and development. By embracing failures as opportunities for growth and learning, practicing self-compassion, concentrating on my health, and relationships, and focusing on the present and future, I overcame failures and achieved my goals. Letting go is not the end, but rather the beginning of a journey toward success and personal growth.

Like many households, including mine, I grew up in a single-family home. When I was a baby, my mother and father made the decision to separate. I would wonder how my life would be different compared to now if my father was still part of my life. I know that my mother has tried her best fulfilling the roles of being a mother and father but it was never enough to fill the guidance of my father. Because of the absence of my father, I have become a strong, resilient, and mature person. Growing up in a single-parent home, I never had an issue when I was little with my mom and I until I was in fourth grade. I would envy my classmates and friends who had fathers visit them at school and the kids playing with their dads at the park. Once I started realizing that I didn't even remember what my dad looked like or never being able to have a strong relationship with my father, it started to really affect me. In school, I would lie to my friends that I had a close relationship with my father in order to fit in. I used to find myself dreaming about having a father like celebrating Father’s Day, and building a bond with him by simply just spending time together. In most cases, these daydreams resulted in me being in a sad state. The fact that I do not have a father to walk me down the aisle on my wedding day, never knowing which parent I would have a better relationship with, or never being able to create memories with him, really saddened me. How I used to deal with these feelings is to try to prevent the thoughts from my head. It is best to pretend that my father does not exist. Seeing my mom raise me by herself allowed me to have a lot of respect for her. I know it's definitely not easy providing for me without a significant other, but she is always attempting to make my life easier; because of that, I love her. Since I have a hardworking mother who loves and cares for me, I have learned to let go of the past and have realized that I do not need a father. Tasks that a father could do, my mother has probably done. My mother is my father. “Getting over a painful experience is much like crossing monkey bars. You have to go at some point in order to move forward.” (Lewis). This quote by C.S. Lewis relates to my hardship because I have realized that holding on to that bad experience has held me back from what was more important. If I would have never grown into the person that I am now if I was still stuck on thoughts that I had no control over. I have grown into a strong, mature, resilient, and independent person. I have grown to appreciate my mother's hard work as well as develop an idea of what's more important in life. Even though my father wasn't in my life, I had learned to move on as Lewis suggests. In doing so, I now have a new appreciation for single mothers.

College is often viewed as the next step toward a successful career in many households. While there may be some truth to that, the cost of school holds many people back. Loans may provide financial assistance to people in need due to the escalating expense of higher education, but they also pose a risk to long-term financial stability. Some households can't even afford to make the loan repayments. The greatest way to get aid without piling up debt from student loans is to receive scholarships. I have been taking out federal and private loans to aid with the cost of tuition since my freshman year of college in 2018. Aside from the Laurie Ackerman Student Scholarship and the Columbia High School Scholarship, I did not get any other financial aid. I was raised in a single-parent home where my mother worked six days a week to support us. She is in charge of paying the monthly mortgage, as well as the costs of maintaining the house, maintaining the vehicle, and covering any other expenses so she simply can not afford to cover the cost of my tuition. Since high school, I have put forth a lot of effort. To relieve my mother's stress as a single parent who works full-time, I was employed for my first job as a lifeguard when I was 16 years old. I have worked many jobs while attending college full-time, frequently two jobs at once. Every month I have been paying off my debt with the money I have been saving. I have also been applying for scholarships and re-negotiating my financial aid. In the future, I will continue to pay off my debts through automatic payments, budgeting, and speaking with my loan servicer. Every month, automatic payments will be sent to my lender, so I don't have to do it myself. Automatic payment of student loans with this method ensures I'll never miss a payment and that my loans are always paid on time. By making a budget, I can have a clear understanding of my monthly income and the most effective way to spend it. I can do this by calculating my income and paying close attention to my expenses, such as groceries, subscriptions, shopping, dining out, etc., to better understand my long-term spending patterns. Then make a list, rating which areas are the most important to spend my money on initially. If I need extra guidance, I can receive any help from my student loan servicer to provide assistance to help me successfully repay my debt.

Like many households, including mine, I grew up in a single family home. When I was a baby, my mother and father made the decision to separate. I would wonder how my life would be different compared to now if my father was still part of my life. I know that my mother has tried her best fulfilling the roles of being a mother and father but it was never enough to fill the guidance of my father but because of the absence of my father, I have become a strong, resilient, and mature person. Seeing my mom raise me by herself allowed me to have a lot of respect for her. I know it's definitely not easy providing for me without a significant other, but she is always attempting to make my life easier; because of that, I love her. Since I have a hardworking mother who loves and cares for me, I have learned to let go of the past and have realized that I do not need a father. Tasks that a father could do, my mother has probably done. My mother is my father and I have since gained a new appreciation for single mothers. For as long as I can remember, my mother has always worked a full-time job, and another to supplement her income by working 6 days out of the week. I know it has not been easy managing all of the expenses on one income. She is responsible for paying the monthly mortgage, home repairs, car payments and repairs, medical insurance, dental and vision, and other miscellaneous expenses to take care of our needs. I am a current transfer student at Rutgers University. I did not receive any financial assistance, other than the Columbia High School Scholarship and the Laurie Ackerman Student Scholarship, for which I am so grateful and honored. I did not receive other scholarships and grants, as a result, I applied for college loans. My mother makes monthly payments on school loans. These past two semesters, I commuted to school by taking a bus and train 3 days out of the week to also lower the cost of my tuition. The first job I got was at the age of 16, lifeguarding at my local town pool and I've worked hard ever since to ease my mom's stress. I have applied to FAFSA but have never received anything even though I have a single mother who works full time. She has inspired me to work hard in anything I put my mind towards. Regardless of what is going on in her life, she works hard to provide for me and maintains a positive attitude. Every day she spreads an infectiously positive outlook on life by speaking Bible verses to me for inspiration every day. All I want is for one day to set her free from working hard to pay the bills and my tuition, and to let her do what she loves every day.

Many people, like myself, grew up in single-family homes. When I was a baby, my mother and father separated, and my mother did her best to fulfill the roles of mother and father. I've developed into a strong, tough, and mature person as a result of my father's absence. Seeing my mom raise me by herself allowed me to have a lot of respect for her. I know it's definitely not easy providing for me without a significant other, but she is always attempting to make my life easier; because of that, I love her. Since I have a hardworking mother who loves and cares for me, I have learned to let go of the past and have realized that I do not need a father. Tasks that a father could do, my mother has probably done. My mother is my father and I have since gained a new appreciation for single mothers. For as long as I can remember, my mother has always worked a full-time job, and another to supplement her income by working 6 days out of the week. I know it has not been easy managing all of the expenses on one income. She is responsible for paying the monthly mortgage, home repairs, car payments and repairs, medical insurance, dental and vision, and other miscellaneous expenses to take care of our needs. I am a current transfer student at Rutgers University. I did not receive any financial assistance, other than the Columbia High School Scholarship and the Laurie Ackerman Student Scholarship, for which I am so grateful and honored. I did not receive other scholarships and grants, as a result, I applied for college loans. My mother makes monthly payments on school loans. These past two semesters, I commuted to school by taking a bus and train 3 days out of the week to also lower the cost of my tuition. The first job I got was at the age of 16, lifeguarding at my local town pool and I've worked hard ever since to ease my mom's stress. I have applied to FAFSA but have never received anything even though I have a single mother who works full time. She has inspired me to work hard in anything I put my mind towards. Regardless of what is going on in her life, she works hard to provide for me and maintains a positive attitude. Every day she spreads an infectiously positive outlook on life by speaking Bible verses to me for inspiration every day. All I want is for one day to set her free from working hard to pay the bills and my tuition, and to let her do what she loves every day.

It was discovered that I had allergies at 6 months old when my mom located hives on my back. Since then she switched to natural snd nonscented soaps. At 6 years old, my teacher pointed out that I had a bad rash all over my body. I remember seeing large bumps and scratching my body every second. I was then tested for allergies and realized I was allergic to almost everything ranging from cod fish, wheat, pork, peanuts and tree nuts, dust, pollen, sesame seeds, corn, mustard, coconuts, chickpeas, cats, dogs, grass, trees, dairy, nickel, etc. I was also diagnosed with eczema. My food options were severely limited due to my food sensitivities, and I was put on a gluten-free diet as well as a permanent transition to soy milk. I had to take allergy shots every Wednesday until I was 13 years old in order to reduce/eliminate my allergies, which eventually worked, and I was issued an EpiPen. I have to be extra cautious with peanuts and nuts because I have so many sensitivities. Many people mix nuts into everything, so I have to double-check at restaurants and with friends and family to see whether something has nuts in it. Reading the ingredients of food items is also important. There have been a couple of times that I have consumed nuts from others giving me food and the experience was very traumatizing. As a university student who lives on campus, I'm always aware of what I'm eating, and it's incredibly convenient that my school can mark whether anything is vegan, contains peanuts/nuts, or is dairy-free. Allergies have a negative impact on my work performance and focus. Fatigue and congestion are common side effects, as are decreased concentration and productivity. I work with a variety of fruits and ingredients as a smoothie barista, including peanut butter and almond butter. Inhaling peanut butter causes me to sneeze, have a stuffy nose, scratch my eyes and throat, and have shortness of breath. As a result, I've chosen to resign from my current job. In any career, I'd need to be prepared by taking Benadryl, carrying my inhaler and EpiPen, and informing my supervisor and coworkers about my allergies. If I am awarded this scholarship, I will be able to achieve my educational and career aspirations. My part-time job hasn't been enough to save for college tuition because it's so expensive. This has caused me to take out loans as well as my mom to work extra hours to be able to afford my education. During my undergraduate studies, I intend to work, but I also intend to devote a large amount of time to my studies. If I am awarded this scholarship, I will be able to reduce my educational costs and the number of hours I will have to work during my studies. As a result, I am able to continue working towards my academic goals. It will also provide me with the opportunity to search for an internship.