My experience with NF has not been good nor bad. The main thing NF has affected is my body confidence. Growing up, I had a large tumor on my back that had puffed out due to inflammation. I had it removed at the age of 15 at years later still have scarring and discoloration from it and nerves being damaged. Because of the scar and multiple other large marks I have from NF, I have always struggles with body confidence. I believe that a struggle with body confidence can affect other parts of your life like education. If you struggle with one thing, I believe it only makes it harder to stay motivated in other areas of your life. My grandfather, who also had NF, passed away from it becoming cancerous. This has always been a fear of mine as well. However, in recent years I am learning to love my body the way it is, although it is hard at times. My motivation for pursuing a higher education is really to make my mom proud and set myself up for success. I want to be able to create the best life for myself and be able to help my mom as well. I grew up with my mom being my only support so now I want to be able to give back to her and make life easier for her. I believe I would be a good candidate for this scholarship because like Dylan, I strive to pursue my educational desires and dreams. In the future I would love to be an advocate for others with NF. I want them to know that marks on their body and NF make them who they are and they should not have any doubts or not feel confident in themselves.

A important life lesson I have learned is actually one I learned this year. My father passed away in the beginning of the year due to many health problems. Before this I had not had a relationship with my father or talked to him in over 3 years due to many family problems. His passing taught me to not hold grudges and its better to forgive people because you never know when you'll get to talk to that person again. I now use this in my every day life. When I am upset over something or with someone I now talk about it rather than cut off connections with that person and this is what I will strive to do everyday for the rest of my life. I believe doing this will also allow me to have better relationships with people. Talking and a simple conversation can be the key to fixing any problem. I have learned that I need to hold onto the people close to me and make everyday worth it because one day I may not have them in my life anymore. When I first learned of the passing of my father I did not know how to feel. I had not talked to him in over 3 years and the last conversation I had with him was a tough one, I was kicked out of the house and told to never speak to him again because I was a disappointment. Because of this I was confused on how to feel. I was sad because at the end of the day he is my father and we did have a ton of good times together but at the same time I didn't know if I should have felt sad because of what had occurred previously. This experience overall made me stronger. I had to learn that things happen and that sometimes you have no control over them. But, when you can have control over them you should do something to fix them. I still regret everyday not having talked to my father about what had happened and fixing our relationship because now i'll never have the chance to do that. At the end of the day this experience is still something I find myself constantly being conflicted about but I know it has made me stronger as a person and that I believe is a good thing.

I started college less than a week after graduating high school in 2019. Now, I will be graduating nearly a year early in December 2022. This is my greatest achievement. I worked hard taking several classes every semester, including over every summer. I knew I wanted to finish college early so that I could start working towards my career. I have attended college full time while also working full time in order to pay for school. Being able to do this while maintaining good grades was a achievement for me as well. I struggled a lot in highschool so being able to do so well in college has made me extremely proud of myself. Doing this has taught me that I really can do anything I put my mind to as long as I stay determined and work hard. Over the past few years I've been in college I have faced many hard times, covid and having to work over 50 hours a week along with multiple deaths in my family. I wanted to give up many times because of this and I struggled everyday to stay determined and dedicated to graduate, but I would not allow myself to do that. This has also taught me that I do not need gratification or approval from anyone but myself. I learned that I need to work and do things for myself more than others. This hard work and time has also given me the chance to learn what makes me happy and how to love myself. Completing a minor in criminal justice/ criminology along with a major in communications has brought me a love for both things. I have found that in the future id like to do something in both fields. I have always had a love for true crime cases, serial killers, and investigations. In the future I hope to achieve a successful career in something that incorporates both these things, although I have not figured out exactly what yet. I am currently considering something in criminal journalism or criminal investigation because in a way, it would be able to work with both my minor and my major.