Smartphones have become a bit of a hot topic within the last few years- with some concerned parents claiming they are controlling their kids and causing them to do hood-rat deeds such as not talking at the dinner tables, others claim it helps them get the day-to-day essentials done such as helping the complete work tasks, keep in contact with people outside their space and in some cases can even be used as a virtual babysitter. For myself, it’s been kind of neutral overall. I grew up in the mid-2000s up until the 2010’s, and because of that cellphones with people around my age weren’t really all that big, of course you had a few kids with the rich parents that got them a razor flip phone, a black berry, or even the old school IOS 3 iPhone, but overall, it just wasn’t all that common yet. Of course, by the time I hit Junior High it did become that popular, however growing up as a young kid we still went outside and played games and all those things the older generation chastises the youngins for not doing. When they did become popular social events did become more closed off, with people paying less attention to each other and more busy checking their phones to see if they had missed a text from their folks or as social media became getting bigger for our age group, that. It was a slow build. People became more engrossed with checking their devices, but we still had that memory of the times of going outside and getting into different sorts of trouble and because of that would be able to go do that once more. Phones became big with our generation with the “checking in” every few hours or so. It makes sense- you don’t want your kid going missing because you didn’t know they were in a bad part of town; you want to make sure their safe. Often hanging out with my buddies there would be a timer set for everyone to check in with their folks and let them know that they are alright in some shape or form. As I got older by about five years, my phone ended up with a whole new purpose, one not as widely shared as others; I am a type-one diabetic, and because of that I now have a sensor hooked to the side of my body, which connects to my phone to tell me what my blood sugar is. It has alerts incase there is something I ever need to take care of, and is incredibly helpful while I am at work to let me know that I am good to go before and during my shift. Every generation has a different take with the way smartphones are used, some thinking no good will come of them, my generation that was the introductory period to them, and this coming generation that will only know them. I don’t know what the future will hold in regards to cellphones, however I can say that overall my experience has been neutral to positive.

People need good role models in their lives, they help us from making bad choices or getting into trouble that could be avoided with someone there to guide us. In some cases it can be a Father, or a Father Figure, it can be your Ma or a Woman in your life who helps keep you on the straight and narrow, a Grand Parent, somebody you work with, a Teacher- anyone that guides you to being a better you. For myself; it was my Oldest Brother who became my role model. On April 3rd 2019, our Father shot himself in the chest to take his life in our house with my Little Brother and I in the house, I told him to give me his phone to call the police as mine was damaged, and ran into the room to find my Father bleeding to death, and I held a folded t-shirt to his chest while on the phone with 911 as he died. Our Oldest Brother, Christian was living in Austin at the time, and we were in Houston, but he dropped everything and came down with his Fiancé, and his Mom who was my Dad's first Wife way back when he was in the Army and stationed in Germany. He came and got us, found us a safe place to stay, and immediately began working on what the next steps were. We had the easy part, we just had to survive the next few months till the end of the school year with our sanity- Chris and his wife had to fight my Mother legally in an attempt to adopt us and take us out of the cycle of violence we had endured growing up our entire lives. After putting a lot of money and time into it, things finally went our way and we were able to restart our lives with Christian and his wife. Since then things have been great, settled into much more healthier life styles, no fighting, and overall just living better lives. There is a debt that I owe the both of them that I could never possibly repay, they took on two traumatized kids right before getting married and added a whole slew of stresses into their lives that nobody would have blamed them if they did not accept. I can only hope that because of the events that went down and the way things went, that I can be half a good as a man as my Older Brother.

2020 and what it entailed, COVID, Civil Unrest, and personal highs and lows have taught me a lot. I never thought one year could hold so many kicks to the head, even after having lost my Father in front of my eyes to suicide in 2019. 2020 was a different beast however- it was the first moment I had to sit there and really think of the events of the last year- at first it was harrowing and genuinely awful, but as I learned to come to terms with my past it became easier to realistically work things out- there was nothing I could have done to prevent the event, and the outcome inevitably changed my life for the better as it moved me out of a toxic and dangerous environment that I had grown up in my entire life. Being stuck at home for months took it's toll and eventually I picked up some work at the our local HEB- the Texas Walmart essentially. It had been the first time I was around people outside my Brothers and Sister In Law, and it helped further get me out of the negative mindset that constant isolation had brought. I met some great friends, and even a pretty lady I would end up sparking an amazing relationship with that is still young, but going strong today. The last bit of the year brought another sprout of growth- I got out of a dead relationship that was one of the last things holding me back. School had started and it was December, COVID was finally winding down and I felt like I had a new perspective on life and what I needed and wanted, but I wasn't being totally truthful to myself. I was in a relationship with a woman that had died months before, but I wasn't strong enough to say it, and I don't believe she was either until it reached a certain point. After it became apparent we only talked about three things; two of them being how unhappy she was and how the best part of her day was seeing another guy- eventually it came to ahead and we took a break. It was a lot like the initial COVID lockdown, isolated and lonely, but by the time the week ended and we started talking; it was apparent it was over, and she took the decision to end things. To her credit; there were no hard feelings on either side and I'm glad she did what she did, because I know there was little chance I would have done it myself and it has allowed me to explore myself more as I had at the beginning of the lockdowns, and again realize what I need and deserve. COVID brought a lot of mental lows; but it also brought quite a bit of enlightment and helped me realize a lot of things about my past- and what I want for my future.

2020 and what it entailed, COVID, Civil Unrest, and personal highs and lows have taught me a lot. I never thought one year could hold so many kicks to the head, even after having lost my Father in front of my eyes to suicide in 2019. 2020 was a different beast however- it was the first moment I had to sit there and really think of the events of the last year- at first it was harrowing and genuinely awful, but as I learned to come to terms with my past it became easier to realistically work things out- there was nothing I could have done to prevent the event, and the outcome inevitably changed my life for the better as it moved me out of a toxic and dangerous environment that I had grown up in my entire life. Being stuck at home for months took it's toll and eventually I picked up some work at the our local HEB- the Texas Walmart essentially. It had been the first time I was around people outside my Brothers and Sister In Law, and it helped further get me out of the negative mindset that constant isolation had brought. I met some great friends, and even a pretty lady I would end up sparking an amazing relationship with that is still young, but going strong today. The last bit of the year brought another sprout of growth- I got out of a dead relationship that was one of the last things holding me back. School had started and it was December, COVID was finally winding down and I felt like I had a new perspective on life and what I needed and wanted, but I wasn't being totally truthful to myself. I was in a relationship with a woman that had died months before, but I wasn't strong enough to say it, and I don't believe she was either until it reached a certain point. After it became apparent we only talked about three things; two of them being how unhappy she was and how the best part of her day was seeing another guy- eventually it came to ahead and we took a break. It was a lot like the initial COVID lockdown, isolated and lonely, but by the time the week ended and we started talking; it was apparent it was over, and she took the decision to end things. To her credit; there were no hard feelings on either side and I'm glad she did what she did, because I know there was little chance I would have done it myself and it has allowed me to explore myself more as I had at the beginning of the lockdowns, and again realize what I need and deserve. COVID brought a lot of mental lows; but it also brought quite a bit of enlightment and helped me realize a lot of things about my past- and what I want for my future.

We all have that one teacher who has made an enormous impact on our lives. It could be a gym teacher who inspired you to get into shape, an English teacher who checked up on your wellbeing, or any kind of teacher who you truly connected with. While at the time we may not think much of it, as maybe they are just a cool teacher, as we grow older you begin to realize that these teachers truly care about the wellbeing and health of their students. For me, this was my Chemistry teacher Mrs. A. My Sophomore year was full of crazy events and probably one of the most tragic years of my life. I lived in an abusive household, and I was constantly stressed out. In December my Mother falsely called the police on my Father and got him arrested and forced my brothers and I to move to Georgia where we spent a month living in a room while our Dad tried to get us back. Due to us leaving in December, I had missed my midterms, but my Chemistry teacher was very kind and allowed me a grade boost due to our situation. In April, my Father couldn’t keep up with the legal battle and bills and took his own life, the one day I missed due to school was the day of a chemistry test. My oldest brother who I now lived with emailed all my teachers about what happened, and my Chemistry teacher talked to me and checked on me. She would always check on me and help me when I needed, and because of her I felt safe in her class. She has inspired me to be the best version of myself I can be, and face the world with her kindness.

Unlike a lot of your applicants, there is something different about me. I have a certain drive when it comes to accomplishing what needs to be done, something I learned the end of sophomore year. On April 3rd, 2019, my single Father had shot himself in the chest in our home, and I got to watch him die in front of me. A lot of people told me to take time off from everything, to sit things out and recover, but I couldn’t do it, so after all the police interviews, I was back in class doing what I do best, putting my all in my work. While this may not have been the healthiest way to grieve, I was able to push out all my negative thoughts and complete the school year living at my best friend’s house with around a 4.0 GPA and good standing with my JROTC unit at the time. What sets me apart, and why I deserve this scholarship is that I am not only a survivor, but I can work through my problems and still be effective in everything I do. I am strong, and determined and when I have a goal, there is little to nothing that can stand between me and my goals. The saying “Excellence in all we do” from the AFJROCT corps values has stuck with me ever since my freshmen year, and I implement it with everything I do, and that includes all future goals in my life.

College is expensive, and it only gets more costly by the year. What our parents may have been able to study for a few thousand dollars is now tens of thousands, if not over a hundred grand depending on where you’re going and what you’re planning on doing major wise. When you’re young you don’t really understand the importance of money, yeah you pay for where you live, you buy food with it and you pay some bills here and there, but when you’re a dumb teenager, what’s the harm in blowing through your checks you get from your part time job? That is where a big problem comes into play, as a lot of people, including myself, do not realize that the money we make is incredibly needed for the upcoming years when we go off to college. However, without my need for money being taken into consideration, I believe there are other reasons I deserve this scholarship. I’m not a stranger to putting in the extra work to get things that needed to be done for some extra money, my Dad was a staff sergeant in the Army back in the 90s, back when sergeants could be mean and tough and all that, which was how he could be on his kids sometimes. It’s funny how people nowadays look down on that kind of behavior and attitude, but with the way we all turned out I don’t see much of a problem with it. My brothers and I all turned out to be the best versions of ourselves, with my oldest brother being a top dog at an auditing firm in Austin, me on my way to graduate high school and begin the road to a career in law enforcement, and a little brother killing it in his academics. My Dad taught us that anything worth doing is worth over doing, and that if you’re going to do something, really anything, that you should do it right the first time, and he taught this over and over again in our lives. I attribute my hard working attitude and ethic to my Pops, I’m hungry for success and I want to change the world for the better, and this scholarship could really help me do that, as cost is a big worry for me, and I will be getting little if any help from family to go to school. Aside from just my work ethic, my Pops inspired another aspect of my life to me that I still hold today. Ever since I was a little kid, I wanted to join the Army or the Marines and serve my country just like my Father did in the gulf war and Desert Storm. However, this dream sadly could never become a reality with the diagnoses of diabetes at the age of 7. It took me a good long while to figure out however, that I can still serve my country and community without the military. My Dad helped make me realize I wanted to serve the people in my country and community in any way I can, and with this scholarship I can begin the road to start my career in law enforcement, and help track and take down evil that lurks in our communities.

I get bored, like really easy so a lot of the time if I happen to have either of my guitars in my hand when I get bored I'll just start strumming chords that I know go together in different rhythms, sometimes try to free style it till I realize I'm repeating the same thing over and over just slightly different, and have a grand old time.

I’m not a stranger to putting in the extra work to get things that needed to be done for some extra money, my Dad was a staff sergeant in the Army back in the 90s, back when sergeants could be mean and tough and all that, which was how he could be on his kids sometimes. It’s funny how people nowadays look down on that kind of behavior and attitude, but with the way we all turned out I don’t see much of a problem with it. My brothers and I all turned out to be the best versions of ourselves, with my oldest brother being a top dog at an auditing firm in Austin, me on my way to graduate high school and begin the road to a career in law enforcement, and a little brother killing it in his academics. My Dad taught us that anything worth doing is worth over doing, and that if you’re going to do something, really anything, that you should do it right the first time, and he taught this over and over again in our lives. I attribute my hard working attitude and ethic to my Pops, I’m hungry for success and I want to change the world for the better, and this scholarship could really help me do that, as cost is a big worry for me, and I will be getting little if any help from family to go to school. Aside from just my work ethic, my Pops inspired another aspect of my life to me that I still hold today. Ever since I was a little kid, I wanted to join the Army or the Marines and serve my country just like my Father did in the gulf war and Desert Storm. However, this dream sadly could never become a reality with the diagnoses of diabetes at the age of 7. It took me a good long while to figure out however, that I can still serve my country and community without the military. My Dad helped make me realize I wanted to serve the people in my country and community in any way I can, and with this scholarship I can begin the road to start my career in law enforcement, and help track and take down evil that lurks in our communities. While my Dad had a lot of influence on my view in the world and how I see things, I’ll never forget the lessons he taught me in his death. In 2019 my Father felt trapped, and was not only battling his own demons, but an uphill legal battle that took all our money. Seeing no other option, he took his life while my youngest brother was home. I went into his room and attempted to administrate aid until the police and medics arrived, however it was futile, he passed away while I was holding his chest wound. It was an awfully tragic night, which still haunts me to this day over a year later, but it made me realize something. I don’t want anyone going through the same thing my family went through, certainly not what I went through. If I can help change someone’s life for the better, even slightly, then I want to take that chance. With the scholarship your firm is offering, I can use it towards a career with the police and help change lives in anyway I can for the better. A lot of people are most likely applying for this scholarship; however, I believe out of all the candidates I have a leg up above the rest. With the strong work ethic my Dad instilled into me as a young boy, my desire to serve my community and country in anyway I can, my desire to impact peoples lives for the better and the experiences I’ve had in my life and still being able to function as a human being, I believe I have a strong career in law enforcement ahead of me, and your scholarship will greatly help me on that road.

I grew up a pretty normal kid, or at least till I was seven I thought. When I was 7 years old I ended up being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. That of course led to all the childhood problems, kids picking on me, getting ragged on, and all the teasing that we go through as kids. However the biggest kick in the stomach was the fact I could never join the Army like I wanted. That part didn't really mean much to me as a little kid, but as I got older it began hurting more. I wanted to try and be an Army Ranger, jump out of planes and do all the cool guy stuff! Unfortunately, life doesn't always work that way kids. The feeling of being different actually subsided as I hit high school, it was another factor that made me feel so different that my peers. Growing up, my home life was rough, my Mom drank and did drugs, fought with my Dad, and every so often someone got arrested. My Mom ended up doing a two year stint in Prison when I was still in Elementary school. I didn't think anything of this, I thought it was normal for the most part. The things I experienced weren't normal, but to me since I lived them everyday and night, they WERE normal and that was a problem I never realized until after my Father had killed himself in our home after our Mom had finally left for good. I moved in with my buddy after this and thats where I realized how messed up my childhood was. The family I was living with was normal, they didn't fight, they didn't abuse drugs or alcohol, and they liked each other! This kinda made me realize I had an extremely abnormal childhood, from having to worry about my parents fighting every night and having diabetes. But it made me stronger, and it put me on the path of life that I am on and I wouldn't change it for the world.

2017 was an incredibly rough year for the people of Houston. Hurricane Harvey flooded several areas around the city, causing people to lose their homes, businesses and for a lot of unfortunate people, their lives. As tragic as Hurricane Harvey was with its loss of life and destruction of property, something beautiful thankfully came out of it all. There was a unity and sense of community that has all but been lost these days with all the craziness happening in our world. People came together to pull pets and children out of the wreckage of homes, people took their personal canoes and boats into the flooded parts of the city to find people to pull out and give them food, water and aid if needed, and we all worked together to help clean up our city. Because of my involvement with JROTC at the time and our second part of our honor statement being “service before self”, a lot of us sprung into action, some working food banks, some delivering supplies to those in need, and my crew helping with the demolition and clean up of flooded houses. My house and the houses of the three best friends of mine on my team were very fortunate during the hurricane, the flooding stopped just below my house, and my other two buddies lived further up the streets, meaning they were even further from the flooding. While we ripped up rotting floorboards and knocked down flimsy, destroyed walls, it made me realize how lucky my family had gotten during the disaster. Here we were helping this family tear out everything in their house, while they were cleaning up their home which they had invested so much love, money and time. Sure what we were doing was tedious, hard and sometimes painful, but that physical pain from tiny cuts and bruises was nothing compared to that of what I can only imagine as this family watched the place they once lived happily be gutted by a group of neighbors, strangers, and teenagers. There was a lesson to be learned from all this heart ache and struggle however, everything we have can be lost in an instant moment, and because of that we got to enjoy what we have while we can, and that a united community is a beautiful thing, and I look forward to serving my own community someday. While I never hope for anything as horrible or traumatic to happen to our communities, the unity that came after, even for a short period of time was truly refreshing, and hopefully can be found again one day.

We all have that one teacher who has made an enormous impact on our lives. It could be a gym teacher who inspired you to get into shape, an English teacher who checked up on your wellbeing, or any kind of teacher who you truly connected with. While at the time we may not think much of it, as maybe they are just a cool teacher, as we grow older you begin to realize that these teachers truly care about the wellbeing and health of their students. For me, this was my Chemistry teacher Mrs. A. My Sophomore year was full of crazy events and probably one of the most tragic years of my life. I lived in an abusive household, and I was constantly stressed out. In December my Mother falsely called the police on my Father and got him arrested and forced my brothers and I to move to Georgia where we spent a month living in a room while our Dad tried to get us back. Due to us leaving in December, I had missed my midterms, but my Chemistry teacher was very kind and allowed me a grade boost due to our situation. In April, my Father couldn’t keep up with the legal battle and bills and took his own life, the one day I missed due to school was the day of a chemistry test. My oldest brother who I now lived with emailed all my teachers about what happened, and my Chemistry teacher talked to me and checked on me. She would always check on me and help me when I needed, and because of her I felt safe in her class. It really helped take a load off the already enormous plate that I had in front of me from the events that transpired, my Mother who I had a very strenuous relationship with was in town, we had our Dad’s funeral to figure out, how to pay for it, how to do it, what to do- and finishing the school year without falling down on my face and hurting my decent at best GPA. Eventually when the time finals came around, I was in theory supposed to take it due to having missed days after my Father died for police interviews, and then for the funeral, however when I went in, she told me not to worry about it and even gave me an extra credit opportunity to boost my grade from a high B to a low A and finish the year off strong. She has inspired me to be the best version of myself I can be, and face the world with her kindness.

Like most people who come down with Type 1 diabetes- it caught me off guard. I was seven years old at the time and my little brother had already come down with it when he was two, so my parents had a general idea of why I suddenly got incredibly sick without rhyme or reason. Going to the hospital in downtown Houston, forty-five minutes away from the outskirts where we lived from the city was terrifying, but I felt so awful, throwing up into a coffee tin my Father had given me incase I got sick, which I did. I hated the idea of needles after having seen my little brother go through it for the past three years at that point, I remember even attempting to hide under my bed to avoid having my blood sugar checked by my well intentioned, but over my drama Dad. Eventually he saw my blood sugar was high and that's when he handed me the empty coffee tin and we started the drive down town. I didn't really understand how this was going to effect my life once I got out of the hospital, I was young with a very small understanding of the word- I didn't know the dreams I had of a military career, or being an MMA fighter like Nate Diaz, or if my height allowed, which it didn't, being the next Kobe Bryant were in some instances crushed- albeit by diabetes on one end and lack of height on the other, was about to become impossible on one spectrum, and a lot harder on the others. I loved Modern Warfare 2- especially the campaign levels where you played as the 75th Ranger Battalion and played as the American forces. Special operations was something I was intrigued with going into my teens- my Father was in the Army and fought in Desert Storm and Kuwait, his brother an infantry Marine, their step-father a Navy SEAL, and a service record that dates back even further! I wanted to continue that line, join the Army, go through RASP (Ranger Assessment and Selection Program), and be Jason Bourne. Fast forward, I was a freshmen in high school, I was a JROTC Cadet, and I finally had my shot to talk to an Army recruiter. "Hi- I would like to sign up to jump out of planes with heavy back packs and run at bullets for minimum wage." "Well that's just fantastic- anything we should know?" "Well I'm type one diabetic." "… Well you have a great day bud, here's a lanyard!" Recruiters talk like that, right? My exact recollection is a little fuzzy. So... I couldn't join the Army. Maybe the Marines? They said no. Airforce might say yes though right, they are the most technological branch, maybe I can be the first Diabetic TAC-P. They shot me down like an A10. I didn't even bother with the Navy or Coast Guard. My dreams in those weeks talking to recruiter after recruiter were smashed. I felt awful, unwanted and had no plan. "Come on Uncle Sam- you let most of my family do it- why can't I dodge bullets and try not to get killed?" There was a silver lining however- I could still serve my country and community, on a much smaller scale. Police work is looked down upon, but I'm not in it for respect- I want to be more than my diabetes and not let it hinder me from being a force of good in a world of craziness. All scholarship money is going to this- and I will win.

In June of 2020 I got tired of being stuck at home, it had been three months of a two week quarantine and like most I was sick of it, I was depressed and I had just had my 17th birthday passed. My Sister-in-law's parents are travelers (my brother and wife are my guardians) and as a birthday gift they offered me the chance to go with them to Colorado as I had never been west of Texas or North of Oklahoma. I was terrified to say yes but gladly I got out of my comfort zone and went.

My whole life has been one big roller coaster from the moment I was born, till the time I was about sixteen, from my Ma being in and out of jail, my Father's demons becoming more and more of a struggle for him, my parent's constant fighting and watching my Father die in front of me when he turned the barrel of his gun on himself. However, all those things I have been able to survive, and move on from to allow myself to thrive, but there is something that hinders my ability to fill out one of my all time dreams. At the age of 7, I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. Yeah, big deal right? You held your dying Father but can't handle being sick? Well its more than that. Ever since I was a kid I wanted to join the Army, go to RASP (or RIP, not sure what they call it now a days), and become an Army Ranger, do my four years or more, and come back home to become a Law Enforcement Officer. Most of the details came more clear as I got older, but my dreams were shut down the moment I talked to a recruiter my freshmen year of high school. "Alright- you want to jump out of planes with heavy bags, and get shot at for minimum wage? Cool, is there anything I should know?" "Well- I'm type one diabetic." "Alright guy- here's a keychain, you have a good day now!". That's how recruiters talk right? That's my very rough recount of the conversation. Well, after that my dreams were crushed. I was devestated for a while, I wanted to be one of the "special operators" you see on TV and in Video games. However after a while I learned one part of that dream is still a possibility. I can still be a Law Enforcement Officer! So thats what I am working too right now, graduate High School, apply for all the scholarships I can, get my TCOLE license and associates degree in Criminal Justice and begin the second half of my dream. I may not be able to be a Ranger, but I can still do one of the things I always wanted to do.

A lot of us like to think that we don't need anyone, that we can survive alone in this crazy world. With 2020 and 2021 being as crazy as they were, I believe a lot of us even withdrew further- as to not risk connections going wrong as the world practically engulfs itself. Others see the problems we have as a society and ask themselves, "How do I get involved? What difference can I make?" They want to put out the fire taking over the world. For me, I know where I stand, and a simple but catastrophic incident helped me understand where I am on that spectrum. In late 2017, Hurricane Harvey decimated my city. People's homes and businesses were destroyed and people were left on the streets, waiting for the National Guard to come rescue them, not sure what is waiting for them on the other side of what is next. My family had been extremely lucky- a few houses down and beyond had all been underwater and people had to leave with their pets in their arms. The aftermath of Harvey was one of the most heartwarming experiences of the human race- everyone who in a regular day may not give each other the time of day, began helping each other, getting each other out of destroyed homes and buildings, carrying pets, giving out supplies, setting out in boats to go find survivors, it was absolutely incredible to see the Houston community come together to help one another. Because of this- it inspired me to make a career choice- I want to become a Law Enforcement Officer, I want to become involved in my community and I want to help people in their time in need, no matter how the world around me may be. We all have a choice to make in regards how we do, or do not get involved with our communities, and my life experiences has shown me the reward in being involved.

Being in an American is one of the labels I wear proudly- to say that I am an American is a privilege that not a lot of people understand. Regardless of your political opinions, how you feel about current or past events, we live in the most free country on the planet and while we may mess up sometimes, the American experience is an experiment that nobody thought would last as long as it did! The United States has given a lot of people a new life to make a good life for themselves, it's a country built by immigrants including my Father. My Pops was born in Puerto Rico, 1972, to single Mother. While they were doing their thing down there, around the time my Dad was a few years, old my Grandmother, met a Navy SEAL out of San Diego who was down there for whatever reason, most likely just hanging out, and they got together, and stayed in touch until he convinced her to take my Father and herself to San Diego, where she became pregnant with my Uncle. My Father then grew up in the inner city of San Diego during the mid 70s to early 80s and at the age of 17 he partially followed in his Step-fathers footsteps and enlisted into the Army. He went to several combat deployments, most notably Operation Desert Storm and Liberation of Kuwait as a Patriot Missile operator, meaning he waiting in a hot truck till they started getting shot at, or someone called in saying they were getting shot at and then proceeded to rain down death and destruction from the sky. At the rank of Staff Sergeant my Father then got out and took himself to El Paso, where he got his college degree and met my Mother. The story of my Father and his Mom are a great example of how great America is- a country that gave a poor Puerto Rican woman and her son the chance to come here, and then turned that son into a man who felt it was only right to give back to the country that gave him so much is a story that should be talked about more because there are many like it! You can become American, there are systems to become an American, but you cannot become French. Our amazing Country gives people the ability to assimilate and become an American, although it can be argued the process should be revamped. None the less, America gives us all the freedom and a chance to be someone, you just have to take those chances.

my Sophomore year of high school my Mom finally decided to leave my Dad, but her plan was a devious and scummy one. While I was away at a JROTC event, my Mother gotten my Dad extremely drunk, and staged a fight and got him arrested again. While he was in jail, she had some of her family from Georgia come down and start moving our things and made us go with her. We spent a month in Georgia while my Dad was not only fighting his own court case, but also the one against getting us back home with him. Eventually he won, but little did any of the family know, he had lost his job, and was running out of money quickly. Things were the best they had ever been with my Mom gone, my Dad quit drinking, he looked healthier and happier, and we were balling out in everything we did. However, we finally ran out of money and my Dad not seeing any other way out, my Dad took his life April 3rd, 2019 in our home in Houston. That pretty much concludes all the backstory you all need to know for this to make sense. I had a lot of people outside my home to look up to. JROTC was a great way to keep my mind off things at home, with the drill team and the projects that came with the program. I had awesome teachers who were really good at their job and helped me with my work and helped take my mind off things when I wanted to throw myself into work. I had amazing friends who I consider family who helped me out when I needed a place to stay, and even let me and my youngest brother stay with them when my Father had passed away. After that left the question of what now? There was a lot of uncertainty about what the next few months held, were we going to be stuck back with our Mother, would we be able to move in with our oldest brother downtown in Austin, or would we be stuck on our own somehow? Those questions are at me constantly, and I didn't know what to do. Thankfully for my mental wellbeing, there was still three months of school left to be done- and from there I threw myself into my work. I did everything I could to distract myself, I did everything I could around my buddies place to help out, I did whatever I could to just stay busy. It helped me greatly and before I knew it, we worked through those issues and questions mentioned previously, and I came out of the year strongly. My ability to preserve will always stick with me as one of my most positive attributes and this showed just that, and now I know I am able to accomplish more than I thought possible.

COVID-19, or as most people refer to it, the Corona Virus, has impacted a lot of aspects of our lives, including sports, careers, and even school. Thankfully, with the amazing invention of the internet, it had made a lot of our daily activities, with remote working and remote learning. Some do not prefer this method, some believe that it makes learning harder and work harder, and with all the distractions that come with working and learning from home. It isn’t always easy to keep focused and not get distracted in our homes. However, with the problems that are associated with working and learning at home, there is not doubt that it has been good for all of us. Without being able to learn or work remotely, people wouldn’t be able to keep up making a living, people wouldn’t be able to continue their education, and things around the United States would slowly come to a halt. The ability to work and learn remotely has been a blessing amidst the shutdowns and the panic of the scary Corona Virus. It’s brought a sense of normalcy in a world full of craziness. It’s also been able to help people keep food on their family’s table, their bills paid, and a roof over their family’s head, along with helping children keep up with their education. Without this ability, people could lose their homes, and then put them in a tough spot not being able to provide food or shelter for their family. Without remote learning, kids would lose out on valuable education, meaning they would have to repeat the year when all the craziness ended, and that would affect all students in public schools. Remote work and learning has helped students and working adults and while some people may have an issue with it, it helps continue what needs to be done in work and school. Could you imagine working what the United States would look like if people couldn’t work and learn from home? Unemployment would be insane, and learning would be dead in the water. Either that, or the government may have rolled the dice and not have cancelled things, as there would be nothing anyone could do to keep up the economy or education. Either way, it’s a miracle the way things worked out in actuality, with remote learning and work taking over and becoming the new normal. Without these measures to keep things going in the United States, there is no telling what life would be looking like now. Because of this remote learning I have been able to not only stay safe, as I am type one diabetic, but I have also been able to get my education done on my time, which has been an incredible convenience while balancing work, family, and school at the same time. Instead of going to school and mingling with a load of people that could or could not be sick, and then potentially bringing that home around my family that could end with them getting sick, or worse, it is a load off my shoulders. The remote learning and working has also helped my family get closers throughout the quarantine, as we were stuck only hanging out with each other for the longest time. Sure, there were stressful times, but the Call of Duty, Halo, Super Smash Bros, and 2K tournaments my brothers and I have had over the course of the year has made memories that’ll help us get through the rest of this pandemic and hopefully stick with us for life. While I really hope COVID-19 goes away in the coming months, negativity wasn’t the only product. It has helped influence a new way to work with education and certain professions, and has given most of us a way to grow closer with our family members, something some people may have needed.

In 2012, my Mom had gotten arrested again, however this time was a lot different, as she had already gotten two DUIs, and this would’ve been her third, a ten-year prison term. However, she also fought with the police and tried to escape, a two-year charge, which is the only one the courts gave her. From my 4th Grade school year to my 6th Grade School year, my Mom was in a prison in Gainesville Texas. Ironically enough it was like a lot of our problems went away. It was stressful for my Dad yes, but my oldest brother was there, and he helped take care of us before he went away for college. We did our thing and did really well together. However, when she got released it went back to things being bad. In my Sophomore year of high school my Mom finally decided to leave my Dad, but her plan was a devious and scummy one. While I was away at a JROTC event, my Mother gotten my Dad extremely drunk, and staged a fight and got him arrested again. While he was in jail, she had some of her family from Georgia come down and start moving our things and made us go with her. We spent a month in Georgia while my Dad was not only fighting his own court case, but also the one against getting us back home with him. Eventually he won, but little did any of the family know, he had lost his job, and was running out of money quickly. Things were the best they had ever been with my Mom gone, my Dad quit drinking, he looked healthier and happier, and we were balling out in everything we did. However, we finally ran out of money and my Dad not seeing any other way out, my Dad took his life April 3rd, 2019 in our home in Houston. That pretty much concludes all the backstory you all need to know for this to make sense. I had a lot of people outside my home to look up to. JROTC was a great way to keep my mind off things at home, with the drill team and the projects that came with the program. I had awesome teachers who were really good at their job and helped me with my work and helped take my mind off things when I wanted to throw myself into work. I had amazing friends who I consider family who helped me out when I needed a place to stay, and even let me and my youngest brother stay with them when my Father had passed away. However, there is nobody that changed my life for the better more than my oldest brother, Christian Jr. Christian had gone through more than any of us when it came to my parents broken relationship. He came to live with us in 2008 or so when he got tired of living with his Mom and Stepdad, but my Mom didn’t like him all that much. They got into it quite often, and he was usually stuck in the middle of their argument, my Mom abused him verbally all the time, he was often kicked out of the house, and he was treated the worst out of all of us. When our Dad passed away, he drove all the way down from Austin the moment he heard what had happened, and we immediately started making a game plan to figure out what was going to happen next. Ideally, we would have had to move back in with our Mom, who had already been kicked out of her family’s place in Georgia for drinking and fighting, however we all knew we wouldn’t be able to do that. He and his Wife took on the legal battle and almost had to spend a lot of money to take us in, but thankfully, our Mom gave up pretty quick. In June we moved to downtown Austin in their two-bedroom apartment and on July 4th moved down to a rental house in Leander Texas. I am now going on my Senior year of Highschool and my little brother will be a freshman.

Music was one of those things growing up that helped distract me while my parents were fighting- it helped take me away from the situation I found myself in through no fault of my own every night and get through it. It was the distraction I needed to survive the toxic family dynamic that happened every night. When I hit my mid-teens, my Pops and I would sit on the couch, him drinking and playing songs on the TV while telling stories, and I would uncomfortably sit there and listen. When he passed away (he took his own life in 2019), it was a way for me to connect with him and those songs are still on my playlist today, almost two years later. During quarantine I had a lot of time to myself, stuck thinking and lamenting and overall just being lonely. Music came in clutch for me again, helping me dive into those emotions and explore them better, and now those songs help remind e of everything, but also something I enjoy to listen too. Music has just always helped me in my toughest times, and because of that it is something I am incredibly passionate about and a great hobby I have under my belt. When I hit twenty-one, I want to go through the police academy and join whatever Sherriff's office I can, and help my community, and as a side hustle continue making music overs like those on my YouTube Channel (Rocko Plunkett on YouTube by the way) and do shows and bring new music to people with my guitar that they may have never heard, or a new take on something that they can enjoy.

Growing up was a rough time for my brothers and I. Our parents would fight every night and my Ma was in and out of jail throughout all my child hood. Seen a lot of bad things, and while all those things will stick with me for the rest of my life I know in my heart that they taught me what not to do when I have my own family. In 2018 my Pops was arrested, and my Mom took us and all our stuff and moved it to the Georgia, Florida border where we stuck in a small, rundown house with little to our name. After a lengthy legal battle we were thankfully allowed to come back, and things were good, it was my little brother, my Pops and myself at the time, however we running out of money. After a while of running out of money and crushing legal struggles my Father turned a gun on himself in our home, and I held his dying body as police and EMS arrived. Now I live with my brother, and things are better now, but those life experiences changed me and my view of the world. I know what I want to do with my experiences though. My Father immigrated to San Diego from Puerto Rico after his Mother, my Abeulita, married a Navy SEAL, and to escape the Filipino, Latino gang violence in San Diego my Pops joined the Army. His service inspired me and I wanted to do the same, until I was diagnosed as a type one diabetic, killing all chances to become a US Army Ranger like I had always wanted after playing Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2. As I got older though I learned my dreams of protecting and serving weren't dead thankfully- I could become a cop. It's not a very liked profession, especially now a days, but I don't care. I want to serve the country that gave my family so much, and I wanted to help prevent the things that happened to me from happening to any other child.

There's a lot of quotes out there that have meaning to me, from Mac Miller's "There is so much more for me waiting on the other side.." In his song Good News, to the Frogman's Creed recited by the actor who played the young Shane Patton in 'Lone Survivor'. However the quote with the most meaning to me is "Have Faith in the Sunrise" By John Burk. I've lived a tough life- parents were alcoholics, my Dad a vet with declining physical and mental health, my Ma going in and out of jail, and my Dad taking his life in our home one night while my little brother and I were home in 2019. All the struggle's I've been through, and holding my Father as he bled and waited on EMS and Police to arrive I thought was gonna be the end of the line for me. I didn't know how to keep going after that. Eventually I learned you just have to take it one step at a time, I stay busy, do music, workout, whatever to keep my mind off those things. Since then I've began to heal, I live in a new place with my oldest brother who was gracious enough to take us in. It wasn't till a little over a year later that I found John Burk's quote- "Have Faith in the Sunrise." You're probably asking- "Hey, how does this relate at all too the story you told me before?" Well, after hearing that quote, I was able to put words to how I made it through the challenges life threw at me- taking it one day at a time and hoping the things that hurt me, hurt less whenever the sun came up. I'm not expecting I'll ever meet the man behind the quote, but I appreciate him sharing it out there and the work hes does.

I believe we've all be in this situation- I've NEVER had luck when it comes with girls, and the two I've managed to charm ended up burning me like a Carolina reaper. I am also not much of a baller! I am 5'6, and I play with giants when compared to me. I may be somewhat athletic, but watching me play is like watching a hobbit take on Yao Ming. As a fairly decent looking, 5'6 Hispanic guy, I feel like Kobe Bryant, our late basketball and inspirational sensation is looking down at me every time I try to shoot my shot with a pretty girl, as he does every time I miss a wide open three-pointer. When I die and meet Kobe, he's is going not going to be pleased with my game, or my ball skills.

Hashtags really depend on the audience you are attempting to attract. I spent 6 months handling the social media of a local gym and in that time experimented with hashtags constantly, trying to get the best combo to bring the most attraction to our pages. Sometimes it worked really well, like a TikTok that attracted 115k people to watch, and other posts may have only been seen by a small handful of people. You just got to experiment and really look at the demographic you are trying to attract.

Today it is my pleasure to introduce the world to the funny little Pup I have come to known and love named Ace. Ace and I spent a week driving from Austin Texas to Colorado while sleeping in the back of a truck together, where I got to learn how a tiny 65lb dog can take up an entire blanket, and football push me out of both sleep, and where I was sleeping. I love this dog to death and I hope you can see the personality he has through the photos attached, although the photos still don't do justice.

I grew up a pretty normal kid, or at least till I was seven I thought. When I was 7 years old I ended up being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. That of course led to all the childhood problems, kids picking on me, getting ragged on, and all the teasing that we go through as kids. However the biggest kick in the stomach was the fact I could never join the Army like I wanted. That part didn't really mean much to me as a little kid, but as I got older it began hurting more. I wanted to try and be an Army Ranger, jump out of planes and do all the cool guy stuff! Unfortunately, life doesn't always work that way kids. The feeling of being different actually subsided as I hit high school, it was another factor that made me feel so different that my peers. Growing up, my home life was rough, my Mom drank and did drugs, fought with my Dad, and every so often someone got arrested. My Mom ended up doing a two year stint in Prison when I was still in Elementary school. I didn't think anything of this, I thought it was normal for the most part. The things I experienced weren't normal, but to me since I lived them everyday and night, they WERE normal and that was a problem I never realized until after my Father had killed himself in our home after our Mom had finally left for good. I moved in with my buddy after this and thats where I realized how messed up my childhood was. The family I was living with was normal, they didn't fight, they didn't abuse drugs or alcohol, and they liked each other! This kinda made me realize I had an extremely abnormal childhood, from having to worry about my parents fighting every night and having diabetes. But it made me stronger, and it put me on the path of life that I am on and I wouldn't change it for the world.

A lot of people towards the end of their lives take time to reflect on their legacy, the lives they impacted and the difference they made while they were able too. Regret could also factor into these final reflections and for a lot of people they will regret the things they did or didn’t say or the chances they did or didn’t take. For me, I want my legacy to be known for the adversity I have faced throughout my life and for people to know that despite everything I’ve gone through, I still came out on top and ended the cycle with my own family. I don’t expect to die anytime soon, however with the way 2020 went it’s not out of the realm of possibilities. While yes, you never know what might happen to you at any given moment in a normal year, with COVID-19 running rampant I am sure I am not the only one out there who has thought and wondered, “What happens if I die? How will people remember me?” As a child I feared death, but then after some close encounters via almost dying and having people I care about pass away, you begin to really understand that it’s just part of life. The dying part becomes less scary, but the legacy you leave behind can be worrying. I faced a lot of adversity in my life, my Father took his life and bled out in my arms, and my Mother is a junkie alcoholic who spent my childhood in and out of jails, almost killing us both in a drunk driving stint. Of course, that was the very watered-down version of the events, in reality it was a cumulation of fifteen years of being in the middle of argument after argument, sometimes turned physical, drugs, and severe alcohol abuse. When our Dad died, we were almost sent to live with our Mother, who at that point had finally split with our Father but had continued to extort him legally for money and whatnot. Thankfully, our oldest brother Christian really stepped up to the plate for my little brother and myself. We were fifteen and twelve at the time, and he was twenty-four, about to be twenty-five and freshly married, and they took on the responsibility of fighting for us. Eventually, they were able to get full custody and almost two years later we are still living with them. No matter how my story plays out, my brother and his wife are the real heroes of it. So what happens next in the “legacy of Garrick “Rocko” Plunkett”? Well, I’m about to graduate in June, try to figure out my own living situation, wait for COVID to calm down and start working towards becoming a Law Enforcement career. I want to work in some sort of Child Crimes unit and hunt down the worst of men, the ones who pray on defenseless children and bring them to the light of court and justice. I don’t want any child to go through any of the things that brought me to where I am today, while it may have turned me into the man I am today, the road that sent me down the path was all about conventional or easy. When I’m gone I want people to look at all the things I’ve endured in my childhood and see how I turned all that pain, all that anger into something motivating to help other people and make a difference In people’s lives.

Throughout my child hood my Mother was a struggling and violent alcoholic, mostly taking it out on my Father. She would get drunk, argue with my Dad for hours until finally she would get physical with him. My Dad was always too good of a man to do anything back, minus just getting her off of him or something of the like. When I was in 3rd grade my Mother left the house one night, claiming she had to go get something at our local Walmart. I stayed up until 5am, to the point my little ten year old body couldn't handle any longer to wait for her to get home and she never did. When I woke up my Dad was in a hurry, putting on a suit and tie on a Saturday, talking angrily about having to go bail our my Mom from jail. Of course I was too young to really understand what that meant, just the word jail. Eventually my Dad came home empty handed and he had to sit down my three brothers and I and explain what had happened. My oldest brother was on his way to college, leaving just my Dad, my little brother, and myself. We spent every weekend going to see her in some small town with a women's prison TX after she was charged and sentenced to two years for escaping police custody. This went on for years and I saw the toll it took on my Father first handedly. Eventually she got out, and she was ok for a few weeks but after a few months she was back in her old habits. The experiences I've lived with my Mother has shaped my interest in going into Law Enforcement to help people with problems, to help save them from their selves unlike my Mother.

College is expensive, and it gets more costly by the year. What our parents may have been able to study for a few thousand dollars is now tens of thousands, if not over a hundred grand depending on where you’re going and what you’re planning on doing major wise. When you’re young you don’t really understand the importance of money, yeah you pay for where you live, you buy food with it and you pay some bills here and there, but when you’re a dumb teenager, what’s the harm in blowing through your checks you get from your part time job? That is where a big problem comes into play, as a lot of people, including myself, do not realize that the money we make is incredibly needed for the upcoming years when we go off to college. However, without my need for money being taken into consideration, I believe there are other reasons I deserve this scholarship. I’m not a stranger to putting in the extra work to get things that needed to be done for some extra money, my Dad was a staff sergeant in the Army back in the 90s, back when sergeants could be mean and tough and all that, which was how he could be on his kids sometimes. It’s funny how people nowadays look down on that kind of behavior and attitude, but with the way we all turned out I don’t see much of a problem with it. My brothers and I all turned out to be the best versions of ourselves, with my oldest brother being a top dog at an auditing firm in Austin, me on my way to graduate high school and begin the road to a career in law enforcement, and a little brother killing it in his academics. My Dad taught us that anything worth doing is worth over doing, and that if you’re going to do something, really anything, that you should do it right the first time, and he taught this over and over again in our lives. I attribute my hard working attitude and ethic to my Pops, I’m hungry for success and I want to change the world for the better, and this scholarship could really help me do that, as cost is a big worry for me, and I will be getting little if any help from family to go to school. A lot of people are applying for this scholarship; however, I believe out of all the candidates I have a leg up above the rest. With the strong work ethic my Dad instilled into me as a young boy, my desire to serve my community and country in anyway I can, my desire to impact peoples lives for the better and the experiences I’ve had in my life and still being able to function as a human being, I believe I have a strong career in law enforcement ahead of me, and your scholarship will greatly help me on that road.

I have a lot of goals when it comes to living my life, revolving around getting through education, beginning a career serving others as part of the police force, and having a happy family and personal life. These goals mean a lot to me, and I intend to do my best to fulfill them. However, my family is not the most financially agile. To complete my goals, I need the help of your scholarship to get past step one. My family has never been financially agile, and my father took his life in April of 2019, and my Mother has been M.I.A for some time now. I currently live with my oldest brother, but when it comes to college education, I am left on my own. To raise the money, I need I have been scholarship hunting, taking every opportunity I can come across. I am willing to do whatever I have to do to secure the money I need to support myself and work through college. I believe I deserve your scholarship because I am going to do whatever I have to do to secure my goals. Nothing will stop me from completing my goals, and I am an incredibly determined person. With your help, I will become one step closer to achieving my goals and becoming the best version of myself I believe I can be. If I am given your help, and I achieve my plans on going to college and becoming a police officer, I will do everything within my power to serve and help the community and do all I can to give back. With the help of your scholarship I will complete my goals, serve the public and be on track towards a helpful life. I want to serve my community and do good for the world, and the money your scholarship can provide will help me towards doing just that, helping me financially will help a community soon. Please help me complete my goals, by helping me.